Tales of the Black Widowers

Unlike probably most people, this is my first foray with Isaac Asimov. While it isn't what he's best known for (science fiction), murder mysteries are completely up my alley and I'm actually really glad that this is how I got introduced to him. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would certainly continue on to the rest of the Black Widowers series.

Tales of the Black Widowers is a collection of short stories that are technically standalone problems but feature the same group of armchair detectives (the titular Black Widowers) and their enigmatic waiter, Henry. The format of this isn't new: Asimov takes inspiration from the likes of Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle, and he acknowledges that in his preface. I'm particularly reminded of Agatha Christie's The Twelve Problems in this one. Unlike Christie, though, Asimov's problems aren't mostly about dramatic murders, adultery, and the like. There's one about a potential cheat during an examination, a leaked speech containing classified information, and just plain ol' unsolved puzzles to get through to wills and bequests.

Not all the problems are created equal, however. Some were more interesting or had smarter solutions, while others had conclusions that left me a little dissatisfied. Another shortcoming of the book was that I frequently got confused between the Black Widowers. There are 7 of them, and the only one I could really tell apart from the start was Henry, the waiter, purely by dint of his profession and the role that he usually plays in each story. Even after I was done with the book, I could really only tell apart Tom Trumbull because of his boisterousness, and maybe Rubin the writer and Halsted the mathematician. I'm still a little confused between Avalon, Gonzalo, and Drake. Asimov doesn't make things easier either, when he uses last names in the narrative, but quite often first names in dialogue (and there's a lot of that), so I'm often wondering who they're referring to when speaking to each other.

What really shines in this book, however, is just how witty Asimov is. The preface was interesting enough on its own, but Asimov also inserts afterwords after each mystery, briefly explaining its original publication title and perhaps some circumstances surrounding his inspiration for that story or when he wrote it. Man had some dry humour that I somehow wouldn't have associated with him. Makes me that much more excited to check out his more famous works now.

If you're a fan of Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes, check this one out. If you love murder mysteries, especially in short story form, definitely check this one out.