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New York
1935 and young cub reporter Morgan DeWitt works for the New
York World's top writer the urbane Alexander Brass. When a
mysterious fat man demands to see his boss one day and shows
them an envelope full of pornographic photos, the pair think
they are going to get a juicy story. What they actually get
is a murder; or rather more than one as the people in the
pictures are all too important to be compromised…
I wasn't around during the 1930s but based on my own reading
and viewing I would say that Kurland has it down pretty accurately.
In his introduction he describes the type of period fiction
he enjoyed reading and brings this enthusiasm to his writing.
This is the 30s of all those wonderful old films where the
Depression has people down but not out, a world of gumshoes
and dames, nightclubs and Broadway shows. One war is not far
behind and another lurks ahead, German immigrants fleeing
the Nazis and distrusting the police form part of the plot.
The story is narrated by DeWitt, a wide-eyed country boy enjoying
the big city and thrilled to be working for such an impressive
man. There is a distinct Holmes and Watson feel about this,
although only in this respect. For me the plot itself is entertaining
enough as the pair race around trying to stop the killer but
I thought the best part of it all was the writer's evocation
of a decade. I eagerly await the next in the series.
2nd in
series: The
Girls In the High-Heeled Shoes
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