Tue 7 Jun 2016
William F. Deeck
Q. PATRICK – S. S. Murder. Farrar & Rinehart, hardcover, 1933. Popular Library #23, paperback, no date stated (1944).
Another recuperative holiday here: After having her appendix removed, Mary Llewellyn, journalist, is taking a cruise on the S. S. Moderna — a luxury liner, according to the publishers; not so luxurious, according to Llewellyn — bound for Rio.
Soon Llewellyn begins to think of the ship as the S. S. Murder since during a relatively blameless game of bridge a seemingly harmless businessman is given strychnine in a drink and dies. Shortly thereafter someone tosses another passenger from the ship during a storm.
Llewellyn’s presence in the card room at the time of the death is helpful to the investigation. As one who occasionally fills in for the bridge columnist of her paper, she transcribes two hands that lead to revealing the identity of the murderer, a Mr. Robinson who appears to have been aboard the ship only for that card game since he cannot be found after a thorough search. Yet he shows up again, this time seeking Llewellyn’s journal, which seems to contain another clue damaging to him. I have my doubts about this clue, as interpreted by a Cockney detective who is on the ship to foil card sharps.
The novel is one of the rare documentary types, in the form of letters from Llewellyn to her betrothed. Thus the style is somewhat gushy. But nothing, let me hasten to add, likely to bring a blush to the cheek of a delicately nurtured male. Good characters, good crimes, though the second is rather theatrical, and fairish play.
Bibliographic Notes: In this case the Q. Patrick byline was the pseudonymous collaboration of Richard Wilson Webb and Mary Louise Aswell. The only other novel by this pair-up was The Grindle Nightmare (Hartney, 1935). See also Comment #1.
[UPDATE.] I first posted this review last Friday, but today I noticed that I’d omitted the last paragraph, tucked neatly away on a following page. Here now, at long last, is Bill’s review in its entirety.
June 3rd, 2016 at 9:00 pm
Curt Evans does his best to uncomplicate the tangle of names behind the Q. Patrick, Patrick Quentin and Jonathan Stagge bylines on his blog, and a very good effort it is, indeed:
http://thepassingtramp.blogspot.com/2012/09/social-death-death-for-dear-clara-1937.html
June 3rd, 2016 at 11:29 pm
Things got much better Q Patrick wise when Hugh Wheeler signed on it seems.
Bridge mysteries are an oddity I never quite managed to get attuned to though a game even plays an important role in a James Bond novel (MOONRAKER). There’s even a movie, not a mystery, with I think Paul Lucas and Loretta Young as a couple of pro bridge players.
Horatio Hornblower always played before going into action, but at least C.S. Forester never went into the actual hands.
Nevertheless this one has a pedigree that makes it more than worth looking up.
June 4th, 2016 at 5:26 am
The new Crippen & Landru collection, THE PUZZLES OF PETER DULUTH by Patrick Quentin, also covers the Webb-Wheeler collaboration and the various names behind that and Q. Patrick and Jonathan Stagge.
June 4th, 2016 at 3:09 pm
Looking at the various scrambled lists of books Patrick / Quentin / Stagge wrote, I think most of the ones I’ve read have been the Patrick Quentin-Peter Duluth’s, which I’ve enjoyed. I’m pretty sure I know where my paperback copy of this one is. Now I’m curious. I’ll go see if it’s really there, and if so, maybe you’ll read about it here soon.
June 5th, 2016 at 11:22 am
Bad news. Even though the cover of paperback edition is very familiar, I don’t seem to have a copy. Either that, or I can’t find it, which is exactly the same thing.