Fri 26 Apr 2013
A Review by Doug Greene: JONATHAN STAGGE – The Yellow Taxi.
Posted by Steve under Reviews[4] Comments
JONATHAN STAGGE – The Yellow Taxi. Popular Library 63, no date (ca. 1945). Originally published by Doubleday Crime Club, hardcover, 1942.
I have commented previously in these pages about the works of the authors [Richard Webb and Hugh Wheeler] who used the pseudonyms Q. Patrick, Patrick Quentin and Jonathan Stagge. The Yellow Taxi, I believe, is their best book. For one thing, rather than picking a rather obvious least-likely suspect (as Webb and Wheeler often did, especially in the Patrick Quentin books), in The Yellow Taxi they distribute suspicion evenly among a number of possible miscreants. For another, the plot is bizarre, elaborate and yet beautifully dovetailed.
A terrified young woman approaches Dr. Westlake, the narrator and detective of the Stagge books, with a story about being hounded in a small New England community by a yellow New York taxicab. Westlake is inclined to pooh-pooh the story until he himself sees the taxi. (Webb and Wheeler are much more successful than certain creators of horror films in making an automobile an object of terror.) When the woman is killed falling off a horse, Westlake’s daughter, Dawn, finds evidence of murder. The eventual discovery of the role of the taxi only deepens the mystery.
Moreover, Stagge may be playing with jaded experts in detective fiction, for he introduces identical twins and we assume (or at least I did) that confusion of identity is involved. It’s not, and the final solution is convincing and well-clued.
April 26th, 2013 at 8:55 pm
I have heard form others that this book and THE SCARLET CIRCLE are the two best of the Westlake series. Sadly, THE YELLOW TAXI is one of those Holy Grail items among mystery book collectors. Today is the first time I have ever seen a photo of the paperback! Looks like its also a Christmas mystery based on the illustration. Bit of a bonus there.
April 27th, 2013 at 12:05 am
I hadn’t realized that YELLOW TAXI was so scarce until I started looking for a cover image. I found one copy for sale on abebooks.com, a copy without a dust jacket, I think, in the $50 range. If I sound fuzzy about this, it’s because the copy I found two hours ago is no longer to be found. Maybe Doug’s review sold that book? Anyone want to say?
I reviewed a Stagge book quite a while ago on this blog. It was DEATH, MY DARLING DAUGHTERS, from 1945. Here’s the link:
https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=574
At the end of the review is a list of all the Stagge books. I’ve never read TAXI but Doug’s review makes me think I should have. I also think that some wise reprint publisher should get the Stagge books back into print again, even DAUGHTERS, which I see I gave one thumb up, but couldn’t manage two. If you read the review itself, though, if you’re a fan of Golden Age Detection, you’ll discover that you could do a whole lot worse.
April 27th, 2013 at 8:18 am
I never read them but I did sell a couple of those beautiful old Popular Library editions, which I wish I had collected.
April 27th, 2013 at 2:19 pm
I love most of the Stagge books, and The Yellow Taxi is one of the best. The Scarlet Circle is probably a little better, though. I managed to find a really nice copy of Taxi online for (I think) less than than thirty dollars, so they’re out there if you’re patient, but I really wish they’d republish them. An omnibus edition would be nice.