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Homer Evans #3
Mayhem in B Flat
Set in Paris of the 1930s, this dazzling and delightful thriller featuring Homer Evans involves the suave sleuth, his friend Miriam and a stolen Guarnerius violin in a caper the Saturday Review called 'a sizzling concoction of murder, merriment and madness.'
- GenresMysteryMystery Thriller
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1940
25 people want to read
About the author
Elliot Paul
62 books9 followersElliot Harold Paul was an American journalist and writer.
See also Brett Rutledge.
See also Brett Rutledge.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 18, 2010
It's always a pleasure to read crime novels written in the thirties and forties. They seem more refined than some of the slam-bam, shoot-em-ups that are enjoyable, but appeal perhaps to a baser level. Elliott Paul's Mayhem in B-flat is a case in point. It contains some cute little puns that I didn't get immediately. My favorite is the obscure Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 13 by Sauvequipeut.
Our hero is Homer Evans, good friend of Chief of Detectives Fremont of the Paris Police Department. His companion is Miriam, an adoring sidekick who happens to be a brilliant pianist, Montana cowgirl, and markswoman extraordinaire who can whip an automatic out of her handbag and graze a tuning fork set up on a piano some distance away with just enough force to ring a perfect "A", yet not knock the fork Over. I'd like to see Sylvester Stallone do that!
It's also refreshing to read a novel without the f-word every other sentence. Images are often conveyed much better by descriptions such as the following when Chief Fremont discovers that the violinist his sergeant was detailed to protect had slipped out from underneath his nose. "What he said, when informed that Diluvio had vanished, would, if related, prove detrimental to the interests of the reader, since it would result in the suppression of this story in practically any country in the world."
This is a truly enjoyable mystery with scintillating narrative and an ingenious plot.
Our hero is Homer Evans, good friend of Chief of Detectives Fremont of the Paris Police Department. His companion is Miriam, an adoring sidekick who happens to be a brilliant pianist, Montana cowgirl, and markswoman extraordinaire who can whip an automatic out of her handbag and graze a tuning fork set up on a piano some distance away with just enough force to ring a perfect "A", yet not knock the fork Over. I'd like to see Sylvester Stallone do that!
It's also refreshing to read a novel without the f-word every other sentence. Images are often conveyed much better by descriptions such as the following when Chief Fremont discovers that the violinist his sergeant was detailed to protect had slipped out from underneath his nose. "What he said, when informed that Diluvio had vanished, would, if related, prove detrimental to the interests of the reader, since it would result in the suppression of this story in practically any country in the world."
This is a truly enjoyable mystery with scintillating narrative and an ingenious plot.
November 18, 2021
It's a shame that Elliot Paul has dropped out of fashion. Although somewhat dated, so what? He is amusing, clever, arch, and very literate.
March 24, 2015
Mayhem in B-Flat is set in Paris between the two World Wars. It stars Homer Evans, American in Paris, and his pistol packing lady, Miriam Leonard. Miriam is more at home on the prairie, wrestling steers into submission--but adjusts well to the French countryside which seems to be littered with rival gang members. Homer and Miriam have planned an excursion to Normandy to allow Homer to investigate his Gallic roots. But their quiet vacation plans are interrupted when they encounter a gang member known as the Singe--someone they've come across before. Homer doesn't know what skulduggery may be afoot, but that there will be skulduggery he is certain.
And before they know it, the vacationing couple are involved in the theft of an extremely valuable violin, corpses that expire while in the middle of the most mundane occupations (such as a game of checkers), tarantula fights, shootouts with hoodlums known as Dental Jake and Godo the Wack, the development of a hideously effective new poison, fingerprints that shouldn't be there, a drunken party on a barge, a missing violinist, and an effort to prevent the medical examiner from pulling out all his hair over his inability to identify the aforementioned poison. Miriam takes out a couple of thugs with fancy shooting and acquires a particularly well-trained canine along the way and Homer proves why the Chief of Police should always listen to him before arresting anybody.
This is an incredibly funny, but fairly far-fetched mystery. Not at all fairly clued--Homer seems to have ESP or something going on that allows him to discover the whereabouts of various characters no matter where they go...with little to no explanation to the reader of his methods. There is also a major no-no for the dedicated Golden Age reader in the use of a "never before existed" poison. But despite the lack of fair play, this was a fun read and I thoroughly enjoyed the mad-cap adventures of Homer and Miriam. I have both Hugger-Mugger in the Louvre and Murder on the Left Bank and look forward to reading those as well.
The humor is broad and fairly witty and makes great use of funny names, eccentric characters, and word-play--including the chapter headings. It all comes together for a fun ride.
3.5 stars actually. Rounded up here.
First posted on my blog Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
And before they know it, the vacationing couple are involved in the theft of an extremely valuable violin, corpses that expire while in the middle of the most mundane occupations (such as a game of checkers), tarantula fights, shootouts with hoodlums known as Dental Jake and Godo the Wack, the development of a hideously effective new poison, fingerprints that shouldn't be there, a drunken party on a barge, a missing violinist, and an effort to prevent the medical examiner from pulling out all his hair over his inability to identify the aforementioned poison. Miriam takes out a couple of thugs with fancy shooting and acquires a particularly well-trained canine along the way and Homer proves why the Chief of Police should always listen to him before arresting anybody.
This is an incredibly funny, but fairly far-fetched mystery. Not at all fairly clued--Homer seems to have ESP or something going on that allows him to discover the whereabouts of various characters no matter where they go...with little to no explanation to the reader of his methods. There is also a major no-no for the dedicated Golden Age reader in the use of a "never before existed" poison. But despite the lack of fair play, this was a fun read and I thoroughly enjoyed the mad-cap adventures of Homer and Miriam. I have both Hugger-Mugger in the Louvre and Murder on the Left Bank and look forward to reading those as well.
The humor is broad and fairly witty and makes great use of funny names, eccentric characters, and word-play--including the chapter headings. It all comes together for a fun ride.
3.5 stars actually. Rounded up here.
First posted on my blog Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
April 13, 2008
reprint of a 30s (ish?) mystery novel. Includes phrases that are now considered racist, and abstains from sexual references by stating that he's abstaining from writing about sex because...well, it was the 30s. OR 40s or...at least his "doll" gets to shoot up the bad guys. Oops!
April 3, 2016
Every time I read an Elliot Paul Homer Evans murder mystery I am reminded of the movie Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. This series is funny, full of adventure and film-worthy although I don't know if any have actually been made into movies.
September 24, 2013
Very dated, but then I was reading it to get a period flavor. The author is definitely better at vignettes than suspense/mysteries.
October 20, 2015
see review on alternate edition
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews