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Reverend Martin Buell #4
The Elk and the Evidence
Although accustomed to many unusual presents from his parishioners, the Reverend Martin Buell was slightly nonplussed when he unwrapped a gift elk roast and discovered in the package a neatly severed human toe. Then a visiting hunter was reported missing in the neighborhood, and the Reverend had a hunch that the two incidents might be connected.
Mystery multiplied with the sudden appearance of a strange but attractive young woman who had seen a dead man in a Pullman berth. And oddly enough her description of the corpse coincided with that of the missing hunter.
As Martin pursued his private investigations of variant clues, he laid himself open to wild rumor, rebuke by his bishop, misunderstandings from his friends, and even personal peril. But after a series of dangerous adventures and humorous involvements, he had the satisfaction of proving his original hunch correct when the elk roast provided evidence which trapped a killer.
Mystery multiplied with the sudden appearance of a strange but attractive young woman who had seen a dead man in a Pullman berth. And oddly enough her description of the corpse coincided with that of the missing hunter.
As Martin pursued his private investigations of variant clues, he laid himself open to wild rumor, rebuke by his bishop, misunderstandings from his friends, and even personal peril. But after a series of dangerous adventures and humorous involvements, he had the satisfaction of proving his original hunch correct when the elk roast provided evidence which trapped a killer.
- GenresMystery
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1952
About the author
Margaret Scherf
48 books4 followersMargaret Scherf is best known for her many humorous murder mysteries. Scherf's writing career spans from 1940 to 1978.Margaret Scherf's writing career came to an abrupt end in 1979 when she was killed by a drunken driver, south of Kalispell, Montana.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 23, 2024
A mystery from 1952, set in Montana. The story begins with the Reverend Buell finding a human toe in the elk roast that was gifted to him by a blameless parishioner. Clearly someone had messed with the communal freezer! And is this somehow related to the ongoing search for a missing inexperienced hunter? And what is the connection with the strange story related by Katy, the young woman who's convinced that she saw a dead man being carried off the night train that took her to see her fiancé, and who is subsequently driven off a bridge into a freezing stream?
It's an entertaining read, populated with personality types we don't often encounter nowadays: the nosy Rector, the small-town newspaper man, the hunting guide, the perky secretary, the dyspeptic bank manager, the shady oil men. A different way of living: charity clubs for the ladies, hunting trips and poker nights for the men, gossipy newspaper items and constant surveillance of one's coming and going by curtain-twitching neighbors. And, oh, the attitudes! When Katy, the red-haired heroine, announces to her employer that she needs some time off to see whether she still wants to marry the man she fell in love with months earlier, he says (page 23): "Of course I'd like to have you her in the office for the rest of my life, but you're far too pretty for that. I couldn't expect it." Or when Kathy decides that she doesn't want to marry John after all, he has to take this petty revenge: "For a girl of your age you have an amazing number of fixed habits. I shouldn't wonder, Katy, if you became an old maid."
It's an entertaining read, populated with personality types we don't often encounter nowadays: the nosy Rector, the small-town newspaper man, the hunting guide, the perky secretary, the dyspeptic bank manager, the shady oil men. A different way of living: charity clubs for the ladies, hunting trips and poker nights for the men, gossipy newspaper items and constant surveillance of one's coming and going by curtain-twitching neighbors. And, oh, the attitudes! When Katy, the red-haired heroine, announces to her employer that she needs some time off to see whether she still wants to marry the man she fell in love with months earlier, he says (page 23): "Of course I'd like to have you her in the office for the rest of my life, but you're far too pretty for that. I couldn't expect it." Or when Kathy decides that she doesn't want to marry John after all, he has to take this petty revenge: "For a girl of your age you have an amazing number of fixed habits. I shouldn't wonder, Katy, if you became an old maid."
Displaying 1 of 1 review