Mon 2 Dec 2013
Reviewed by William F. Deeck: ROBERT GEORGE DEAN – On Ice.
Posted by Steve under Authors , Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[4] Comments
William F. Deeck
ROBERT GEORGE DEAN – On Ice. Charles Scribner’s Sons, hardcover, 1942. Superior Reprint M654, paperback, 1945.
Bill Griffith, private eye, had been tailing a man who had some diamonds to sell for a refugee. Now he is tailing the same man, who is picking up the money for the diamonds. Unfortunately, the man with the money is found sitting at his desk with no money and no life, his throat having been slit.
Fearing that he might be suspected of involvement in the murder, since he is broke and is working for an almost bankrupt agency, Griffith asks his friend and former co-worker at the Imperator Schmidt Agency, Tony Hunter — one of Robert George Dean’s continuing characters — to he!p him out of this jam.
A great deal happens in a short time. Hunter’s dog thinks she is going to have puppies; the dead man’s fiancee, for whom everyone is searching for various reasons, turns out to have predeceased her betrothed, and by the same murder method; the refugee who owns the diamonds acts strangely, and Hunter finds various females attractive.
The detection here is good, the clues fair, the characters fairly interesting. I thought I knew who did it, but I was wrong. Not a great or a memorable mystery, but one that ought not be passed up if you fortuitously come across it at a reasonable price.
The Tony Hunter series —
Murder Makes a Merry Widow (n.) Doubleday 1938.
A Murder of Convenience (n.) Doubleday 1938.
A Murder by Marriage (n.) Scribner 1940.
Murder Through the Looking Glass (n.) Doubleday 1940.
Murder in Mink (n.) Scribner 1941.
Layoff (n.) Scribner 1942.
On Ice (n.) Scribner 1942.
The Body Was Quite Cold (n.) Dutton 1951.
The Case of Joshua Locke (n.) Dutton 1951.
Affair at Lover’s Leap (n.) Doubleday 1953.
Author Robert George Dean also wrote four mysteries under his own name featuring series character Pat Thompson, about whom I know nothing, and one stand-alone. As “George Griswold” he wrote four early 1950s espionage novels (I believe) with a mysterious Mr. Groode appearing or mentioned in all four, but the leading characters (with two appearances each) in reality being Jim Furlong and William Pepper.
December 2nd, 2013 at 11:57 pm
It’s way to early to be sure about this, but I’m wondering if a recurrent theme for reviews by others on this blog this month might be “series that I’d like to read but I haven’t yet.”
So far, two out of two.
December 3rd, 2013 at 12:22 am
I’m in the same boat, knew the name, but little about him or his books. There are so many good writers that you just don’t find enough on to know if you should try them or not, especially if they are semi obscure or fell into that mid level slot that kept so many good and bad mystery writers going into the seventies. But then that’s why reviews like these are so important.
Often I’d rather read a review of a book like this I learn something from than a review of a more familiar book — unless someone have something new to say about it, or presents it in a way that might attract new readers.
October 11th, 2019 at 10:39 am
The “Pat” Thompson novels are about Paul Andrew Thompson (he gets his nickname from the first initials) who is an insurance investigator. His Watson of sorts is his girlfriend Susan Barton, a newspaper reporter. I think they get married at some point in the short series. I’ll have a reveiw up on my blog later today about his first novel THE SUTTON PLACE MURDERS which introduces “Pat” Thompson and Susan. It was a fast paced, intricately plotted mystery novel that I enjoyed. Looking forward to reading more of Dean.
October 11th, 2019 at 6:45 pm
Thanks for the heads up about your Dean review, John, and the info about Pat Thompson. I never did follow up on him myself, so I’m glad you did.
For everyone who may be interested, here’s the link to John’s review:
https://prettysinister.blogspot.com/2019/10/ffb-sutton-place-murders-robert-george.html