I had high hopes for this Edgar Award winner, but I found it rather run-of-the-mill and reminiscent of Raymond Chandler, but less skillfully done. The protagonist, Murphy Kirk, is a New York City private detective, but not the usual broke PI. He owns a large agency and has a large staff and obviously lots of money at his disposal. Unfortunately, I thought he exhibited little personality while chasing down clues and women.

Sometimes I attempt to make myself step outside my usual fare and try a genre that I know will only appeal to me if the book is exceptionally written. By picking an Edgar winner, I thought it was increasing my chances, but the truth is detective fiction just isn’t my forte and I wished I had spent the afternoon with the kind of fiction I cannot get enough of.
( )

Another private eye story, but with a refreshing twist -- this one is quite successful. No sleazy office with a bottle of drugstore rye in the drawer for him! Engaged to clear the name of a policeman suspected of corruption, the protagonist (just as in Room to Swing, but with a difference) learns as much about himself as he does about the mystery. Ellin was a master crime writer and this is an excellent book. It's also enjoyable for its portrait of NYC in the fifties.The private eye subgenre is not my favorite, but I enjoyed this one -- Stanley Ellin really was a master craftsman. I enjoyed having a private eye who wasn't operating out of a seedy third-floor back office, but instead had a prospering agency with
many employees. The plot was twisty enough for any reasonable person (I was surprised, anyway) and the flavor of the setting, New York in the
1950s, was well-conveyed, even to the point of having Dylan Thomas make a cameo appearance under a thinly-disguised alias. Even the minor
characters were exceptionally well-drawn. This book certainly was deserving of the honor. ( )

I only heard about Stanley Ellin when I read the 100 Best Crime & Mystery Books and he had 2 listed. This is not one of them, but I am very impressed with the depth of Ellin's writing and his characters. They constantly surprised me with insights into their own lives and motives. And this could be considered just a mystery novel, but what a novel! Without giving much of the plot away, Murray Kirk is an investigator who runs his own agency, one which he inherited from the former owner by being a good employee and in sympathy with him. All the earmarks of a film noir type of story are there, but it is told with the psychological insight that keeps the reader interested. I wish I had more of Stanley Ellin's books, but I will keep an eye out for them, they are worth reading. ( )

Klassischer amerikanischer Krimi der alten Schule, knurriger Privatdetektiv, schöne Frau, und ein durchaus interessanter Fall von Korruption bei der Polizei von New York. ( )