Jeremy LORD

Rating: 4.25* of five

The Book Report: English Colonel goes to small Southern California town of La Jolla for some R&R; walks into nest of murderous jewel-thieves; solves crime with aplomb, despite the help of San Diego police detective who assisted Colonel in solving a crime in England some time before. Wacky Hollywood screenwriting duo, one a tall dipsomaniac and the other a short enabler, do their dead-level best to solve it before the English interloper can. They fail, though amusingly. All set in, oh, somewhere like 1938 or 1939...pre-war, for sure.

My Review: *contented sigh* Classic-era puzzle mystery with comedic noir overtones. Thoroughly delightful, witty dialogue among a cast of stock characters that will either appeal or annoy instantly: Wise, urbane English sleuth; beautiful, doomed jewel thief's moll; smooth, urbane jewel thief/drug dealer; bored, thrill-seeking, well-married actress; bumbling police detective too happy to have outside help; yadda yadda yadda. I like 'em. If you don't, this isn't the book for you. It's very, very out of print, but copies are available from ABEBooks and Amazon for a few bucks because it was a Crime Club selection in 1940...there were tens of thousands printed.

This is a sequel to The Bannerman Case, which I haven't read. I enjoyed this one, so I think I'll try to get a copy of the first case and see if Colonel Creevy, who is our hero, wears well. It was a lot of fun to read this elderly book, but now I want more. Problem is, I don't think there were but two, and that's just wrong!… (mer)