I just reread this, the first Mike Shayne novel, for the
first time in over twenty years. I was surprised by how much
I remembered of it -- and how much I didn't.
For example, I didn't recall that Shayne cooked so much, or
that Dresser spent so much time describing food and clothing.
To tie this in with another thread, I thought for a second
that I was reading a Spenser novel! One of the best scenes in
the book is a cooking scene, however. While being
interrogated in his apartment by police detectives, Shayne
calmly slices bread with a butcher knife which just happens
to be the murder weapon the cops are looking for. (This isn't
a spoiler. The reader is in on the joke, so to speak.) I also
didn't recall the lesbian incest angle to the plot, which
probably didn't turn up too often in mysteries published in
1939.
The book opens with Shayne meeting Phyllis Brighton for the
first time. To be honest I never liked Phyllis all that much,
though she becomes a better character in later books. I
started reading Shaynes later in the series, after the
introduction of Lucy Hamilton, and so I always preferred Lucy
to Phyllis. In this book Phyllis is pretty ditsy, while Lucy
was usually quite competent.
The plot is typically convoluted and takes a few ludicrous
twists, but even having read the book before Shayne was still
ahead of me on figuring things out. Most of it hinges on a
couple of gimmicks that have been done to death
(to tie in with yet another thread).
But having said all that, I still enjoyed the hell out of the
book. Shayne is a great character and Dresser keeps things
percolating along. The writing in places is even a little
poetic. I remember most of the other early books being
better. I'm going to have to reread them now and check my
memory.
Best, James
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