The Birthday Murder is a 1945 novel by American author Lange Lewis. The story follows the Los Angeles lieutenant Richard Tuck, who is investigating the murder of movie producer Albert Hime and his wife, Victoria Jason Hime, who wrote a novel where a woman's husband is killed in similar circumstances. Published by Bobbs-Merrill, it received positive reviews from critics.
 | |
| Author | Lange Lewis |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Detective fiction |
| Publisher | Bobbs-Merrill Company |
Publication date | 1945 |
| Pages | 206 |
Plot
editRichard Tuck, a lieutenant in the Los Angeles Police Department's homicide squad, investigates a case where the B movie producer Albert Hime is murdered the night before his wife's birthday. His wife, Victoria Jason Hime, is the author of the novel Ina Hart, which depicts a woman poisoning her husband and when her husband dies in the same way as the character in her novel, Victoria becomes the primary suspect. The other suspects are Moira Hastings, an actress who wants to appear in a film of Ina Hart directed by Albert; Bernice Saxe, a family friend; Captain Sawn Harriss, Victoria's ex-husband; and Hazel, the family maid.
Background and publication
editLange Lewis published her first novel featuring Richard Tuck in 1942, Murder Among Friends. Tuck re-appeared in two subsequent novels, Juliet Dies Twice and Meat for Murder.[1] Bobbs-Merrill published The Birthday Murder in 1945.[2][3] It was reprinted in 1976 by Garland Publishing in its series by editors Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig, "Fifty Classics of Crime Fiction, 1900–1950".[3][4] The novel was re-published in 2023 by American Mystery Classics, an imprint by Otto Penzler, with a new introduction by Randal S. Brandt.[1]
Reception
editThe novel generally received the most positive reviews of Lewis's works, including a review from the critic Anthony Boucher that it was her best novel.[1] It received a starred review from A Catalogue of Crime, which praised the plot and prose, describing it as "full of women sharply differentiated".[5] The Los Angeles setting generally was praised, as well as the plot and the twist ending.[6][7][8][9] The novel uses the gilded cage motif.[10]
References
edit- ^ a b c Brandt, Randal S. (2023-08-21). "A Classic California Mystery: The Life and Times of Lange Lewis". CrimeReads. Archived from the original on 2023-09-29. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- ^ "Murder Tale Laid in Phila". The Philadelphia Inquirer. April 1, 1945. p. 43. Archived from the original on December 24, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
- ^ a b Slide 1995, p. 158.
- ^ Shaw, Mildred Hart (November 7, 1976). "A Must for Mystery Bluffs: Fifty Classics of Crime Fiction". The Daily Sentinel. p. 58. Archived from the original on December 24, 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
- ^ Barzun & Taylor 1989, p. 346.
- ^ Nichols & Thompson 1988, pp. 24–25.
- ^ "Murder in Emulsion". Hartford Courant. April 8, 1945. p. 62. Archived from the original on December 24, 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
- ^ "Thrills and Chills Dept". The Boston Globe. April 4, 1945. p. 15. Archived from the original on December 24, 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
- ^ "Rescue by Inspector". The Kansas City Star. June 23, 1945. p. 12. Archived from the original on December 24, 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
- ^ Paul 1991, p. 121.
Sources
edit- Barzun, Jacques; Taylor, Wendell Hertig (1989). A Catalogue of Crime. Harper & Row. ISBN 978-0-06-015796-8.
- Nichols, Victoria; Thompson, Susan (1988). Silk Stalkings: When Women Write of Murder : a Survey of Series Characters Created by Women Authors in Crime and Mystery Fiction. Black Lizard Books. ISBN 978-0-88739-096-8. Archived from the original on 2023-12-24. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
- Paul, Robert S. (1991). Whatever Happened to Sherlock Holmes: Detective Fiction, Popular Theology, and Society. SIU Press. ISBN 978-0-8093-1722-6.
- Slide, Anthony (1995). The Hollywood Novel: A Critical Guide to Over 1200 Works with Film-related Themes Or Characters, 1912 Through 1994. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-0044-7.