That E. Howard Hunt sure knows his hotels! Not sure how one goes from writing a series of crime novels to masterminding one of the most infamous crimes in American history (Watergate), but that he did. HOUSE DICK — alright, alright, stop snickering, kids — is the first of his novels to get the Hard Case Crime treatment, rescuing the 1961 effort from oblivion.
The title refers to a hotel detective, of course — in this case, Pete Novak of Washington, D.C.’s Hotel Tilden. He’s one of those guys who keeps a bottle of whiskey in his desk drawer. Just as soon as we get to know him, he’s called to the room of Mrs. Boyd, an obese wife who’s hysterical over the theft of some valuable jewelry. But her husband pulls Novak aside and says she’s just hallucinating.
Across the hall, Novak hears a scuffle, and steps in to save the sexy Paula Norton, who’s being beaten by her ex, crime boss Ben Barada. She’s ever so grateful to Novak for swooping in, and eager to repay him. But something’s not quite adding up, he thinks, and his suspicions are confirmed when he’s called back to her room later, only to find Mr. Boyd there, shot dead.
HOUSE DICK is one of those mysteries where no one is what they seem, and a double-cross lurks behind every “Do Not Disturb” sign. It’s also a nifty little curio, evoking a fuzzy feeling for the time when people used a phrase like “Dust!” to mean “Get out of here!” and a grand was considered quite the payoff.
Hunt is a better writer than I expected; then again, one has to remember he was an author long before a felon. His dialogue crackles with only-in-noir exchanges, and he pulls off a few peaches of description — my favorite being “Her eyes were slits in an unbaked pie.”
These strengths help keep the novel afloat when its third act is mired by overly complex revelations that make reading it more taxing than previously required. One almost needs a flowchart to keep motives and machinations straight, whereas all before it is clear as vodka. —Rod Lott
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• FESTIVAL FOR SPIES by E. Howard Hunt
• LOVERS ARE LOSERS by E. Howard Hunt
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- The Hotel Dick
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- SAY IT WITH BULLETS headed for big screen
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I liked this one a lot.