Fri 25 Mar 2011
Reviewed by Bill Crider: MARVIN KAYE – My Brother, the Druggist.
Posted by Steve under Reviews[6] Comments
MARVIN KAYE – My Brother, the Druggist. Doubleday Crime Club, hardcover, 1979. Trade paperback reprint: Wildside Press, 2011.
Marty Gold, druggist, travels to Washington, D.C., to attend a convention of jazz enthusiasts and record collectors. He’s accompanied by his large “actor” friend, Bill Finney, and tagging along for the ride is Mase O’Dwyer, a thirteen year old amateur magician who’s going to attend a magic convention.
Nearly everything Marty tries to do is wrong, and the detective is more a hindrance than a help. Before things are set right, Marty is so guilty that he’s barely visible.
If you can put up with the guilt, and with the insufferable Bill Finney’s insistence on speaking his own version of Elizabethan English (it’s all right to like Shakespeare, but to address people as “Sirrah” is too much), you’ll run into several nicely arranged surprises, a brief but entertaining look at record collecting, a credible solution to Mase’s disappearance, some funny lines, and other good things.
Editorial Comments: There was one earlier book in this series, My Son, the Druggist, Doubleday Crime Club, hc, 1977, but no later ones.
As Bill related in this earlier post, as a judge for the first “Nero” Award, My Brother, the Druggist was one of three books he considered as runners-up to his first choice, Lawrence Block’s The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling.
March 26th, 2011 at 2:05 am
Sounds like something I’ll like.
Fortunately there are circulating copies at the downtown main branch of the L.A. Public Library.
I’ve already put holds tonight on both MY SON. THE DRUGGIST and MY BROTHER, THE DRUGGIST.
This is just another example of why this is my favorite site on the internet: citations of intriguing items previously unknown to me.
🙂
March 26th, 2011 at 5:47 am
Kaye was best known as an anthologist and for the two fantasy books he wrote with Parke Godwin. His better known series ran several books and featured Hilary Quayle who was in public relations.
Most of his books were notably whimsical.
The last I knew he edited the H.P. Lovecraft Magazine — but I don’t even know if it is still around.
Based on this review and the wholly unattractive cover I think I’ll skip it, but I could be missing out — somehow though that “Sirrah” business tells me I’m not.
His fantasy novels were quite good though, and he was a capable and knowledgeable anthologist.
March 26th, 2011 at 8:47 am
David’s use of “was” seems to imply that Kaye is dead, but as far as I know he is still alive. At least I haven’t seen any notice to the contrary.
Is he, do you know?
March 26th, 2011 at 11:18 am
Marvin Kaye was born in 1938. There’s nothing on his website to suggest he’s no longer with us:
http://www.marvinkaye.com/
March 26th, 2011 at 11:29 am
Rick
I love reprinting old reviews such as this one of Bill’s, not to mention those by Bill Deeck, Barry Gardner and every one else, including my own. I find them fascinating, and it’s good to know that I’m not the only one. Thanks!
I don’t imagine that Marvin Kaye has been mentioned on a mystery blog in quite a while, and I think it’s about time.
— Steve
March 26th, 2011 at 7:43 pm
I used ‘was’ because I no longer see his name on every other anthology in the book store and he doesn’t seem to be active as a writer anymore. I did not mean to suggest he was dead. I did ask if he was still editing the Lovecraft magazine, and while it would be suitable for that magazine to have a dead editor it would still be unlikely.
He was a damn good anthologist in the fantasy and horror genres — I would not want to be rid of him this soon.