Paul: Mayhem in B-Flat

Here is a rip-roaring, free-wheeling murder yarn about a missing violin, a sharpshooting lady pianist, an amateur sleuth, a gang of depraved thugs, a violent artist, a gross of deadly tarantulas, kidnappers, gendarmes, drunkards, degenerates, street fights, waterfront brawls, chorus girls, cocottes, madams, and—girls . . . dozen of them. All winding up in a neck-breaking, glass-shattering, champagne drenched free-for-all in a riverfront dive.

Additional

First published in 1940.

Review

Homer Evans is back. You remember Homer. The ever-calm, William Powell-ish sleuth of The Mysterious Mickey Finn, and Hugger Mugger in the Louvre Homer and his incomparable girl friend, Miriam, the gun-totin’, sharp-shooting gal from Montana. You’ll find them at work and play again in Elliot Paul’s Mayhem in B-Flat which has to do with the theft of a priceless Guarnerius violin, a huge dog, rival gangs, murders, tarantulas, dancing girls and loving ladies. Elliot Paul gives you plenty of laughs—and a bumper crop of homicide in this story that takes you from concert hall to cabaret to brothel, at racehorse speed. Even Homer has a hard time keeping up. Author Paul is a sly one. His quips are as fast as Miriam’s lightning draw; his innuendos as innocent as a strip-teaser. If you’re looking for deep-dyed detective problems, Mayhem in B-Flat is not for you. But if you want a hilarious evening, spend it with Homer, Miriam and the gang. You won’t regret it. (Literary Guidepost, 1940)