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Mike Shayne #43
Murder by Proxy
A beautiful woman vanishes while on vacation in Miami, and it’s up to Mike Shayne to find her
When Ellen Harris leaves New York for her 2-week trip to Miami, her husband playfully reminds her to be careful. In a city famous for playboys, loan sharks, and gigolos, a beautiful woman can find trouble—and Ellen wants all the trouble she can get. Although she adores her husband, she intends to have fun, and that means flirting with every man she sees, from bellhops to bartenders and everyone in between. From all outward appearances, it looks like she plans to have a different man in her room every night she’s there, but the very first morning, the maid finds her bed undisturbed.
Ellen’s husband arrives 5 days later, desperate to find out why his wife hasn’t been answering his calls. She hasn’t been seen at the hotel since just after checking in, and the only man who can track her down is Miami’s toughest detective: Mike Shayne.
Murder by Proxy is the 43rd book in the Mike Shayne Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
When Ellen Harris leaves New York for her 2-week trip to Miami, her husband playfully reminds her to be careful. In a city famous for playboys, loan sharks, and gigolos, a beautiful woman can find trouble—and Ellen wants all the trouble she can get. Although she adores her husband, she intends to have fun, and that means flirting with every man she sees, from bellhops to bartenders and everyone in between. From all outward appearances, it looks like she plans to have a different man in her room every night she’s there, but the very first morning, the maid finds her bed undisturbed.
Ellen’s husband arrives 5 days later, desperate to find out why his wife hasn’t been answering his calls. She hasn’t been seen at the hotel since just after checking in, and the only man who can track her down is Miami’s toughest detective: Mike Shayne.
Murder by Proxy is the 43rd book in the Mike Shayne Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
- GenresMystery
159 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
2 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Brett Halliday
508 books62 followersAKA David Dresser
Excerpt from Wikipedia:
Brett Halliday (July 31, 1904 - February 4, 1977), primary pen name of Davis Dresser, was an American mystery writer, best known for the long-lived series of Mike Shayne novels he wrote, and later commissioned others to write. Dresser wrote non-series mysteries, westerns and romances under the names
Asa Baker, Matthew Blood, Kathryn Culver, Don Davis, Hal Debrett, Anthony Scott, Peter Field, and Anderson Wayne.
Excerpt from Wikipedia:
Brett Halliday (July 31, 1904 - February 4, 1977), primary pen name of Davis Dresser, was an American mystery writer, best known for the long-lived series of Mike Shayne novels he wrote, and later commissioned others to write. Dresser wrote non-series mysteries, westerns and romances under the names
Asa Baker, Matthew Blood, Kathryn Culver, Don Davis, Hal Debrett, Anthony Scott, Peter Field, and Anderson Wayne.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 4, 2016
Mike Shayne, the tough P.I. whose main beat is Miami, is hired to find the missing Mrs. Harris. A simple case of missing persons? Not this time.
Ellen Harris, Mrs. Herbert Harris, tall, blonde and gorgeous, has arrived in Miami for a two week vacation—alone. Her husband feels that modern couples should spend time away from each other each year to keep the marriage fresh and exciting. He finds it to have become very exciting when he arrives as a surprise and finds that his wife's bed hasn't been slept in, her luggage still packed and she is gone. Last seen leaving the hotel in the company of a man she met in the bar.
Has she run off on her own? Was she kidnapped? Is she dead? Herber Harris is distraught and hires Mike Shayne to find her. Harris claims they had a perfect marriage and both loved each other exclusively. She didn't know anyone in Miami, so who is this man?
With no clues or serious leads, Mike has to call in favours and scour locations and possible witnesses to solve this missing person case. Tightly written with many twists and turns to navigate, he does solve it. Will you solve it before he does? I doubt it.
Ellen Harris, Mrs. Herbert Harris, tall, blonde and gorgeous, has arrived in Miami for a two week vacation—alone. Her husband feels that modern couples should spend time away from each other each year to keep the marriage fresh and exciting. He finds it to have become very exciting when he arrives as a surprise and finds that his wife's bed hasn't been slept in, her luggage still packed and she is gone. Last seen leaving the hotel in the company of a man she met in the bar.
Has she run off on her own? Was she kidnapped? Is she dead? Herber Harris is distraught and hires Mike Shayne to find her. Harris claims they had a perfect marriage and both loved each other exclusively. She didn't know anyone in Miami, so who is this man?
With no clues or serious leads, Mike has to call in favours and scour locations and possible witnesses to solve this missing person case. Tightly written with many twists and turns to navigate, he does solve it. Will you solve it before he does? I doubt it.
July 14, 2017
This is an excellent mystery, with a long, slow build up as a seemingly wanton newlywed disappears from Miami Beach after flirting with every guy she sees. The mystery of what happened slowly adds facts until Shayne can figure out a solution. All the usual Miami hotels, bars, and gambling joints are featured here. But ultimately it's a Sherlock Holmes mystery of logic and deduction.
Halliday doesn't take it too seriously as evidenced by his references to Mike Shayne tv shows and novels. All in all, a top notch classic detective story.
Halliday doesn't take it too seriously as evidenced by his references to Mike Shayne tv shows and novels. All in all, a top notch classic detective story.
August 4, 2013
A gorgeous woman checks into a Miami hotel room and then vanishes. Her husband arrives five days later for a surprise visit and finds her missing and is outraged the hotel didn't do anything about it until now. He turns to Michael Shayne to find her.
Murder by Proxy is a short engaging book that does what its supposed to. It's been out of print for years and no one's likely to bring it back, nor unlike a Philip Marlowe book is anyone going to be told to read it. Social commentary is limited. What were left with a good solid hard boiled mystery novel that doesn't overdo description but when description is used, it paints meaningful and evocative word picture that powerfully paint the featured missing "stacked" woman.
The mystery is cleverly written and is a true puzzle on both a physical and psychological level. The obvious explanation adopted by the police is that the woman simply stepped out, but she seemed to really be in love with her husband. The husband may have had some motive for killing her, but why would he step out on such a beautiful wife plus Shayne thought his concern for his wife is sincere. The puzzle and the chase are satisfying with a few wrong turns along the way.
While not a classic, this is good solid mystery mystery writing at its finest.
Murder by Proxy is a short engaging book that does what its supposed to. It's been out of print for years and no one's likely to bring it back, nor unlike a Philip Marlowe book is anyone going to be told to read it. Social commentary is limited. What were left with a good solid hard boiled mystery novel that doesn't overdo description but when description is used, it paints meaningful and evocative word picture that powerfully paint the featured missing "stacked" woman.
The mystery is cleverly written and is a true puzzle on both a physical and psychological level. The obvious explanation adopted by the police is that the woman simply stepped out, but she seemed to really be in love with her husband. The husband may have had some motive for killing her, but why would he step out on such a beautiful wife plus Shayne thought his concern for his wife is sincere. The puzzle and the chase are satisfying with a few wrong turns along the way.
While not a classic, this is good solid mystery mystery writing at its finest.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews