Hard Boiled Humor

When talking about hard-boiled mysteries, especially the kind of detective stories featured in the pulp magazines so popular in America during the first half of the 20th century, the words "humor" and "comic" and "funny" don't usually come to mind. In the case of one author of hard-boiled stories, though, humor is a key part of the enduring enjoyment of his stories. That author is Norbert Davis, and it is especially true of his mysteries featuring Doan and Carstairs.

If you're not familiar with them, Doan was a small-time private detective. Carstairs was a Great Dane. That,s right a Great Dane - a gigantic fawn-colored dog, won by Doan in a crap game. When asked, Doan would admit, cheerfully, that Carstairs was by far the senior partner of the two - better-behaved, braver, smarter. Carstairs would feel such a question was beneath his dignity. Doan is nicely summed up, "He looked like a very nice, pleasant sort of person, and on rare occasions he was." But of Carstairs, we are told,

Standing on four legs, his back came up to Doan's chest. He never did tricks. He considered them beneath him. But had he ever done one that involved standing on his hind feet, his head would have hit a level far above Doan's. Carstairs was so big he could hardly be called a dog. He was a sort of new species.*

Davis wrote three novels and two short stories about Doan and Carstairs. If you check my backlist page, you'll find reviews of two of the novels. I was delighted to find recently that all three novels are now available for the Amazon Kindle - and so is the very first Doan and Carstairs short story, "Holocaust House." I recently downloaded it and read it. It's not as funny or as well developed as the novels - Carstairs really is a bit player in "Holocaust House," and plays no role in the central mystery. But it's still a surprisingly good-humored (for a hard-boiled story) affair, and worth reading along with the novels. So far, I don't see any sign of the other Doan and Carstairs short story, "Cry Murder!" which really seems a pity. The rest are available in inexpensive electronic editions - and you might enjoy them.

* - The quotes are from Davis's "The Mouse in the Mountain," the first of the novels.

Comments

[michael]

One of the best yet unexpected benefits of the e-book has been the return of the forgotten writer. Norbert Davis quickly became one of my favorite authors after I read "Sally's In the Alley" on my Kindle.

Davis wrote basically for pulps. The editor of BLACK MASK disliked his humor so much of his work was published in DIME DETECTIVE. His inability to succeed in the more respected slicks (magazines such as SATURDAY EVENING POST) would lead to his early death.

I recommend you "google" his name as much of his work including westerns is available to enjoy on the internet.

[Les Blatt]

Michael, you're right about Black Mask's editor disliking the humor - in fact, "Holocaust House" was published (in two parts) in Argosy, according to the Golden Age of Detection wiki. And you're also right about his availability on the Internet - good news to a new generation of readers. I share your feelings about the return of the forgotten writer - I'm still waiting for more of them to be republished for e-books.

[Yvette]

As much as I really and truly dislike reading off a screen - reading anything that requires lots of thought - even reading something that requires lots of imagination (it all fails me on an e-screen) - I like the idea of this Great Dane mystery. What to do. What to do. Darn you, Les!

[Les Blatt]

Yvette, I think Rue Morgue Press has put out all three of Davis's novels in paperback format. I've read two of them ("Mouse in the Mountain" and "Sally's in the Alley") and Carstairs is much more prominent in those than he is in the short story "Holocaust House." Or, of course, you COULD get a Kindle and get them all... (laughs evilly...)