THANKS to the determination of aficionados (but no thanks to idiotic copyright laws), some detective fiction books that have fallen into obscurity in the past century haven't been entirely lost to us. Even if you're an experienced tec-fic fan, you might not have heard of some of these, which we found in . . .
The Bookman Advertiser Notes on New Books.
"Detective Fiction."
In The Bookman, January 1930.
Online at UNZ (HERE and below).
~ THE PRESSURE-GAUGE MURDER by F. W. B. von Linsingen (DUTTON. $2.00)
A STORY of modern diamond smuggling, in which the precious stones are hidden in fake tire-pressure gauges, and transported abroad from Johannesburg, the diamond section of South Africa. A perfect racket until one smuggler becomes too avaricious and double-crosses his pals, committing murder to secure the whole booty. Mistaken identity keeps up the suspense.
~ CRIME IN INK by Claire Carvalho and Boyden Sparks [sic] (SCRIBNER'S. $2.50)
THANKS to Miss Carvalho's intimate knowledge of her father's affairs, this book, covering the outstanding cases in which he participated as handwriting expert, describes in detail the methods by which David N. Carvalho detected forgeries. Among the more spectacular records we find Carvalho's testimony at the trial of Captain Dreyfus, and in the Molineux case, which shook the social world of New York.
- Related: Book online (HERE) - Very brief Journal of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology review (HERE).
~ THE SILENT MURDERS by Neil Gordon (DOUBLEDAY, DORAN. $2.00)
EIGHT murders with only one connecting link. With this wholesale slaughter going on, and the press hounding Scotland Yard, Inspector Dewar is put in charge of the case. After combing the police archives of London and Reading for weeks, during which another crime is committed, he finds a clue that leads him to his quarry. A highly exciting tale of a hatred fostered for twenty years.
- Related: J. F. Norris's review (HERE).
~ CLUES OF THE CARIBBEES by T. S. Stribling (DOUBLEDAY, DORAN. $2.50)
IN THE course of a voyage through the West Indies, Professor Henry Poggioli, Ph.D., finds opportunity to exercise his criminologistic mind to his heart's content. Mr. Stribling has displayed in his previous books a knowledge of these superstitious people that inhabit the shores of the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, and brings his readers a sympathetic understanding of their short-comings.
- Related: Wikipedia (HERE) - The GAD Wiki (HERE) and (HERE) - Fantastic Fiction (HERE) - "The Cablegram" (short story) (HERE).
~ THE MUSEUM MURDER by John T. Mclntyre (DOUBLEDAY, DORAN. $2.00)
AN UP-TO-DATE murder in the John Gregory Art Museum of New York. The curator is found stabbed to death with a Moorish dagger, and a millionaire art patron, two of the trustees of the institution and the grandson of the museum's founder, are all involved. Chalmers, a chubby connoisseur, remarkably fond of his food and comfort, takes charge of the investigation, within twelve hours picks out the perpetrator — and goes back to his gourmandizing.
~ THE HOUSE OF CAIN by Arthur W. Upfield (DORRANCE. $2.00)
HIDDEN in the wilds of South Australia is the House of Cain — refuge of murderers and home of evil. The long trek that takes Martin Sherwood and his brother Monty there is fraught with danger. But the spirit of adventure that is Monty's and his solicitude for his brother carry them through safely to a smashing finish. A veritable find for mystery and adventure lovers.
~ ODDWAYS by Herbert Adams (LIPPINCOTT. $2.00)
TWO brothers are killed on the same evening and an innocent girl is held as a murderess. Her old lover, Martin Patton, atones for his past by sending his cousin Ronald to search for means of acquittal. The trail leads from London to a country road house and a hidden underground chamber where death lurks.
~ FOOL ERRANT by Patricia Wentworth (LIPPINCOTT. $2.00)
HUGO ROSS, secretary to Ambrose Minstrel, eccentric inventor, defeats a plot to defraud England of a new invention that will revolutionize warfare. Romance and mystery hold the interest while England's fate is in the balance.
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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