The Baffling Second Shot

THE MYSTERY OF THE SECOND SHOT.
By Rufus Gillmore (1869-1935).
D. Appleton & Co.
1912. 299 pages.
Available on Kindle.

The full review as it appeared in THE NATION (May 2, 1912), archived here (scroll down to page 439, middle top):

A ruffianly promoter and banker of Boston takes a method of revenge so strange that the mystery of his own death is not solved until the end of the book. The dramatic interest of the solution is enhanced by the fact that the detective is a reporter in rivalry not only with the stupid police force—that device begins to pall—but also with the star reporter of his own paper.

Mr. Gillmore handles his plot well, but somehow for part of the book fails to excite the reader; perhaps through lack of imaginative power to visualize the scenes of horror and suspicion.

The end in the courtroom is well told, and the climax comes naturally and powerfully, with no trailing descent after it.

Other titles by Rufus Gillmore:

~ THE ALSTER CASE (1914), available here and here, and reviewed here.

~ THE OPAL PIN (1914)

~ THE EBONY BED MURDER (1932), available here, reviewed here.

See also Mike Grost's article about Gillmore here.

Category: Detective fiction