Tue 2 Dec 2008
Reviewed by Walter Albert: WALTER SATTERTHWAIT – Dead Horse; RAOUL WHITFIELD.
Posted by Steve under Authors , Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Crime Fiction IV , Pulp Fiction , Reviews1 Comment
WALTER SATTERTHWAIT – Dead Horse. Denis McMillan Publications, hardcover, 2006.
Sattherwait’s novel speculates on the private relationship of [pulp author] Raoul Whitfield and his socialite wife, Mrs. Emily Davies Vanderbilt Thayer Whitfield, who was found dead of a gunshot wound in 1935, a death that was never explained to anyone’s satisfaction.
Satterthwait’s extensive research only serves to strengthen the plausibility of his depiction of the doomed marriage and ill-matched couple, and the terse, finely honed prose is a fitting tribute to a mystery writer of uncommon stylistic gifts.
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Bibliographic data: RAOUL WHITFIELD. Expanded from Crime Fiction IV, by Allen J. Hubin. Criminous novels and collections only:
WHITFIELD, RAOUL (Falconia). 1896-1945; pseudonym: Temple Field.
* Green Ice. Knopf, 1930; No Exit Press, UK, 1988. Hardcover reprint: Grosset & Dunlap, early 1930s. Reprinted in 3 Star Omnibus: Trent’s Last Case, Green Ice, The Middle Temple Murder, Knopf, 1936. Later hardcover reprint: Gregg Press, 1980. Also published as: The Green Ice Murders. Avon Murder Mystery Monthly #46, pb, 1947. Later paperback reprints: Avon PN373, 1971; Quill, 1986.
* Death in a Bowl. Knopf, 1931; No Exit Press, UK, 1988. Paperback reprints: Avon PN337, 1970; Quill, 1986.
* The Virgin Kills. Knopf, 1932; No Exit Press, UK, 1988. Paperback reprint: Quill, 1986.
* Jo Gar’s Casebook. Crippen & Landru, hc, 2002. Story collection. RD = Originally published as by Ramon Decolta:
Death in the Pasig [RD] Black Mask, Mar 1930
Red Hemp [RD] Black Mask, Apr 1930
Signals of Storm [RD] Black Mask, Jun 1930
Enough Rope [RD] Black Mask, Jul 1930
The Caleso Murders [RD] Black Mask, Dec 1930
Silence House [RD] Black Mask, Jan 1931
Shooting Gallery [RD] Black Mask, Oct 1931
The Javanese Mask, [RD] Black Mask, Dec 1931
The Black Sampan [RD] Black Mask, Jun 1932
The Siamese Cat [RD] Black Mask, Apr 1932
The China Man [RD] Black Mask, Mar 1932
Climbing Death [RD] Black Mask, Jul 1932
The Magician Murder [RD] Black Mask, Nov 1932
The Man from Shanghai [RD] Black Mask, Apr 1933
The Amber Fan [RD] Black Mask, Jul 1933
The Mystery of the Fan-Backed Chair. Cosmopolitan, Feb 1935
The Great Black. Cosmopolitan, Aug 1937
FIELD, TEMPLE. Pseudonym of Raoul F. Whitfield, 1896-1945.
* Five. Farrar & Rinehart, 1931.
* Killer’s Carnival. Farrar & Rinehart, 1932.
May 28th, 2011 at 8:46 pm
DEAD HORSE is a very well written piece of fiction based on actual events surrounding the suicide/murder of Raoul Whitfield’s second wife. The narrative is compelling. I finished the book in two days and was very impressed by Walter Satterthwait. The research into the life and times of the Whitfield’s, Lois Bell, and others makes the book that much more fascinating. Cannot help wondering why more wasn’t done at the time of Emily Whitfield’s death. She must have had influential friends that could bring pressure on authorities. It sounded like the local papers were not buying the “suicide” angle. Still and all, this novel is a must read.