Most genre fiction owes its existence, at least in part, to personal or significant events from the author’s life or knowledge of something that has been. Some are subtle uses of historic events, other very personal. Some, I am persuaded, are actually unconscious. Here, the kidnapping of the infant son of a WWII flying ace with an international reputation instantly brings to mind the tragedy of the 1932 disappearance of the son of flying ambassador Charles Lindberg.
The parallels between that tragic case and the execution of Bruno Hauptman, the convicted kidnapper and killer, are many, but the novel is not a retelling of the entire story. Indeed there are a host of additional characters, a different location—the novel is set in Denver—and motivations for the several crimes that are peripheral to the reality.
Former WWII ace Christian Marquand reaches out to a Marine pilot he knew in the South Pacific during the Second World War. Harry Thorpe is now a struggling private detective, mostly working domestic cases and barely scraping by, partly due to heavy drinking. He becomes more interesting when it develops he also plays bass fiddle in a local blues and jazz band, although that interesting element is never fully developed. Marquand, an arrogant talented wealthy man explains to Harry that he’s getting a series of nasty and threatening letters. He wants Harry to find the sender and stop the letters. He offers an inordinate amount of money as a fee, something that should have been a first-line clue to Harry. It isn’t and that’s a clue that Harry Thorpe is not a first-class detective. He’s actually more of an alcoholic than an investigator.
There are several scenes in local bars and clubs as well as some occasional dissertations into Thorpe’s philosophy of life. That view is often skewed by the women who distract him, especially after he encounters and falls in lust with the sister-in-law of the real ruler of this tale, impatient imperious Christian Marquand.
The story spins along in a mostly satisfactory way, there are however a surprising number of factual and grammatic errors which cry out for a good line editor. The errors are small details which do not damage the principal narrative. They are, however, distractions which should be corrected. In spite of the distractions the story does wind to a tidy and satisfying conclusion.
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