Wed 13 May 2015
Reviewed by William F. Deeck: FLETCHER FLORA – Skuldoggery
Posted by Steve under Reviews[4] Comments
William F. Deeck
FLETCHER FLORA – Skuldoggery. Belmont B50-738, paperback original, 1967.
The Hunter family is gathered together to pay their last disrespects to Grandfather Hunter, who, if he was anything like the rest of his family, need not be mourned.
Grandfather Hunter’s daughter and her brood — Hester and Lester, the twins — and his son, Uncle Homer, with his wife, Aunt Madge, and their unlovable son Junior are at the funeral primarily so that they can hear the will read. They are all, to put it mildly, distraught to discover that grandfather has left his money in trust to his dog, Senorita Fogarty, a chihuahua, and to her issue and her issue’s issue into perpetuity. The famil y gets the money only if Senorita Fogarty and her offspring, if any, shuffle of this mortal coil.
Well, of course the only thing to do is to plot the demise of Senorita Fogarty before she finds out what sex is all about. Fortunately for Senorita Fogarty and the reader, the family members are not particularly bright, besides being unpleasant, so their machinations lead to a lot of good, clean fun, except when Mrs. Crumley, one of the dog’s guardians, apparently eats poisoned oatmeal intended for the dog and dies.
A pleasant way to while away an hour, or may be a little less, depending on how fast you read.
May 13th, 2015 at 9:45 pm
This is a book that I’ve had a copy of since almost forever, and I have never been more than briefly tempted to read it, if at all. Now perhaps I will never need to do so, but then again, I should never say never.
Since on the other hand:
Bill does make it sound more entertaining than I ever thought it could be. I’ve never read anything by Flora (there’s that word again). This might be the one to start with.
May 14th, 2015 at 3:08 pm
SKULDOGGERY is well worth reading, Steve. An amusing and very well crafted novel. My review in 1001 MIDNIGHTS is even more favorable than Bill’s, and also mentions some of Flora’s other crime novels. He was quite an accomplished writer of short stories in the 50s and 60s as well, incidentally.
May 14th, 2015 at 4:12 pm
Ah, I missed seeing that, Bill. That review will be my next post. Thanks for reminding me!
May 15th, 2015 at 8:48 am
I have a copy of many of Fletcher Flora’s novels. But they’re buried in my Read Real Soon stack.