Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Woodstock, VT: Countryman Press, 1988
Description
Something must have scared the wits out of Jane Lennox to make her run right in front of Asey Mayo in his brand new Porter Sixteen. Could that something have been the sight of a corpse? And could it have been the body of politically ambitious Henry Slocum? The answer would have to wait, for the corpse in the old salt loft had vanished from sight. This one would prove to be a real challenge for the Codfish Sherlock as further sinister and hilarious developments upset the normally tranquil Quashnet Township.
User reviews
LibraryThing member nmhale
My first exposure to Asey Mayo was three novellas, and I was intrigued. I was interested to see how Taylor's mysteries worked in novel format, and am happy to report that she maintains her style of intricate conundrums and dead pan humor. Asey Mayo is a new detective in my list of favorite sleuths,
What draws me to embrace this series as one that I plan to read consistently is the mystery itself. Taylor creates these elaborate premises that always baffle me. Yes, they involve dead bodies, as all murder mysteries do, but the elements that surround them are original. In this story, a girl discovers a dead body, but when they go back to find it, it's gone. Mayo think she is mistaken, but when her mother's pet political project - Homer - winds up missing, Mayo is convinced. Until Homer shows up shouting accusations that Jane's family tried to kidnap him and ruin his political chances. Just when it seems the dust will settle, Homer winds up dead, really dead this time. To complicate the situation more, Mayo believes that Jane discovered a dead woman's body that night.
See what I am talking about? That takes a dead body and adds a lot of layers of misdirection.
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and so very different from most of them. He is a combination of small town and big city, a man who likes simple things but is well-off, shrewd, and comfortable in practicing deception to find a murderer. He likes feeding his suspects just a little information, and holding the important pieces back, to let them hang themselves.What draws me to embrace this series as one that I plan to read consistently is the mystery itself. Taylor creates these elaborate premises that always baffle me. Yes, they involve dead bodies, as all murder mysteries do, but the elements that surround them are original. In this story, a girl discovers a dead body, but when they go back to find it, it's gone. Mayo think she is mistaken, but when her mother's pet political project - Homer - winds up missing, Mayo is convinced. Until Homer shows up shouting accusations that Jane's family tried to kidnap him and ruin his political chances. Just when it seems the dust will settle, Homer winds up dead, really dead this time. To complicate the situation more, Mayo believes that Jane discovered a dead woman's body that night.
See what I am talking about? That takes a dead body and adds a lot of layers of misdirection.
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LibraryThing member antiquary
All I recall about this is that it involves both a real c.o.d. package and (as a joke) a fish --a criminal "cod"
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1940
Physical description
288 p.; 18 cm
ISBN
0881501069 / 9780881501063