Death Wears Pink Shoes: Robert James

From the book's dust jacket:

The tenants of 17 Crane Street were a highly combustible lot, and when they came together fireworks usually resulted. A lively display was set off one particular night when Mrs. Gladys O'Leary gave a party with her whining daughter and her handsome, dissolute son. The guests included old Mr. Potterwait; pianist Herman Blode, who brought two girl friends; fat detective Fred Miller with his querulous wife; and Sally, the girl from the basement apartment. who attended mostly out of politeness. They played a game of writing down the names of animals which their fellow residents resembled, and one of the entries was odd. It read 'something dead.' 

Later that night Potterwait was found in his shabby apartment, a bullet through his forehead, and pink ballet slippers wedged awkwardly on his feet.

The paragraphs above do a very good job of describing the set up for this book and giving an overview of the characters. After the murder, two new characters enter the story. Keith Sherman is Mr. Potterwait's nephew, and is the one who discovers the dead body. He had gotten a late-night call from his uncle asking him to come over immediately, and rushed to his apartment to see what the problem was. Inspector Cherney is the investigator who spends a lot of time at the apartment house, talking to the residents and trying to figure out who is most likely to have killed Lawson Potterwait.

This is an interesting and entertaining book in so many ways. I never had a clue who the killer was. Many of the residents were eccentric or antagonistic or unpleasant, but did not seem to be criminally inclined, so it was fun trying to figure out who might be capable of murder. (And just look at that skeleton on the cover!!!)

This story reminded me a lot of a George Bagby book I read in January 2016, Blood Will Tell. In both novels, the setting is New York City. In Blood Will Tell, the death occurs in a swanky apartment building, complete with doorman and well-to-do residents; in this one, the apartment building is on a lower economic level. But it wasn't just the settings that were similar; it was also the focus on the various tenants, their relationships and backgrounds. The two books were published in 1950 and 1952 respectively, both as Crime Club Books.

The author, Iris Little Heitner, who wrote under the pseudonym Robert James, is the sister of Constance and Gwyneth Little, who wrote mysteries in the 30's, 40's and 50's under the pseudonym, Conyth Little. Iris only wrote one other mystery that I am aware of, Board Stiff. I have a copy of that book on order.

Thanks to Moira at Clothes in Books for sending me this book, which she reviewed here. She knows I love any book with a skeleton on the cover, and this one is especially nice. Notice that the sheet that the skeleton wears is decorated with pink Crime Club logos. The book is available in an e-book edition.

 -----------------------------

Publisher:   Doubleday, 1952.
Length:       191 pages
Format:      Hardcover
Setting:      New York City
Genre:        Mystery
Source:      A gift.

Reading in November 2017

In November I read nine books; only six of them were crime fiction. In the non-crime related group, we have:

The 13 Clocks (1950) by James Thurber

This book is sort of a fairy tale, but not really. I don't think it was written for children specifically but I am sure that it has been read to many children. I am also sure I will be reading this again a couple of times before I try to write about it.

The best way to introduce this book is with a quote from the beginning paragraph:

Once upon a time, in a gloomy castle on a lonely hill, where there were thirteen clocks that wouldn't go, there lived a cold, aggressive Duke, and his niece, the Princess Saralinda. She was warm in every wind and weather, but he was always cold. His hands were as cold as his smile and almost as cold as his heart.

I am grateful to Joan at Planet Joan for sending me her copy of this book after she read it.

Northanger Abbey (1818) by Jane Austen

This was my fourth book by Jane Austen this year, which I read as a part of the Jane Austen Read All A-Long at James Reads Books. My thoughts on the book are HERE.


Doomsday Book (1992)  by Connie Willis

The first novel in the Oxford Time Travel series. I have been wanting to read this book for a while and was determined to read it before I get to Black Out and All Clear by the same author. Now that I have read this book, I will read To Say Nothing of the Dog before the other two books.

The events are set at Christmas; thus I read it in preparation for the Christmas season. I loved it.




And these are the crime fiction books I read in November, which spanned the years from 1944 to 2017.

A Patient Fury (2017) by Sarah Ward

This is the third DC Childs mystery, written by Sarah Ward.  The series is set in the Derbyshire Peak District where the author lives. I have been a fan of the series since it started and this book did not disappoint. One of my favorite reads this year. My thoughts are HERE.

Death Wears Pink Shoes (1952) by Robert James

This book is difficult to describe and I hope to do better in a later post. The events center around a motley group of tenants at No. 17 Crane Street in New York. The story and the way it is told reminds me of the Inspector Schmidt books by George Bagby. It was a very fun read.

Moira at Clothes in Books generously sent this book to me, since she knows my love for books with skeletons on the cover.

Banking on Death (1961) by Emma Lathen

This is the first in a series starring John Putnam Thatcher, senior vice president of Sloan Guaranty Trust. I have been rereading books from this series of 24 books and have enjoyed each one. This one is covered in my most recent post.

Feast of Murder (1992) by Jane Haddam

The cover of this book says this is a Gregor Demarkian Holiday Mystery. The story is set around Thanksgiving and involves a holiday cruise on a replica of the Mayflower. Later the series (now 29 books long) moves away from the holiday themes and takes on darker topics. I enjoyed this book, another reread. My thoughts on this book and the series are HERE.

The Clock Strikes Twelve (1944) by Patricia Wentworth

The 7th book in the Miss Maud Silver series. James Paradine, the patriarch of the Paradine family, announces at a family dinner on New Year's Eve that he knows that one of his guests has betrayed the interests of the family. He also states that he will wait in his office until midnight to meet with the guilty person and discuss terms for handling the betrayal. Of course, by 12 o'clock he is dead. Just about everyone in the family is considered a suspect, some more than others, and one of the heirs brings in Miss Silver to clear things up.

This was the first Miss Silver book I had read in years and I think it was a very good book to get back into the series with. I found it very entertaining.

These Bones Were Made for Dancin' (1995) by Annette Meyers

This was the second book by Annette Meyers I read this year, and I like this one much more than the first one. Previously I read The Big Killing, the 1st book in the Smith and Wetzon series  This month I skipped ahead to the 6th book in the series. Leslie Smith and Xenia Wetzon are headhunters on Wall Street. Smith was a dancer on Broadway many years back, and she and a friend are producing a revival of a show for charity. The skeleton of a woman is discovered in the basement of a brownstone, and it may be the remains of one of the dancers from the original show.