A REVIEW BY JIM McCAHERY:
   

GWEN BRISTOW & BRUCE MANNING – The Gutenberg Murders. Mystery League, hardcover, 1931.

BRISTOW MANNING The Invisible Host

   Superior in every respect to its predecessor, this second Bristow-Manning novel introduces reporter Wade of New Orleans’ Morning Creole, D. A. Don Farrell of Orleans Parish, and Captain Murphy of Homicide.

   It all starts with the theft of a nine-leaf fragment of the Gutenberg Bible, stolen along with other rare books from the safe of the Sheldon Memorial Library. There are three victims burned alive (Wade almost becomes a fourth) and all possible suspects have airtight alibis, thus presenting a series of impossible crimes.

   All the major characters are presented by page twenty-two and include old Dr. Prentiss, head librarian and discoverer of the Gutenberg fragment; his handsome assistant Quentin Ulman and secretary Luke Dancy; his arch-rival Alfredo Gonzales, head trustee of the library; Alfredo’s wife Winifred and niece, medical student Marie Castillo; and sculptor Terry Sheldon, nephew of the library’s founder.

   While there is little physical action, characterization is much improved since The Invisible Host [reviewed here ], with some nice touches of humor to boot.

   Style and dialogue are both first rate, and the story moves along very nicely with fine narrative and descriptive writing. While I can’t personally vouch for the credibility of the murder method used in all the deaths, it’s certainly a humdinger. Sorry I can’t say any more on this score.

   Add a Chinese costume ball and pageant, shades of Euripides, and an old will codicil to round out the intrigue.

   The Mannings did only two more books after this (both in 1932 and for the Mystery League), Two and Two make Twenty-Two and The Mardi Gras Murders. Mr. Manning has since died [in 1965] and Mrs. Manning has become a highly popular novelist of historical romances under her maiden name.

— Reprinted from The Poisoned Pen, Vol. 2, No. 6, Nov-Dec 1979.


Editorial Comment:   Gwen Bristow Manning died in 1980, a year after this review was written. A list of the non-criminous novels she wrote on her own can be found on the Fantastic Fiction website.