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Captain Heimrich #16
Murder Can't Wait
Lt. Nathan Shapiro gets a phone call from former Dyckman University football star Stuart Fleming that concerns point-shaving at the school, but the case gets far more complicated when Fleming is murdered
- GenresMystery
293 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1964
20 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Richard Lockridge
129 books25 followersAn American writer of detective fiction, Richard Lockridge's frequent collaborator was his wife Frances Lockridge, who co-wrote the Mr. and Mrs. North mystery series and other popular books.
The couple also published under the shared pseudonym Francis Richards.
The couple also published under the shared pseudonym Francis Richards.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 27, 2021
Lieutenant Nathan Shapiro is out of his element and off to the country and into the stomping grounds of Captain M. L. Heimrich. The city police have gotten a "squeal" that mobsters are moving in on the football team at Dyckman University in an attempt to set up a point-shaving scheme. Shapiro is sent to meet up with Stuart Fleming, former Dyckman football star, who claims to have information. But when Shapiro arrives at the State Police Barracks to ask directions to Fleming's house, Heimrich tells him that he's too late. Sometime in the early morning hours somebody shot Fleming five times just to make sure that the job got done.
There is the obvious idea that those mobsters with the point-shaving scheme must have gotten wind of Fleming's planned interference and the possibility of police interest. And that these mobsters must have decided to shut Fleming up permanently. But there's also the fact that a substantial trust fund will revert to his brother upon his death. And the fact that someone signed into a skiing lodge under Fleming's name and Stuart was trying to find out who that was. There's also the fact that the local golf pro shows up at Fleming's house late in the morning after the murder, threatening to bash the "so-and-so's" teeth in--because he thinks the "so-and-so" has been trying to steal his wife. Did he really not know Fleming was dead? Or is he putting on a show so he won't be suspected? Maybe the answer isn't quite as obvious as it appears.
Shapiro reminds me of Michael Faye's Great Dane Colonel. He appears to everyone he meets that he's perpetually sad or depressed. He's sure that the department has made a mistake somewhere thinking that a cop who's just "guy who's good with a gun" is some sort of detective. And the sort of detective who should be promoted to lieutenant. Never mind that he has a knack for solving these murders where he believes he's out of his depth. Here, he winds up working with Heimrich and Sergeant Forniss and the three make a good team--each discovering an important clue that leads to the discovery of the killer.
Another enjoyable, comfy reread. It had been long enough since the first time that I had forgotten who did it and was pleasantly in the dark until Shapiro interviewed a certain private detective. It was also fun to see Professor Emeritus Walter Brinkley again--if only briefly.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
There is the obvious idea that those mobsters with the point-shaving scheme must have gotten wind of Fleming's planned interference and the possibility of police interest. And that these mobsters must have decided to shut Fleming up permanently. But there's also the fact that a substantial trust fund will revert to his brother upon his death. And the fact that someone signed into a skiing lodge under Fleming's name and Stuart was trying to find out who that was. There's also the fact that the local golf pro shows up at Fleming's house late in the morning after the murder, threatening to bash the "so-and-so's" teeth in--because he thinks the "so-and-so" has been trying to steal his wife. Did he really not know Fleming was dead? Or is he putting on a show so he won't be suspected? Maybe the answer isn't quite as obvious as it appears.
Shapiro reminds me of Michael Faye's Great Dane Colonel. He appears to everyone he meets that he's perpetually sad or depressed. He's sure that the department has made a mistake somewhere thinking that a cop who's just "guy who's good with a gun" is some sort of detective. And the sort of detective who should be promoted to lieutenant. Never mind that he has a knack for solving these murders where he believes he's out of his depth. Here, he winds up working with Heimrich and Sergeant Forniss and the three make a good team--each discovering an important clue that leads to the discovery of the killer.
Another enjoyable, comfy reread. It had been long enough since the first time that I had forgotten who did it and was pleasantly in the dark until Shapiro interviewed a certain private detective. It was also fun to see Professor Emeritus Walter Brinkley again--if only briefly.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
August 31, 2010
A young handsome lawyer is shot many times in his home. Which is sad cause his only living relative, a brother is dying of leukemia. Was it a hit man to keep the racket involving fixed college games hushed up, or was it an angry lover?
In the end Heimrich must sift through all sorts of information but true and false to get to the bottom of the truth. This book is dedicated to Frances (who was his writing partner and wife... she died a year or two before this book was published. It is the first book in this series written solely by Richard.)
In the end Heimrich must sift through all sorts of information but true and false to get to the bottom of the truth. This book is dedicated to Frances (who was his writing partner and wife... she died a year or two before this book was published. It is the first book in this series written solely by Richard.)
June 24, 2020
Early Bird Book Deal | Follow Heimrich's adage about character, and you can feel who the killer is long before the method and motive are clear | This one was rife with good red herrings, but the murderer was never really in any doubt. I maybe should have read the Shapiro books up to the same publication year as this, since the Lieutenant is a big part of this book, but I think it's generally ok. If you've not read any Shapiros he'll still be clear as a character, you just won't catch the bits that are humorous related to him.
June 20, 2018
And the next in the series, received through inter-loan from the library.
January 13, 2020
Was ok. Not sure I would read this author again.
November 16, 2020
I remember Heimlich (I’m rereading books I last read in the 60s) but not Nathan Shapiro, so I guess I’ll have to look those books up, too.
January 7, 2011
Not Mr. & Mrs. North, but still a cop with a longing to get back home to the 'real world' of NYC and take the little wife to dinner. In the meantime, he's stuck in the countryside, of all places, trying to solve a murder about the rigging of college football. I had a pretty good idea who the culprit was as soon as I saw the Christmas card, and the panicked pair ratting each other out at the end didn't really add anything to the mystery. Plus the issue of who tried to rig the college football games never gets resolved, which is a no-no in mystery writing. Still, Lockridge was a lot better writer than the incredibly-bad TV mini-episodes of his stories would make you think.
January 22, 2014
This book is, as is kind of usual for me, a murder mystery. In the opening, a man, who was supposed to turn over evidence to the attorney general in a bribery scandal is found dead in his home. The investigation spans several avenues, and the plot thickens, when the first victim's brother is also found dead of a sleeping pill overdose. I suspected who the murders were, but there was enough evidence for the other theories that I kept guessing. Overall, it was a good book. Not an Agatha Chirstie or a Mary Higgins Clark, but good nonetheless.
November 5, 2010
This book was written in 1964 and is a very good read. This is a book that can be read over repeatedly. And the more books you read you get to know the characters, which is a nice connection.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews