Mystery Monday: Murder, My Sweet

Mystery Monday: Murder, My Sweet

Farewell, My Lovely
First Edition

Hollywood has been turning books into movies since its inception, and the 1930s and 1940s were no exception. During these two decades, film makers took several of the crime novels written by such greats as Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, and produced highly successful pictures. Murder, My Sweet was a 1944 adaptation of Chandler's Farewell, My Lovely. The reason for the title change? Studio executives were concerned the public would think the movie was a musical.

Chandler, who was born in Chicago, but raised in England after the divorce of his parents, did not publish his first novel until he was 50 years old. His "day job" was as an accountant, and he eventually rose to the position of Vice President at Dabney Oil. He lost his job during the Depression and decided to go into writing full time. There was a large market for short stories and serial pieces, and Chandler found his niche in the "hard-boiled" detective style popularized by Hammett and Earle Stanley Gardner.

Author Raymond Chandler

Moving to California, he worked on several screenplays including Double Indemnity and Strangers on a Train. By the mid 1940s his books were selling so well, he could pick and choose his projects. Considered to be one of Chandler's masterpieces by most critics and movie goers, Farewell, My Lovely continues to be in print. It was remade into a movie under the original book title in 1975 with Robert Mitchum as Philip Marlowe, There were also several radio adaptations.

For those of you unfamiliar with the plot, the story begins with Detective Marlowe involved in a missing persons case. While at a bar, he happens to see an ex-con looking for his girlfriends who was supposed to have waited for him during his jail term. Frustrated at the lack of answers he gets about the woman's whereabouts, the felon kills the nightclub owner. Because the victim is a black man, there is little interest from the police in finding his murderer. Marlowe decides to hunt down the girlfriend in an effort to find the killer.

Movie Poster
Murder My Sweet

Typical of Chandler novels, there are twists and turns, police corruption, secret identities, and blackmail. Set in the fictional location of Bay City, most scholars agree that it is a stand-in for Santa Monica, well-known for its government corruption during the Depression. The story itself is a compilation of ideas and plot lines from three of Chandler's short stories. A classic noir book, Farewell, My Lovely is a highly entertaining read. Check your public library. You'll probably find it on the shelves.

Mystery Monday: Who is Helen McCloy?

Mystery Monday: Who is Helen McCloy?

Courtesy AZQuotes

When one's parents are an author and a newspaper editor can a daughter choose any career but that of a novelist? Similar to children of actors who grow up to be actors, perhaps it is the same with writers.

Born on June 6, 1904, Helen Clarkson received a top-shelf education. She attended the Brooklyn Friends School run by the Brooklyn's Quaker community then following graduation traveled to France and studied at the Sorbonne. Remaining in France, she obtained a job with Universal News Service (a Hearst company). Five years later she quit to become an art critic and contributor to the London Morning Post.

Returning to America in 1932, Helen began to write mysteries and created the pseudonym Helen McCloy. Her first novel, Dance with Death, was published in 1938. Success came quickly, and she published one book a year for the next ten years. Helen continued to publish books until the late 1970s, half of which were part of her Dr. Basil Willing series, the other half were stand alone novels.

Hailed by many critics as one of the greatest writers, Helen explored topics such as the psychology of Fascism, human sensory perception, and the concept of doppelgängers. Her characters have detailed life histories that are explored throughout the novel. Vivid description enables readers to immerse themselves in each scene.

Helen was an active member of Mystery Writers of America and was its female president in 1950. In 1971, she helped found MWA's New England chapter. She was named MWA Grand Master in 1990, and the organization offers a scholarship named in her honor. She passed away in 1994, leaving a long legacy in the mystery writing community.

Mystery Monday: Ada E. Lingo

Mystery Monday: Ada E. Lingo

"A better-than-average mystery in which a girl reporter in a small Texas oil town turns detective and helps find the murderer of wealthy oil man John Fordham and his banker." (Wisconsin Library Bulletin March 1936)

"Gushers gush and revolvers shoot silently and a young society reporter and her boyfriend scour the country in search of a murderer. It's not as hard-boiled as it sets out to be, but it is crowned with excitement and keeps you guessing." (Chicago Daily Tribune, October 1935)

These are but two of the reviews for Ada Emma Lingo's mystery Murder in Texas, the only novel she ever published.

Born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1908, Ada and her family moved to Louisiana so her father could take a job with Oakdale Ice and Light Company. Her mother passed away in 1919, and as a salesman her father was constantly on the road, so Ada was shuffled around between several relatives in Texas until she graduated high school.

Nicknamed Rusty because of her red hair, Ada was an excellent athlete as well as an outstanding scholar. She received degrees in Journalism from the Collect of Industrial Arts and the University of Missouri before obtaining a job with New York World, Joseph Pulitzer's newspaper.

The paper ceased publication in 1931, but by then Ada had married Charles Trabue Hatcher, an engineer and older by eleven years. Unfortunately the union proved to be an unhappy one, and shortly after the birth of their daughter, the couple separated and ultimately divorced. Ada moved back to Big Spring, Texas where she went to work for the Daily Herald as the Society Editor, writing Murder in Texas in her off-hours.

However, she couldn't have had much free time, because she was also pursuing a medical degree. She went through the pre-med program at Baylor University, and then received her doctoral fromTexas University Med School.

Apparently medicine rather held her attention more so than writing, because Ada only wrote one other manuscript that was never published before relocating to Los Angeles where she started her practice and became a renowned cancer specialist. In her later years, she moved to Olympia, Washington where she passed away in 1988 at the age of 79.

In an effort to keep the memory alive of the writers from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, Coachwhip Publications has issue a new edition.

Mystery Monday: MC Beaton

Mystery Monday: MC Beaton

Ever heard of Marion Chesney? Probably not. How about M.C. Beaton? Probably so.

Author MC Beaton

M.C. Beaton is the pseudonym of Scottish-born writer Marion Chesney who published her first book in 1980 when she was in her mid-40s. Initially writing regency romances as a way to earn a living while staying home to raise her sun, she didn’t start publishing mysteries until five years later. By the 1990s she was so prolific, she was releasing multiple books in both genres every year. She has written novels in seventeen different series, but perhaps her most well-known characters are Hamish Macbeth and Agatha Raisin. (Great character names!)

Hamish is a police constable in the fictional town of Lochdubh in the Scottish Highlands. Somewhat lazy, he manages to elude promotion while still keeping his job. Unsuccessful in love, Hamish is brilliant at solving crimes. Where he is a professional law enforcement officer, Beaton’s Agatha Raisin is the quintessential amateur sleuth. A retired public relations agent, Agatha is 53 years old and a spinster who is thrown into clearing her name when a food judge dies from poisoning after eating some of Agatha’s quiche. Both of these series have been made into TV programs.

Marion Chesney began her career as a bookseller for John Smith & Sons, Ltd. then moved into a Scottish Field magazine. However, her lack of typing and shorthand skills proved this to be a poor choice in jobs, and she was soon made fashion editor. Shortly thereafter she moved to the Scottish Daily Express where she was a crime reporter. Sometime later she moved to the Daily Express in London where she was chief woman reporter (An interesting title, yes? Did the paper have chief man reporter jobs? I doubt it!)

secretarial position at

Marion and her husband moved to the U.S. for a while for her husband’s job, but ultimately returned to Britain. Still writing at the age of 80, Marion published two books this year (one Hamish Macbeth, one Agatha Raisin) with another to be released in 2017.

Who is your favorite M.C. Beaton character?

Mystery Monday: Kurt Steel

Mystery Monday: Who was Kurt Steel?

Doesn't Kurt Steel sound like a great name for a Detective? In reality it was the pseudonym for mystery writer Rudolph Kagey who published ten novels between 1935 and 1943. All but one of the books feature Hank Hyer, former welterweight boxer turned private detective. (Now there's an interesting protagonist!). The Hyer series was very popular, and two of the stories were made into movies: Murder Goes to College and Partners in Crime.

Born in 1904 in the small town of Tuscola, IL, Kagey grew up in Flint, Michigan where his father was a successful banker with Guaranty Title and Mortgage Company. A professor at New York University, according to The Passing Tramp, Kagey came from a long line of educators. I couldn't find any information as to why he chose to write mystery novels, nor how he managed to get two of them turned into films before he died at the young age of 41. He left a wife and young daughter when he passed away.

His "hard-boiled detective" pre-dates Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe by a few years. Hank is described on the back cover of the Dell edition of Judas, Incorporated as a "tough and well-muscled private investigator, takes himself and the world with adequate salt, and rarely allows sentiment to intrude upon the fundamentals of life. Hyer likes things stirred up and is not adverse to giving fate a stimulated prod. Only a fat fee check can lure him from Broadway."

The only standalone novel Kagey published as Kurt Steel was The Imposter which tells the story of a man who goes up against a Nazi spy ring as he doubles for his double. Here's what the Kirkus review had to say about the book in their July 1942 review: Morgan, key airplane power, finds the corpse of an impersonator in his room, and rightly deciding that the wrong man has been killed, takes on the alias of his impersonator. The alias leads him to a clique of Nazi penetrators, with whom Morgan plays a fast game of ball as he circumvents them. Fancy, fictitious, but fun as these things go."

Sounds like we found another great writer from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.

Mystery Monday: Edwy Searles Brooks

Mystery Monday: Edwy Searles Brooks

Edwy Searles Brooks

Authors have always used pen names. Some do so for anonymity to protect their identity while others to write in another genre or topic. Edwy Searles Brookes was a British novelist who used countless nom de plumes: Berkeley Gray, Victor Gunn (perfect for a mystery writer!), Rex Madison, Carlton Ross, and Reginald Browne just to name a few.

Born in a suburb of London in 1889, Brooks found success early in life. His first publication, a short story titled “Mr. Dorien’s Missing £2000” was issued by the magazine Yes and No when he was 17. A 3,000 word piece, it was his first paid “gig,” and he earned thirty shillings. Three years later he was tapped by The Gem to write a serial named “The Iron Island.” The premise is that of a man who is marooned on an island by a gang of crooks. The man, Philip Graydon, manages to escape and return to England where he exacts revenge on the men who put him on the island. The story ran for two years!

Released from The Gem when the editor was let go, Brooks fumbled a bit to find other publishers who would take his stories. His personal papers includes numerous rejection letters from this time period. The following summer he was able to sell a series of Clive Deering detective stories to the magazine Cheer Boys Cheer, but sales for the next three years were intermittent.

Then came Nelson Lee and Sexton Blake. In 1915, The Nelson Lee Library was launched, and The Sexton Blake Library to his dossier. Brooks was a prolific writer, and he partnered with his wife Frances to complete each story. By all reports, he was a plotter, meticulously outlining each book. He created character “bibles” in order to keep an account of each one to ensure accuracy in any future references to them. An inveterate researcher, the shelves in Brooks’s office included train timetables and medical books – mostly about poisons.

At the time of his death, Brooks had written over one hundred books and more than two thousand stories!

 

 

 

Mystery Monday: Phyllis Bentley

Mystery Monday: Phyllis Bentley

Even though she was often compared to novelist Thomas Hardy, most of today's readers have never heard of mystery writer Phyllis Bentley. Born in 1894 in Halifax, Yorkshire, United Kingdom, she worked in a munitions factory during WWI. After the war, she returned to Halifax where she taught English and Latin at a girl's school. But her first love was writing.

In 1918, she published a collection of short stories, followed by several novels, all of which did not sell well. Finally in 1932, she rose to fame after her publication of Inheritance in which she used her native Halifax and the growing textile industry as the setting. The novel became a best-seller, going through twenty-three printings by 1946. In 1967, the book was made into a movie, further expanding Bentley's fame.

Over the course of her career, Bentley wrote twenty-four short stories that featured the amateur sleuth, Miss Phipps. In each story, Miss Phipp's quiet life is interrupted by some sort of unusual event. Through her perceptiveness and keen deduction, she solves crimes that range from misdemeanors to murders. Bentley is one of the few Golden Age writers to feature a female detective, and her prim-and-proper character brings to mind Josephine Tey's Miss Pym and Dorothy Sayer's Harriet Vane.

Vehemently opposed to fascism, Bentley used her many contacts to use during WWII by working with the American Division of the Ministry of Information. She was proud of the fact that her books were banned and subsequently burned in Germany.

As a result of her writing, Bentley numerous awards: an honorary Doctor of Letters from Leeds University, a Fellow in the Royal Society of Literature, and in 1970 she was appointed an OBE. She passed away in 1977.

Mystery Monday: Foyle's War

Mystery Monday: Foyle’s War

I’m an anglophile – I love all things British. I watch BBC television, have a subscription to Britain magazine, and keep up with what’s happening in the British Isles through any number of means. I love crime fiction, and my favorite show is Foyle’s War. It combines my interest in WWII, England, and mysteries.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, let me give you the premise. Christopher Foyle is a veteran of The Great War and a Detective Chief Inspector on the south coast in the village of Hastings. Widowed, he has one son to whom he is very close. Their relationship is evidenced by dialogue and exchanged glances rather than demonstrated with hugs or physical contact. Foyle would rather be making a direct impact on the war by serving with the War Office in some way, but unfortunately, his requests for transfer are always turned down.

Historical details are highly accurate, and viewers are educated about the era often through clever dialogue. For example, Foyle’s driver, Samantha Stewart, has a voracious appetite. Her struggles with rationing are a bit of a running gag throughout the series. During one show, a group of youngsters collect scrap in an effort to win a contest. The kids come to the police station a couple of times to pick up items, but Foyle repeatedly forgets to bring stuff in to work. He comments that the children are going to accuse him of being a “fifth columnist.”

In front of Foyle's House

Although a police procedural, the show is anything but dry. Each episode intertwines a crime, a home front issue, and personal situations of the characters, and I was disappointed when the show ceased production.

In March 2015, I was visited Hastings. It was very exciting to follow in DCI Foyle’s footsteps.

 

Mystery Monday: Who is F. Wills Croft?

Mystery Monday: Who is F. Wills Croft?

Thanks again to The Passing Tramp for introducing me to yet another author from the “Golden Age of Detective Fiction.” Though largely forgotten in the shadows of Agatha Christie, Raymond Chandler, and Dashiell Hammett, F. Wills Croft was a prolific and well-known author during his years of publication (1920 to 1957).

Freeman Wills Croft was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1879. His father passed away before he was born, and his mother married a vicar. Raised in religious home, he attended Methodist College and Campbell College. Croft was apprenticed to his uncle as an engineer in the railway system. He was quite good at his trade. By the time he left the trade to write full time, he was an Assistant Chief Engineer and had been involved in several high profile projects.

His career influenced his writing. In fact many of his stories contain a railway theme, and his focus on the apparently unbreakable alibi often centered around the intricacies of railway timetables. According to Mike Grost, Croft was a founder of the “Realist School” of detective fiction. Today those books are called police procedurals.

Crofts most famous character, who appeared in many of his books, is Inspector Joseph French. The antithesis of Dorothy Sayers’s Lord Peter Wimsey and Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, French is a middle class police officer who is serious about his job. A family man, he has a wife and two children. In a nod to Croft’s religious upbringing, French neither drinks nor smokes.

Who is your favorite author of detective fiction from “The Golden Age?”

Mystery Monday: From This Moment

Book Review: From This Moment

"From this Moment"

Today’s Mystery Monday book is From This Moment, Elizabeth Camden’s latest release. Written about the 19^th Century, it is a departure from the books I usually discuss. I was so touched by the story and characters, I wanted to share it with you.

Stella West is an accomplished artist who takes London by storm. When her sister dies under suspicious circumstances, Stella rushes back to Boston to solve the mystery. Romulus White publishes the world-famous magazine, Scientific World. The well-connected, “most eligible bachelor” rubs elbows with Boston’s elite. He’s just the sort of person who can open doors for Stella as she investigates her sister’s death.

Author Elizabeth Camden

I have read all of Elizabeth Camden’s books, and by far, this is my favorite. Meticulously researched, the story blends fact with fiction during Boston’s project to install a subway system beneath their streets. I feel in love with Stella and Romulus immediately. Stella is highly intelligent, articulate, strong-willed, and a bit overbearing, but because she is so grief-stricken her behavior is understandable. Romulus is a charming mixture of fashion guru, roguishness, and insecurities. He’s the perfect foil for Stella. As always when I read one of Ms. Camden’s books, I was disappointed with it ended, and her characters have stayed with me long after I turned the last page. A must read.

Mystery Monday: Who is E.R Punshon?

As if I don’t have enough TBR (to be read) books on my nightstand, I continue to search for authors I’ve not heard of from the 1930s and 1940s. Thanks (again) to The Passing Tramp, I have discovered E.R Punshon.

A British literary critic, playwright and novelist, Punshon also wrote under the pseudonym Robertson Halket. He published a series of crime and deduction stories (perhaps called police procedurals today) that featured Inspector Carter, Sergeant Bell, and Constable Bobby Owen, who eventually rose to the rank of Commander at Scotland Yard. Owen was Oxford educated and reminiscent of the “gentlemen sleuths” found in writers like Agatha Christie and Margery Alligham.

Punshon’s ability to construct intricate plots has been compared to that of John Dickson Carr, considered one of the greatest of the “Golden Age” mystery writers, and author of the Dr. Fell and Sir Henry Merrivale series. In addition to well-written plots, Punshon also studied character in his novels-the motives behind crimes and what drives a seemingly normal person to commit them.

It is challenging to find books from the less popular writers of this era. Even if you find them, they are often cost prohibitive. The good news is that Dean Street Press has reprinted many detective stories from the lesser known authors, including E.R. Punshon. If you’re looking for a intriguing, well-constructed stories, give one of Punshon’s classics a try.

Mystery Monday: A Master of Humdrum Mystery

Mystery Monday: Cecil John Charles Street

I continue to look for detective and crime novels written in the 1930s and 1940s. I have stumbled on a wonderful blog called The Passting Tramp that focuses on mystery writers from that era, discovering that there are more authors from that time period than Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett.

My most recent find is Cecil John Charles Street. Born in 1884 on Gibraltar where his father was serving, Street followed his father’s footsteps and went into the military. He served in WWI and the Irish War of Independence, and ultimately mustered out as a Major. Married twice, he had one daughter with his first wife. He was awarded the military cross as well as the OBE (Order of the British Empire) – some say it was for the prolific number of books he wrote.

He published an estimated 140 novels under six pseudonyms. (I cannot imagine! It’s all I can do to produce a full manuscript in 8-9 months!) Under the name John Rhode, he wrote a series of more than fifty books featuring forensic scientist Dr. Priestly. A second long series (more than 40 books) was written under the name of Miles Burton.

Street was often referred to as one of the Masters of Humdrum Mystery, a derogatory term coined by critic and author Julian Symons. (However, perhaps Street has the last laugh as his books are highly collectable, and commanding significant prices.) His claim to fame is his ingenious ways of “bumping off” the victims in his stories. Who knew there were that many ways to kill someone?

Mystery Monday: Trixie Belden and The Mystery of the Memorial Day Fire

Mystery Monday: Trixie Belden

The Trixie Belden books were written between 1948 and 1986. Initially authored by Julie Campbell Tatham, the series was ghost written by at least eight other people under the name Kathryn Kenney after Tatham gave up writing. There is much debate over who the ghost writers were, and most folks feel this mystery will remain unsolved.

Julie Campbell Tatham was a literary agent who proposed the Belden series when Western Publishing put out the call for authors who could produce children’s mystery and adventure stories. She had already authored numerous magazine stories and articles. In addition to the Belden books, she wrote the Cherry Ames (nurse) and Vickie Barr (stewardess) series.

Published in 1984, The Mystery of the Memorial Day Fire is the thirty-fifth book in the series, which had a total of thirty-nine books. Trixie and her friends search for an arsonist who sets fire to a local store and warehouse during the annual Memorial Day parade. A fun aspect of the book is the characters’ trip to the library to use “The Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature.” Remember those?

Consider a trip down Memory Lane this Memorial Day and pick up a copy of your favorite children’s book.

Mystery Monday: Phoebe Atwood Taylor

Mystery Monday: Phoebe Atwood Taylor

Always on the lookout for mystery authors from the 1930s and 1940s, I recently stumbled on Phoebe Atwood Taylor. A native of Boston, most of her books are set on Cape Cod. Her first novel The Cape Cod Mystery, features Asey Mayo, who has been nicknamed “Codfish Sherlock.” The book sold over 5,000 copies – a significant number for back then. Twenty four novels made up the Mayo series, and she wrote an additional nine books under the pseudonyms Freeman Dana and Alice Tilton.

Taylor’s books are cozies and include a strong comedic thread. Critic Dilys Winn said, “Mrs. Taylor is the mystery equivalent to Buster Keaton.” Of her Witherall novels, he said, “These books don’t make all that much sense, but they go a long way in proving that making sense is immaterial-a guffaw is more vital. Tilton books are so busy, so complicated, so Marx Brothers…that makes them sound as if they might have a plot, doesn’t it? Bad assumption. They drift from incident to incident with the style of the crash ‘em cars at a carnival.”

Despite the success of her books, there are some reports that indicate she was constantly short of money during the Depression. However, her husband was a surgeon and they owned two homes. Perhaps they were “house poor.”

In one interview, Mrs. Taylor indicated that she wrote between the hours of midnight and three A.M. after “housekeeping all day.” Her books written during the 1930s don’t mention the Depression, but her characters are impacted by financial difficulties. In her novels produced during WWII, her characters deal with rationing, blackouts, first aid training, military maneuvers, and fifth columnists.

Published in 1951, Diplomatic Corpse was Mrs. Taylor’s final book. She passed away from a heart attack in 1976.

Mystery Monday: Anne Perry

While looking for an author to showcase on Mystery Monday, I decided to research Anne Perry. Several of my friends and colleagues are avid fans of her novels, but I have not yet read her work.  I often check the bio of authors prior to reading their books. I enjoy learning about their backgrounds and the inspiration for their stories.

Ms. Perry has written two series. One is set in the 1850s and features William Monk with Hester Latterly, a Crimean nurse, as his sidekick. The second series is set in the 1880s-1890s, and features Thomas Pitt and his partner Charlotte.

After a little bit of digging, I discovered Anne Perry was born Juliet Marion Hulme, and she had changed her name after being released from prison at the age of 21. She served a five year prison term for her part in murdering her best friend’s mother. The two girls were very close, and were going to be separated because Juliet’s (Anne) family was going to relocate out of the area.

Was the murder an overreaction by two teenaged girls?

Anne was interviewed in 2003 after her identity was revealed by a journalist, and a movie was produced about her case. Her response to the question as to how she could commit murder? “I had been pushed to the limit. Three days before the incident, my parents announced they were going to divorce, and my father had lost his job…the shock was cataclysmic.” Anne asks, “Why can’t I be judged for who I am now, not what I was then?”

The themes in her books are primarily repentance and forgiveness. Not unusual considering her history. What seems unusual to me is that she writes about murder, the very subject she’d like expunged from her background.

Mystery Monday: German Post-War Fiction

German Post-War Fiction

With the writing of my novella Love’s Harvest I have done a tremendous amount of research into Germany, the ethnic Germans of the Volga and Sudentenland regions, and ex-pat/exiled Germans. The research which has introduced me to several German-language authors, and has added to my To Be Read stack of books.

Some of the more well-known German and German speaking writers are Thomas Mann, Hermann Hesse, and Hans Werner Richter. Heinrich Theodor Boll was an important post-WWII, German writer who most Americans are probably unfamiliar with. Winner of the 1972 Nobel Prize for Literature, Boll came from a pacifist, anti-Nazi family. Conscripted into the Wehrmacht, the author was captured by the Americans in 1945 and sent to a POW camp.

A more recently discovered German writer is Andrea Maria Schenkel. Her debut novel, The Murder Farm was published in 2006 in Germany. Picked up by Hachette, the English version was released in 2014. The book is not a traditional mystery in any sense of the word. A fictionalization of an unsolved murder case that happened in Bavaria in 1922, the book has no detective or formal investigation. Instead, the author weaves together eye-witness accounts, third-person narratives, and incomplete case files. It is up to the reader to determine who killed the victims. Ms. Schenkel has since published several more novels, some of which have been translated into English.

Americans can be an isolated people. We have everything we need and have no need to look beyond our borders. It has been an interesting journey for me to reach out into the literary field of another country.

Have you read any translated fiction or non-fiction books? If not, you might want to consider it.

Mystery Monday: The Disappearance of the L-8's Crew

Mystery Monday: The Disappearance of the L-8's Crew

When the U.S. entered WWII, the Navy took over the operation of Goodyear’s five commercial blimps to use them in patrolling for submarines and delivering goods. They were also equipped with two 350 pound bombs.

Blimps (or air ships) are nothing more than inflated bags. The East coast base for these unusual flight craft was located in Lakehurst, NJ (the site of the Hindenburg crash), and the West coast base was located on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. With one exception, the blimps were used successfully throughout the war; most notably in conjunction with Doolittle’s Raiders.

At 6:03 AM on August 16, 1942, the L-8 lifted off from Treasure Island with a two man crew.

Normally, flights use three men, but at the last minute the mechanic was ordered to stand down because the craft was too heavy having been coated in moisture from the day’s cool fog. By all accounts, pilot Lt. Ernest DeWitt Cody, and co-pilot Ensign Charles E. Adams were both highly skilled flying airships, so the flight should have gone off without a hitch.

Unfortunately that is not the case.

When the blimp crashed onto the golf court on Belleview Avenue in Daly City shortly before noon, both men were missing, and the door to the gondola was latched open. The Navy conducted an extensive search followed by an inquest that raised more questions than answers.

• The radio was in working order and set to the proper frequency at the time of the crash. If the men were in trouble why didn’t they call for help?
• The engines were also operating at the time of the crash. The men could have made it back to Treasure Island.
• Weather was shown not to be a factor, and evidence indicated the blimp had not come in contact with the ocean.
• There was plenty of weight, including fuel, which could have been jettisoned if there was a problem.
• The briefcase containing the codes was still locked in place. Procedures called for the men to dump the case into the ocean if they were in trouble.
• Two of the five water-activated smoke bombs were missing. Had the men found a submarine they somehow fell prey to?
• The door was latched open, but this could only be done from the outside and certainly not while flying.

The Navy’s final determination was that the men had simply fallen out of the gondola. They were listed as missing, and a year later declared dead.

My heart goes out to the men’s wives who never learned what really happened to their husbands.

Mystery Monday: Meet Clyde B. Clason

Although less well known than S.S. Van Dine, Dashiell Hammett, or Raymond Chandler, Clyde B. Clason published ten books between 1936 and 1941. An advertising copy writer and editor, Clason was born in Denver, Colorado in 1903. Little is known of his personal life. In fact, every reference I found provided the exact same information word-for-word.

Those of you looking to read about unusual protagonist might enjoy any or all of Clason’s novels. They feature amateur sleuth Theocritus Lucius Westborough, an elderly scholar of the Roman Empire. Westborough is cultured, highly educated, and has an extensive knowledge of art. In each book, Westborough assists the police, stereo-typed as good natured, honest, and a bit “bumbly.” The stories themselves contain intricate plots, most of which are locked-room mysteries. Most of the crimes take place in high-end, museum-like homes which are described in great detail.

In his article comparing Clason to Van Dine, blogger Mike Grost postulates that “Clason, like Van Dine and many other writers of his school, was sympathetic to racial minorities, and his books contain protests against racism. In both writer, the anti-racist theme is linked to a respectful, knowledgeable treatment of world art, with equal admiration being given to art created by all races.”

A reminder that novelists have an opportunity to edify and influence their readers through well-crafted, entertaining story-telling.

What authors have you read who weave social causes into their writing?

Mystery Monday: Vera Caspary and Laura

The 1944 movie “Laura” was based on the book by the same name authored by Vera Caspary. The movie was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 1999. It was named one of the ten best mystery films of all time by the American Film Institute, and Roger Ebert included it in his “Great Movies” series.

However, according to Wikipedia, Vera didn’t consider herself a "real" mystery writer. She began her career as a copy editor in an advertising agency then eventually moved into journalism then playwriting.

 An article in The New Yorker claims that the writing of “Laura” was a kind of accident, done for money. The writer indicates Caspary did not like murder mysteries herself, and she saw in them a structural flaw. “The murderer, the most interesting character,” Caspary wrote, “has always to be on the periphery of action lest he give away the secret that can be revealed only in the final pages.” If she was going to write one, she decided she needed to do it differently.

And different it is.

Detective Mark McPherson investigates the murder of Madison Avenue advertising executive Laura Hunt in her fashionable apartment. The detective reads her diaries and letters, and interviews her friends, eventually becoming obsessed with the Laura. When she returns from a trip, the police realize the victim is one of the advertising agency models. This casts suspicion on Laura who denies any knowledge of the murder.

The film was nominated for five Academy awards, and won for “Best Black and White Cinematography.”

Vera continued to write publishing nearly twenty novels after “Laura.” A fascinating aside about Vera’s writing surrounds the claim she made in her memoir that she rewrote and resold the exact plot of her story Thicker than Water eight times over her career. Who says formulaic writing doesn’t work?