Tue 17 May 2011
Reviewed by William F. Deeck: LESLIE ALLEN – Murder in the Rough.
Posted by Steve under Authors , Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Reviews[2] Comments
William F. Deeck
LESLIE ALLEN [HORACE BROWN] – Murder in the Rough. Five Star Mystery #45, paperback original, digest-sized, 1946.
In Napoleon B. (which may stand for “Buttercup,” but probably doesn’t) Smith’s only case, he apparently kills a slightly dotty old lady during a golf game when one of his drives, as is the fate of most of them, hooks into what is known as Hell’s Half Acre. Only sometime later does Smith conclude that he was not really responsible and that a murderer was on the course that day.
A sort of active and crass Nero Wolfe, Smith is a former policeman who uses his weight and bad manners as aids in his investigations. However, he also employs brains, which are not puny, and a literary background that is unexpected. Leslie Allen, Smith’s Watson [or Archie], reluctantly takes care of the dogsbody work.
It is to be hoped that Leslie Allen the character and alleged writer is a better stylist than Leslie Allen the author. Still, the creation of Smith is something of an accomplishment.
Bibliographic Data: Under his own name Horace Brown was the author of two other crime novels included in the Revised Crime Fiction IV, by Allen J. Hubin:
BROWN, HORACE. 1908-??
Whispering City. Streamline, 1947.
The Penthouse Killings. Newsstand Library #17A, 1950; reprinted as The Corpse Was a Blonde, Boardman, UK, 1950.
Whispering City was a novelization of the Canadian film of the same name starring Paul Lukas, Mary Anderson and Helmut Dantine. It was released in the US as Crime City (1947).
May 20th, 2011 at 3:04 am
Coincidence #52 (it seems like that many): I just read two interesting posts about Canadian Brown from a Canadian writer. According to Brian Busby’s blog “The Dusty Bookcase” THE CORPSE WAS A BLONDE is a different book altogether. Read up on it for yourself.
May 20th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
John
This is absolutely amazing. I often wonder how useful reprinting a review of a book and author as obscure as this one actually is.
By following the link you provided I discovered that someone had posted a review of the same book, MURDER IN THE ROUGH, on the very same day:
http://canadianfly-by-night.blogspot.com/2011/05/canadian-authors-part-iv-horace-brown.html
As coincidences go, you’d have to go a long way before you’d beat this one!
And you’re right about PENTHOUSE KILLINGS and CORPSE WAS A BLONDE being two separate books. I’ve passed the word along to Al Hubin.
Thanks!