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Doan & Carstairs #3
Oh, Murderer Mine
Doan, a chubby private eye with a fondness for weak women and strong drink, and Carstairs, his enormous Great Dane sidekick, have been hired by 54-year-old but still glamorous beauty maven Heloise of Hollywood to make sure that no young lovely tries to steal her 26-year-old hunk of a husband, Eric Trent.
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1946
21 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
About the author
Norbert Davis
121 books17 followersNorbert Davis (1909–1949) was studying law at Stanford University when he began selling stories to pulp magazines, where he found enough success that he never bothered taking the bar exam. His best-known characters are Doan and Carstairs—a private eye team made up of a man and a thoroughly clever Great Dane.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 22, 2012
I've read all four novels in the series in the past few days. They were a delightful and fun diversion. I will miss Doan & Carstairs.
November 28, 2018
Sorry but this one too was just going too far.
Really didn't enjoy this one either. The characters were great but the actual plot was something else. I loved the first two books but now the plots are just getting silly. Shame!
She's been turfed out of her office and now her apartment is at risk. All because of one man and his estranged wife! To add insult to injury she's been knocked out, her "boyfriend" and her friend have been killed. Plus she has Carstairs babysitting her and Dean is still acting as bodyguard (on the orders of the estranged wife) to the man that has started this whole thing by coming to lecture at her university. When the estranged wife also gets murdered and a Mexican detective tries to horn in on the action, Doan knows he has to crackers the case. Not only to keep his record of getting his man intact but also to keep the university sheriff off his back (Carstairs has had a run in with him and there's no love lost between them). Can Doan explain what, why and how everything has happened?
Really didn't enjoy this one either. The characters were great but the actual plot was something else. I loved the first two books but now the plots are just getting silly. Shame!
She's been turfed out of her office and now her apartment is at risk. All because of one man and his estranged wife! To add insult to injury she's been knocked out, her "boyfriend" and her friend have been killed. Plus she has Carstairs babysitting her and Dean is still acting as bodyguard (on the orders of the estranged wife) to the man that has started this whole thing by coming to lecture at her university. When the estranged wife also gets murdered and a Mexican detective tries to horn in on the action, Doan knows he has to crackers the case. Not only to keep his record of getting his man intact but also to keep the university sheriff off his back (Carstairs has had a run in with him and there's no love lost between them). Can Doan explain what, why and how everything has happened?
September 18, 2019
In the final novel, Doan and Carstairs are to be found in a rather strange academic setting, basically minding a very handsome meteorologist, employed by a rich and older wife to keep potential rivals at bay. Murder, mayhem and misunderstandings, laced with burgeoning romance, ensue.
Satire, farce and violence are all part of the mix.
I am glad to have found this trilogy and will try the two short stories Davis wrote about a unique partnership of detective and Great Dane.
3.5 stars.
Satire, farce and violence are all part of the mix.
I am glad to have found this trilogy and will try the two short stories Davis wrote about a unique partnership of detective and Great Dane.
3.5 stars.
February 3, 2021
Comic mystery
August 20, 2022
Pretty good
November 3, 2016
Coming next at Forgotten Classics podcast.
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I am actually reading a book that contains four of the five Doan & Carstairs mysteries. Oh, Murderer Mine is the third of the stories therein. These are a great combination of hard-boiled and humorous, which may be typified by the fact that Doan is the toughest private detective around but is short, round, and mild-looking while Carstairs is his Great Dane who is a character in his own right (but without talking or any other goofy attributes ... and he's hard-boiled in his own way). Got it from Amazon for my Kindle. Highly enjoyable.
This book keeps Doan & Carstairs at a high level of multi-layered plot, told from the heroine's point of view, with much humor mixed with murder and violence. Click through on the book title to read the first few paragraphs and this will give you an idea of how the humor is addressed. As with the second book, this had only a couple of predictable points and neither of them mattered much. I don't know how Davis managed to combine P.G. Wodehouse comic plotlines with Raymond Chandler-esque noir levels of violence and motive, but he does it perfectly. How has this author been overlooked? Clearly he is going to have to be reintroduced through Forgotten Classics.
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I am actually reading a book that contains four of the five Doan & Carstairs mysteries. Oh, Murderer Mine is the third of the stories therein. These are a great combination of hard-boiled and humorous, which may be typified by the fact that Doan is the toughest private detective around but is short, round, and mild-looking while Carstairs is his Great Dane who is a character in his own right (but without talking or any other goofy attributes ... and he's hard-boiled in his own way). Got it from Amazon for my Kindle. Highly enjoyable.
This book keeps Doan & Carstairs at a high level of multi-layered plot, told from the heroine's point of view, with much humor mixed with murder and violence. Click through on the book title to read the first few paragraphs and this will give you an idea of how the humor is addressed. As with the second book, this had only a couple of predictable points and neither of them mattered much. I don't know how Davis managed to combine P.G. Wodehouse comic plotlines with Raymond Chandler-esque noir levels of violence and motive, but he does it perfectly. How has this author been overlooked? Clearly he is going to have to be reintroduced through Forgotten Classics.
September 7, 2017
The story is that Davis's third Doan and Carstairs novel wasn't well regarded by hardcover publishers and came out originally as a paperback original. Although uneven, it is the funniest of the three. Davis seems to aspire to creating something like P. G. Wodehouse, with odd characters, great prose, and dry humor mixed with burlesque. Davis is no Wodehouse, but this novel has some great gags in it, mostly involving Carstairs. I am a cat person, preferring them to dogs in all things. Carstairs has become my favorite dog in fiction, whether cadging someone's potato salad or stalking a killer. As this is a university novel, Davis is able to poke fun at learning as well as at eccentrics. I regret that Doan and Carstairs appear in only five tales, a story, a novella, and the three novels. Seek them out!
July 26, 2014
Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...
1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.
2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.
3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.
4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.
5 stars... I loved this book! It had earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.
1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.
2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.
3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.
4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.
5 stars... I loved this book! It had earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.
January 27, 2011
Another zany Doan and Carstairs mystery, the last and possibly the best. Things get absolutely hilarious, particularly with Carstairs loose in a ladies salon. As usual Doan and Carstairs get their man in the end.
January 2, 2009
I read all three of these back to back to back. It combines the hard boiled detective and humor. Carstairst the dog is the main character and the detective Doan a close second.
March 22, 2011
1940s pulp fiction that was a $0.99 Kindle download. A quick, fun read about a detective and his Great Dane. Lots of humor mixed in amid the bodies.
December 13, 2014
Not as engaging as the other three, but enjoyable nevertheless. Prefer more Doan and Carstairs scenes. Well-writen ending.
November 6, 2016
Cute murder mystery involving the detective dog duo!
November 11, 2016
Norbert Davis is just fun. That's all there is to it.
November 29, 2016
found it on Forgotten classics podcast. funny, easy read.
March 19, 2011
Light but entertaining
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews