Tue 12 Dec 2017
FRANCES CRANE – The Golden Box. Pat Abbott & Jean Holly #2. J. B. Lippincott, hardcover, 1942. Popular Library #80, paperback, no date stated, circa 1946. Rue Morgue Press, softcover, 2005.
This second of a series of 26 crime-solving adventures of husband-and-wife (to be) takes place in Jean Holly’s home town of Elm Hill, Illinois, not in New Mexico, where she has been living ever since her parents died. She is single, but at the age of 26, she is starting to wonder how she will manage the rest of her life as an old maid. Her future husband, a private detective named Patrick Abbott, is in the picture, though, and part of the fun of this book is in watching how their somewhat bumpy romance is progressing.
But from Jean’s point of view only. Pat Abbott is one of those strong, quiet kind of men, and getting him to say more than a couple of words about the case at a time, for example, is a bit of a struggle. What he thinks about Jean is another matter altogether — there we have no idea — but that he is in Illinois where Jean’s Aunt Sue is recovering from a short illness should tell you something.
Dead is the rich old lady who runs just about everything in terms of Elm Hill society matters, and she is pretty much disliked for that very same same reason. Domineering, you might say. Her death might have been passed off as natural if it weren’t for the followup death of the black maid who found her body — in her case a suicide that that doesn’t look like one, not to the trained eye of an expert like Pat Abbott.
The opening chapter is a bit of mess, with characters being introduced willy-nilly without very much of an introduction, and the ending is cluttered and confused. In between, though, the hometown sleuthing is fun to watch and goes down smoothly — there are lots of suspects!
While there is one good clue as to the killer’s identity, Pat Abbott otherwise keeps all his cards too close to his chest (see above). The motive for the killing is discovered, for example, only by sending a telegram off to his secretary back in his office for her most timely assistance.
December 13th, 2017 at 7:40 am
I’ve never read one (and I’m unlikely to at this late date), but I did want to say how much I liked those old Popular Library editions.
December 13th, 2017 at 1:11 pm
Back in the 70s when I first started selling mystery paperbacks by mail, the Pat & Jean Abbott books always sold immediately whenever I listed one. They were very popular. Popular Library published quite a few of them, and back then, they weren’t too difficult to find. I used to buy them from one used bookstore in particular for 20 cents each, and sell them for $1.50 and up. That was big money at the time.
December 13th, 2017 at 4:43 pm
As for the cover art on the Popular Library books, the first 150 or so were done in the style of this one, relatively subdued and artistic. Eventually the covers transitioned over to the pulp style, brash and bold and often sexy, no matter what was in the book itself.
December 13th, 2017 at 5:26 pm
While they weren’t in a class with the Norths, the Troys, the Durrell’s. or the Blakes, the color coded adventures of the Abbots were generally pleasant reads (more than can be said of the DuBois McNeils) and decent mid level mystery series entries.
There was a short lived radio series too if memory serves.
December 13th, 2017 at 7:43 pm
The Yellow Violet (1942) has some good stuff in it.
I was less taken by the first book in the series, The Turquoise Shop (1941).
It’s a long series and I’ve only begun to explore it.
The Golden Box sounds fun.
December 13th, 2017 at 7:46 pm
I know the Lockridges’ Mr & Mrs North.
And Jeff and Haila Troy by Kelley Roos.
And the McNeills by Theodora Du Bois.
But I’m not connecting to “the Durrell’s. or the Blakes”
Please, who are they?
Maybe I’ve read them and am just not getting their full names.
December 13th, 2017 at 8:07 pm
Richard Powell wrote a short detective series starring a married couple named Arab and Andy Blake
The Durrells I’m drawing a blank on myself. It may be an autocorrect error or a detective duo I’d like to know more about too.
David?
December 13th, 2017 at 9:37 pm
Sorry, typo, on the Duluth’s. Hazard of hunt and peck on a Kindle. There was also the Marshal’s from James Fox and while I can’t think of their name James O’Hanlon’s husband and wife team.
It was quite a fad after Nick and Nora and Pam and Jerry.
December 13th, 2017 at 11:06 pm
The O’Hanlon couple was Jason and Pat Cordry. One of their outings was given a write up in Bill Pronzini’s GUN IN CHEEK. Not the best way to be remembered, perhaps, but it may have been better than never having been published at all.
Or maybe I should take that back. Here’s what else I just found. From the NEW YORK TIMES. Anyone remember this one?
OVER MY DEAD BODY; screen play by Edward James; from a novel by James O’Hanlon; directed by Malcolm St. Clair; produced by Walter Morosco for Twentieth Century-Fox.
Jason Cordry . . . . . Milton Berle
Patricia Cordry . . . . . Mary Beth Hughes
December 14th, 2017 at 2:08 am
And, oh yes, the Duluths. They’re obvious, now, I think. It’s quite a jump from Durrell to Duluth, and if you hadn’t been able to reply right away, I probably would have been up all night trying to work it out, and I don’t think I ever would.
December 18th, 2017 at 4:41 pm
There were three radio series based on The Abbotts.
ABBOTTS MYSTERY was a radio series on Mutual radio starting in 1945-47 and ran summers only. Charles Webster and Julie Stevens were the Abbotts in 1945 and 47. In 1946 the Abbotts were played by Les Tremayne and Alice Reinheart.
NBC resumed the series under the title ADVENTURES OF THE ABBOTTS on the day I was born October 3, 1954 and it would last until June 12, 1955. Claudia Morgan, who played radio’s Nora Charles, played Jean while Don Briggs, Les Damon and Mandel Kramer played Pat Abbott.
IT’S A CRIME MR COLLINS began on Mutual August 9, 1956 and lasted until February 28 1957. Mandel Kramer played Greg Collins and Gail Collins played Gail Collins.
What makes the Collins so interesting is they are copies of the Abbotts. The Mutual Collins reused the scripts from the NBC Abbotts. Check it out
ADVENTURES OF THE ABBOTTS (NBC, 6/5/55) The Murder of the Fabulous Redhead
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJJtTGiy6gg
IT’S A CRIME, MR, COLLINS (MUTUAL, 8/19/57) The Murder of the Fabulous Redhead
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9XA_AUvyms
December 18th, 2017 at 6:05 pm
Great information, Michael. Thanks! I absolutely did not know about the connection between the Abbotts and the Collinses. Very interesting indeed.