"The Seamy Side of Life in General"

THE LEADEN BUBBLE
By H. C. Branson.
Simon & Schuster.
1949. $2.50

On THE MYSTERY*FILE weblog, there's an assessment by William F. Deeck of one of Branson's few novels:

The publishers say that this novel “is not a book to be told; it needs to be read . . .” I agree.

Here's the full review of THE LEADEN BUBBLE from THE SATURDAY REVIEW (April 2, 1949), archived here:

Detective John (Bearded) Bent arrives too late to hear aged client's story, but remains to solve rather fearsome small-town family slayings.

Straightforward detecting, interesting group of characters, some amusing boarding-house scenes, and enough romance to flavor it nicely.

Verdict: Worth reading.

Links to short reviews of some other Branson books are in the titles:

~ I'LL EAT YOU LAST (1941)
"Literate, logical and leisurely . . ."
~ THE PRICKING THUMB (1942)
". . . sound, logical, and engrossing solution . . ."

~ CASE OF THE GIANT KILLER (1944)
"Shrewd detecting, ample action . . ."
~ LAST YEAR'S BLOOD (1947)
"Forthrightly written, ably characterized, amply baffling."
~ BEGGAR'S CHOICE (1953)
"Highly recommended."

More information about H. C. Branson and his work is here, here, and here.

Category: Detective fiction