"We Are Not Dealing with an Ordinary Murder"

"Weapon, Motive, Method ~"

By Robert Arthur (1909-69).

Illustration by Don Neiser (1918-2009; HERE and HERE).

First appearance: Bluebook, June 1953.

Reprinted in 13 Ways to Kill a Man (1965) (briefly reviewed HERE).

Short short short story (4 pages).

Online at Archive.org (HERE).

   "Mystery novels, the baron said, are stupid, just fairy tales for grown-ups. Consider instead the way a really clever killer does it, in real life . . ."

What do the ancient Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu and the murderer in today's story have in common? "Sun Tzu focused his work on the only weapon that never gets outdated: the human mind" . . . .

Main characters:

~ Baron de Hirsch:

  "Believe me, my friend, when human beings murder each other—and the practice is a common one—their weapons, motives and methods, of which you mystery-mongers make so much—pardon the unintentional alliteration—are far removed from your fictional creations."

~ Narrator (unnamed):

  "It is true that most murders in real life are crudely committed and lacking in drama," I retorted. "However—"

~ "Lucy":

  ". . . is a clever woman, she is beautiful, and she is without scruples. I think that if you study history, you will find no record of a clever, beautiful woman who did have scruples. I do not go so far as to say no woman has scruples, which of course includes morals, but I do say that such women never make any impression on history."

~ "Tom Johnson":

  ". . . was quite incapable of any original thinking whatever."

~ "Ferdinand Relling":

  ". . . knows what tricks to guard against."

~ "the Great American Public":

  ". . . that puzzling paradox."

References and resources:

- "If you go back to Petronius, perhaps":

  Most historians are agreed that Petronius (his middle name) was not only the author of The Satyricon but also one of Emperor Nero's favorites, which should give you an idea of which way Petronius's moral compass pointed. See Wikipedia (HERE), (HERE), and (HERE).

- We have met with Robert Arthur on several previous occasions in reviews of "Midnight Visit" (HERE), "Too Dumb to Be Fooled" (HERE), and "Time Will Tell" (HERE).

Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from The FictionMags Index created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.

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