SUSPENSE “Fire Burn, and Cauldron Bubble.” CBS Radio, April 6, 1943. Number 36 of 945 episodes. Writer: John Dickson Carr.

   One of the favorite programs of  old time radio fans is most certainly the famous Suspense series, which was also probably one or the longest running as well, It was on CBS radio more or less continuously from July 17, 1942, until the final episode, broadcast on September 30, 1962. For most of the early years, up until 1948, the man· who was both producer and director was William Spier, who certainly did his best to live up to the program’s motto of always withholding the final solution “until the last possible moment.”

   During the first two or three years’ run, many of the scripts were written by none other than John Dickson Carr, doubtlessly the most famous practitioner of the Locked Room Mystery, with more than 70 published novels to his credit. Most of them contain some form of impossible puzzle challenge to the reader, and if I’m a fair sample, most of his millions of readers usually failed the test.

   My own personal favorite or the Carr/Suspense collaborations was first heard on April 6, 1943, and is entitled “Fire Burn, and Cauldron Bubble”, The star was. (then) famous movie actor Paul Lukas, who played a professional magician responsible for the special effects in putting on a performance of Shakespeare’s Macbeth (e.g. Banquo’s ghost) in London’s famed Drury Lane Theatre.

   During the first act a former actress is killed in a theater box guarded by two loyal servants, in full view of 3000 unsuspecting people. No shot from a silenced revolver from  across the theater, no dagger thrown from a neighboring box. She died of a stab wound through the right eye, and there’s no sign of the weapon anywhere.

   Some clues; She’s too vain to wear glasses. The box underneath was paid tor, but it  remained unoccupied. And a man sneaked in and out of an aisle seat on the ground floor during the performance ·

   Besides the drama of the crime and its solution, what makes this particular program most memorable to me, at least, is that in the background the play is going on at the same time: the screeching of the witches and the loud, rumbling claps of thunder, always at the  most appropriate moment.

   Unfortunately, there is one question that just might remain in your mind even after the murderer’s identity is discovered. Why on earth was such a far-fetched method of killing the lady required? Don’t ask.

JONATHAN GASH – Firefly Gadroon. Lovejoy #6. St. Martin’s, US, hardcover, 1984. Penguin, US, paperback, 1985. Published previously by Collins, UK, 1982.

   Jonathan Gash’s Lovejoy series is one you will either adore or viscerally dislike.

   Lovejoy is immersed in the world he loves — that of antiques, legitimate or fake. (His own run heavily to the latter.) For Lovejoy, antiques are everything — well, nearly everything. His secondary passion is women. Readers who share Lovejoy’s first fascination will be rewarded with descriptions of, for example, hammering a reverse silver gadroon (oval fluting) or identifying Shibayama knife handles.

   In auction scenes, Gash takes his fans into the English village world of off-the-wall bids, “miffs,” “nerks,” “groats,” those who “pong” or “do a beano,” and the “cackhanded,” “narked,” or “sussed.”

   Lovejoy is charming and not above bending the law or the truth in the pursuit of a true antique. The romantic escapades and amours of this sprightly rogue are a delight. But for readers with no interest in or prior knowledge of antiques, the unexplained trade slang and the unabating discussion of old treasures can be overwhelming and tedious.

    Firefly Gadroon is the sixth in the series. Lovejoy’s trouble begins — as it often does — when he spots a luscious woman with beautiful legs at an auction. The object of his admiration “frogs” (gets) a small Japanese box he’s had his eye on, and not only will she not sell it to him, she doesn’t even appear to know its value.

   Why, then, does she insist on keeping it? That question leads Lovejoy into encounters with killers, police, international smugglers, and, of course, still more beautiful women. Lovejoy is at his roguish best in this adventure, and the background is as colorful as ever.

   The first Lovejoy novel, The Judas Pair (1977), involves a hunt for a lost pair of sinister dueling pistols. In The Vatican Rip (1982), the dealer undertakes the tricky task of stealing a Chippendale table from the Vatican. And in Pear\hanger (1985), Lovejoy tries his hand at locating a missing person — and ends up suspected of murder.

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   Reprinted with permission from 1001 Midnights, edited by Bill Pronzini & Marcia Muller and published by The Battered Silicon Dispatch Box, 2007.   Copyright © 1986, 2007 by the Pronzini-Muller Family Trust.

KENNETH BULMER – The Star Venturers. Ace Double 22600; 1st printing, 1969. Published back-to-back with The Fall of the Dream Machine, by Dean R. Koontz [reviewed here]. Cover art by John Schoenherr.

   Thrown together by fate, Jarrett, Todd and Sue hunt for the abductor of a missing prince. Jarrett is forced on the venture by a two-bit princess. Todd becomes his friend and follows along, and Sue is the daughter of another adventurer who has not been heard from since being sent out on the same task as Jarrett.

   Probably the dullest story of galactic adventure I have read in some time. Kiddie stuff for adults. And since the girl’s father has not yet been found by story’s end, there’s gonna be more, unhappy day.

Rating: *

   
PostScript: Assuming I was correct in my assessment of this book, the good news is that there was not a sequel to it. At least, I don’t think so.

DEAN R. KOONTZ – The Fall of the Dream Machine. Ace Double 22600, paperback original; 1st printing, 1969. Published back-to-back with The Star Venturers, by Kenneth Bulmer (a review of which to be posted soon). Cover art by Jack Gaughan. Never reprinted in English.

   McLuhan’s theories are made real in a future where Show dominates, a few actors and actresses acting out their emotions for an audience who can feel them through electric wizardry. The domination of Show extends beyond mere communication, however, since the economy of the country is already under Show’s power, and it is not difficult to see that complete political control is next.

   This revolution of media, Show having taken over the function of television, which has disappeared, along with books and movies, is spawning another revolution, one dedicated to bringing back the past. Is that possible? The books ends with the victors watching a movie made by 20th Century Fox, symbolizing their attempt to do so. It may be possible.

   Revolution is often bloody, as Koontz vividly reminds us, and I have no quarrel with the violence what happens. The emphasis shocks, and one does not like it, but it may have to be this way. And in a participatory government, where the leaders actually lead, the idea occurs that violence which is then officially sanctioned is by golly going to be required.

   I am not personally convinced that the disappearance of books, in particular, is going to take place that fast, without more of a struggle, or indeed that this world Koontz envisions could actually exist. The problem with direct communication of thoughts and emotions in drama is that science fiction, with its concepts of the as-yet impossible, could not exist. And such ideas and concepts die hard.

   Naturally, I am a romanticist, as are the story’s new revolutionaries. See page 31: “… collecting old books which he could not read, old movies which he could nut view…” And romanticists will delight in this book.

   Mike’s doubts of his love (page 43) are effective; his search for the revolutionaries motives (page 47) is not. Show has existed for 200 years, and yet only now is Director Cockley’s power growing so dangerous. Nit. I did not read this very fast. Ideas were being awakened right and left.

Rating: ****½

ANDREW GARVE – The Lester Affair. Harper & Row, US, hardcover, 1974. Published previously by Collins,UK, hardcover, 1974.

   Among Garve’s other interests is a keen one in boating and the sea, and this is one of his best novels dealing with that theme. James Lester, Britain’s Progressive party candidate, seems well on his way to becoming prime minister when a strange thing happens: A young woman, Shirley Holt, claims that she and Jim Lester met during a holiday; that they bathed nude together on a deserted beach; that she went aboard his boat to spend the night; and that during the night they had a sexual relationship.

   Well, all right, such things happen. And apparently no harm has been done. After all, at the time, and presently, Lester was single-a widower actually. But (and here comes the intriguing Garve puzzle) Lester himself not only denies that such a thing ever happened, he denies even knowing the woman.

   Needless to say, claims and counterclaims take over the election headlines. Why. Lester supporters wonder, would Jim tum his back on this woman? She is able to supply a very convincing account of that night, including details she seemingly would not have known otherwise, and the topaz ring she claims she lost on the boat is recovered from one of its drains. Still, Lester sticks to his story, and begins to lose his lead in the election polls.

   This complex mystery is told from a number of points of view of people investigating the incident. And, as is often the case with Garve’s stories, interest is sustained throughout without a single death or even the threat of death. The resolution is sure to surprise and satisfy the reader.

   Garve also displays his knowledge of the sea to good effect in The Megstone Plot (1957) and A Hero for Leanda (1959). Other equally fine adventures are The Cuckoo Line Affair (1953), which concerns a son’s fight to clear his father of a shameful accusation; Boomerang (1970), which is set in Australia; and The Case of Robert Quarry ( 1972), an excellent depiction of the eternal triangle.

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   Reprinted with permission from 1001 Midnights, edited by Bill Pronzini & Marcia Muller and published by The Battered Silicon Dispatch Box, 2007.   Copyright © 1986, 2007 by the Pronzini-Muller Family Trust.

ROADBLOCK. RKO Radio Pictures, 1951. Charles McGraw, Joan Dixon, Lowell Gilmore, Louis Jean Heydt, Milburn Stone. Story by Richard Landau and Daniel Mainwaring (as Geoffrey Homes). Co-screenwriter: Steve Fisher. Director: Harold Daniels.

   A hard-nosed insurance investigator falls hard for a girl, the kind of girl who wants nothing but money out of life, hardly the kind of money an insurance investigator makes, and he decides to do something about it.

   And he makes a mess of it,  especially after the girl decides it is really he she wants, not the fur coats. Joan Dixon does not seem to have had much of a Hollywood career, and I can’t see why. Her dark seductive eyes are very nearly in the Gail Russell class.

WILLIAM IRISH – Dilemma of the Dead Lady. Graphic Book #20; paperback, 1950.

   While nowhere the masterpieces that the back cover claims that these particular stories are, the work of Irish/Woolrich are always exciting. Looking back on them, the details don’t always fit, but the people are real, in almost real situations that are made to seem real, situations the world seems to be collapsing inward. Could it happen to you?

Overall rating: ***

“Dilemma of the Dead Lady.” A cheap crook with no conscience has to murder his girl friend before he can leave France and then has the body to deal with. Fate [that follows] says that he will die for a murder that could have been avoided, committed to cover up the first, which probably would not have been revealed. (3)

“The Lie.” The by-now classic story of a son taking the blame for a murder he believes his father has committed. The clues do not point to him, however, and [unfortunately] those pointing to his innocent father are never explained. (2)

“The Dog with the Wooden Leg.” A story of a man and his dog already has a lot going for it, but if he unknowingly is made the go-between in a narcotics racket, then you really have a story, The only flaw is the complicated business of their doing away with him once he is captured by the gang. (4)

“The Blue Ribbon.” The history of a fighter, from boyhood to championship, then the fall from glory to comeback. The fake supernatural ending destroys the mood. (3)

“Subway.” An exciting chase through a subway train, but occurring only at the expense of the guard’s intelligence. (2)

Rating: ***

RORY CALHOUN – The Man from Padera. Major Books, paperback, 1978. Novelization of the film The Domino Kid (1957)

   Years ago, Bill Crider gave me The Man from Padera by Rory Calhoun, and it’s interesting to compare Calhoun’s writing to Errol Flynn’s [follow the link]: just as virile, a bit more violent, but not nearly so graceful.

   This is adapted from a story Calhoun wrote for a movie he starred in back in ’57. And why he waited twenty-one years to novelize it is anyone’s guess. It’s a pretty standard thing, probably a bit old-fashioned by ’78 but still fun and quite violent, with a vengeful rancher out to get the owlhoots what killed his family.

   No surprises, but I never felt like putting it down, either.

ANDREW GARVE – The Ashes of Loda. Harper & Row, US, hardcover, 1965. Publisher earlier by Collins Crime Club, UK, hardcover, 1965. Popular Library, US, paperback, 1966. Perennial Library, US, paperback, 1978

   Andrew Garve (a pseudonym of Paul Winterton) has produced some forty well-crafted novels of suspense. In addition to their consistent high quality, what is notable about them is their diversity, both of setting and type. Garve writes adventure, espionage, detection, and even romance with equal facility.

   His stories are set in such far-flung locales as the English countryside, Australia, Africa, France, and Ireland. His heroes are often policemen or quite ordinary men who rise to meet unusual circumstances with unusual fortitude, and often his villainous characters are so finely developed as lo win the sympathy of his readers. Garve’s readers can count on a good adventure with a tantalizing central puzzle that will keep them reading until all is resolved.

   The puzzle in The Ashes of Loda involves the past — specifically the war record — of a Polish chemist, Dr. Stefan Raczinski. Was he, as he claims, merely a survivor of the German concentration camp at Loda, or was he guilty of war crimes in that camp? The question threatens to tear apart the relationship of the two people who care most about him: his daughter, Marya, and her fiance, Lord Timothy Quainton.

   Tim, a newspaperman normally stationed in Moscow, meets Marya while on leave in London. During their courtship he discovers an old newspaper article condemning Dr. Raczinski in absentia for war crimes. Marya adamantly ref uses to believe this, but there is enough doubt in Tim’s mind to make him launch an investigation when he returns to Russia. It is an investigation that will leave him cut off from all official help-and eventually marked for death in the middle of a Russian winter.

   Garve is well acquainted with Russia and her people, since he was a foreign correspondent for the London News Chronicle in Moscow from 1942 to 1945. He puts this. knowledge to good use in this exciting story, particularly in the sequence in which Tim finds himself stranded in the countryside, trying to escape the police, foraging for the essentials, and trying to survive the deadly winter weather.

   Garve’s other novels that make use of his knowledge of Russia include Murder Through the Looking Glass (1952), The Ascent of D-13, and the The Late Bill Smith (1971).

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   Reprinted with permission from 1001 Midnights, edited by Bill Pronzini & Marcia Muller and published by The Battered Silicon Dispatch Box, 2007.   Copyright © 1986, 2007 by the Pronzini-Muller Family Trust.

WILLIAM CAMPBELL GAULT – County Kill. PI Brock (the Rock) Callahan #6. Simon & Schuster, hardcover, 1962. Charter, paperback, 1988.

   PI Brock (the Rock) Callahan’s client in this case is a small boy whose father has disappeared and (unknown to him) is suspected of murdering his partner in crime. What the crime is, nobody is saying, and the San Valdesto city police seem to be overly involved.

   Note the title. San Valdesto is a town split between millionaires on one side, and poverty row on the other. Everyone is very money conscious, and it interferes with the investigation. Callahan has the right instincts, however, and eventually they pay off.