It is not quite the end of December when I write this so I
can slip in one last Mike Shayne review. Wanting to test my
memory that the Shayne novels that take place out of Miami
were better, I picked up a copy of MURDER WEARS A MUMMER'S
MASK (aka IN A DEADLY VEIN) from 1943. The locale is
Colorado, specifically an old mining town that is now going
for tourist dollars by renovating an old theater and holding
a play festival. The plot is an odd mix of crusty old
prospectors and backstage theater. Dresser takes much more
care with this western location than he normally did with the
Miami background. Born and raised in Texas, several of
Dresser's best non-Shayne stories were based in the west. I
always felt Dresser did not know that much about Miami. The
story is also helped by the absence of the stock figure Miami
friends and foes of Shayne. It was also the last appearance
of the wife Phyllis. Not a moment too soon given one exchange
in MUMMER:
"Do you have to brawl, Michael--and
on our vacation?" Phyllis wailed.
"Couldn't you ever, just once, solve a case with your brains
instead of your fists?"
Shayne regarded her intently, then
said in a sour tone, "I'll always wonder whether that guy
would have come clean if I had kicked him in the face. That's
your doing, Phyl."
I think the honeymoon was over for this couple.
Richard Moore
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