Sun 8 Apr 2012
Reviewed by William F. Deeck: R. L. GOLDMAN – Death Plays Solitaire.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[8] Comments
William F. Deeck
R. L. GOLDMAN – Death Plays Solitaire. Coward-McCann, hardcover, 1939. Green Dragon #10, digest-sized paperback, no date stated [1944], condensed.
While it will not endear me to the doubtless many fans of Asaph Clume and Rufus Reed, “impulsive redheaded reporter,” I must confess I am glad I read the “condensed” version of this novel since its tediousness is staggering even in the abbreviated version.
For example: “I’m supposed to be a political commentator, and I do a daily column, ‘Round-Up,’ which I sign ‘Rufus Reed’ because that’s my name.”
A former police reporter, Reed has been assigned by Clume, his boss, to cover the execution of Dan Hillyard for murder during a bank robbery from which the money has never been recovered. On his last night Hillyard gives the deck of cards with which he has been playing solitaire to his wife.
In turn, she gives the cards to Hillyard’s lawyer, who is murdered shortly afterwards. He, too, had been playing solitaire, something he had never done before, and the deck of cards has been taken by the murderer. Other deaths follow, and Reed himself faces torture and death. As Reed does the leg work, Clume does the thinking, such as it is.
Not well written even for the times, a very thin plot, an evident but clueless murderer. Still, one waits, not breathlessly, to read The Snatch, in which, according to Green Dragon, “A slipping male movie idol is the victim-and there are more than enough suspects with motives. Irrepressible Rufus Reed, red-haired reporter figures out whodunit just in time for a smashing, surprise ending that’ll leave you worrying about ethics for quite a while.”
The Asaph Clume & Rufus Reed series —
The Murder of Harvey Blake. Skeffington, 1931.
Murder Without Motive. Coward, 1938.
Death Plays Solitaire. Coward, 1939.
The Snatch. Coward, 1940.
Murder Behind the Mike. Coward, 1942.
The Purple Shells. Ziff-Davis, 1947.
Editorial Comment: R. L. Goldman also wrote three non-series mysteries not included in the list above. Some biographical information about him can be found in the Ziff-Davis “Fingerprint Mystery” checklist compiled by Victor Berch, Bill Pronzini and myself.
April 8th, 2012 at 2:01 am
Ordinarily I would suggest that the full, non-abridged hardcover edition might be the optimal one to read. In this case, though, and I am trusting Bill’s judgment on this 100%, if the condensed version was “tedious,” I can’t see any way the longer one could be less so.
April 8th, 2012 at 6:25 am
A red-head alone doth not a mystery make.
The Doc
April 8th, 2012 at 10:48 am
Unless the red-head was Michael Shayne.
Or female?
April 8th, 2012 at 12:44 pm
The line sited as tedious actually possess fine comedic timing, especially the punch line “because that’s my name.”
Whether the intent was comedic or not I guess I would have to read the book (the unedited version).
April 8th, 2012 at 2:28 pm
It’s all context. I have come across many old reviews of mine that I haven’t posted here because of quotes I made at the time that have lost their zing and no longer make the point I thought they were making.
Or even worse, I can’t see exactly what point I was trying to make.
I saw the attempt at humor in that line Bill quoted, or lightheartedness at least, but I felt it forced and overdone, whereas you did not. Who’s right? Both of us, probably.
That’s what’s so funny about humor!
April 9th, 2012 at 1:03 pm
This is another book I bought only because of its nifty DJ. My copy is the UK version from Boardman. You can see the DJ artwork here.
A lot of these “tedious” mystery writers seemed to be picked up by the small indie digest publishers like Black Knight, Black Cat and Green Dragon. Rarely do any of those digest paperbacks prove to be worthwhile reading — unless you like the “alternative classic” aspect of them. But in Goldman’s case it seems he doesn’t even have that “gift.”
April 9th, 2012 at 3:04 pm
That cover is eye-catching, indeed. As the caption says, the artist was Denis Mcloughlin, who did a lot of covers for Boardman’s “Bloodhound” series, making them quite collectible.
I don’t suppose that Green Dragon, Black Cat and the other digest-sized publishers paid a lot of money for reprint rights, which means they started at the lower portion of the barrel to begin with. They supplied their editions with colorful covers of their own, though, such as this one, making them collectible as well, as long as you know what to expect (or not) when you start to read one. With exceptions, of course!
Bill Deeck was quite the fan of “alternative classics,” but it’s obvious he didn’t consider this one of the exceptions. Given my discussion of the book with Michael earlier, I may give this one a try, but so far it hasn’t reached more than to “I’m thinking about it” stage.
April 9th, 2012 at 4:21 pm
It must mean something that two of his books were only published in the UK. The TV Boardman edition of Death Plays Solitaire is very easy to find, even in dust wrapper, not because it sold a lot of copies but rather because it was remaindered in Woolworths