Four-in-One

Reviews of stories about spies, spooks, and detectives clumped together in one column. Follow the links for more:

THE CAB OF THE SLEEPING HORSE.
By John Reed Scott (1869 - ?).
G. P. Putnam's.
1916. 361 pages.
Online HERE, HERE, and HERE.

The Cab of the Sleeping Horse is the absurd title of a story that fits the title.  . . . Detectives, male and female, spies, statesmen, even our Secretary of State, thieves, burglars and lady-like swindlers are mixed up in the race.  . . . — Philip G. Hubert, Jr., "Fiction: One and Twenty Strong," THE BOOKMAN (November 1916, pages 276-277)

THE HOUSE OF FEAR.
By Wadsworth Camp (1878-1936).
Doubleday, Page.
1916. 342 pages.
Online HERE.
Filmed in 1929.

. . . The sense of abject fear produced by an unseen foe is well portrayed and for those who like to read with cold shivers running down their backs The House of Fear is just the book. — Philip G. Hubert, Jr., op. cit. (page 277)

. . . Mr. Camp's greatest sin as a maker of fiction in this genre is his failure to let the reader into the secret of McHugh's [the sleuth's] pursuit; the detective work is all, so to speak, off the stage. But the invention of story is sufficiently ingenious to make good reading. — "Current Fiction," THE NATION (November 9, 1916; go to page 444, left center)

THE CURIOUS CASE OF MARIE DUPONT.
By Adele Luehrmann (? - ?).
The Century Company.
1916. 324 pages. $1.35
Online HERE, HERE, and HERE.

The Curious Case of Marie Dupont is said to be the first book of Miss Adele Luehrmann. If it were the lady's tenth, it would still be a credit to her, for as mystery stories go this has all the attributes of a good one—sustained interest, movement, and the sort of ingenuity that keeps the reader guessing and guessing wrong all the time.  . . . the mystery presented by the author, who unravels it cleverly, at times in too melodramatic a fashion, but always with sufficient skill to hold the reader's interest. — Philip G. Hubert, Jr., op. cit. (page 277)

THE KINGDOM OF THE BLIND.
By E. Phillips Oppenheim (1866-1946).
Little, Brown, and Company.
1916. 305 pages.
Online HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

. . . The book teems with detectives, secret intelligence officers, envoys in every possible guise, and of course the most harmless man in the world turns out to be the most dangerous. There are surprises without end and excitement on every page—for, of course, Mr. Oppenheim may be trusted for that. — Philip G. Hubert, Jr., op. cit. (page 278)

Categories: Detective fiction, Spy fiction