Mrs. Murphy's Underpants

Ed & Am Hunter #7

by Fredric Brown

254pages. poche. Broché.

185 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Fredric Brown was an American science fiction and mystery writer. He was one of the boldest early writers in genre fiction in his use of narrative experimentation. While never in the front rank of popularity in his lifetime, Brown has developed a considerable cult following in the almost half century since he last wrote. His works have been periodically reprinted and he has a worldwide fan base, most notably in the U.S. and Europe, and especially in France, where there have been several recent movie adaptations of his work. He also remains popular in Japan.

Never financially secure, Brown - like many other pulp writers - often wrote at a furious pace in order to pay bills. This accounts, at least in part, for the uneven quality of his work. A newspaperman by profession, Brown was only able to devote 14 years of his life as a full-time fiction writer. Brown was also a heavy drinker, and this at times doubtless affected his productivity. A cultured man and omnivorous reader whose interests ranged far beyond those of most pulp writers, Brown had a lifelong interest in the flute, chess, poker, and the works of Lewis Carroll. Brown married twice and was the father of two sons.

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admit it: aside from the fact that I've enjoyed Brown's work before (in both of his main genres), it was the title that drew me to this one -- that and some recent relevant badinage between myself and fellow readers Col and Kathy.

This is the seventh book in Brown's series featuring the nephew-and-uncle PI team of Ed and Am Hunter, and it's an amiable outing -- little more than that.

One night Ed wakes to discover that almost-eight-year-old Mike Dolan has sneaked into the Hunter apartment and is trying to steal his gun from his dresser. Ed throws on his clothes and takes Mike home to the boy's family, headed by syndicate boss Vince Dolan. Mike claims he wanted the gun because he heard two men plotting to kill his dad. Nobody believes him, but next day Dolan hires the Hunters to solve the mystery of a pair of burglars who broke into the house, stole nothing, but gave a black eye to Mike's much older stepsister Angela -- whom Ed, fast worker he, has already bedded, something Vince fortunately doesn't know.

There then follows quite a lot of desultory detecting on the part of the Hunters, some of which seems relevant and some of which seems like plain padding, but all of which is pleasingly readable in the usual Fredric Brown fashion: my pulse didn't pound and my knuckles didn't whiten, but I don't think Brown especially wanted them to. There is, after all, no murder.

The solution to this shortish mystery novel comes as no great surprise to someone familiar with the tropes of noir; maybe it takes the Hunters so long because of the amount of hooch they -- and just about everyone else involved -- habitually knock back.

All the time I was reading Mrs. Murphy's Underpants (the italics are important there), I had the vaguest of feelings I'd read the book before, although you'd have thought I'd have remembered the title.

Oh, yes: that title. It comes from a silly rhyming game the Hunters play that involves rhyming couplets of the form "Who put the severed head in Mrs. Murphy's marriage bed?" The book's final pair of contesting couplets has one of the two Hunters finding a rhyme for "underpants."

I see that the title of the French translation of this novel is Les Dessous de Madame Murphy, which would make the rhyme-word throughout "Murphy." Good luck to would-be rhymesters with that one.

[Tim Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Seventh and final Ed and Am Hunter novel was a late-comer, coming four years after the penultimate novel and 12 years after it had appeared that Brown had left the series behind. I'll say right off the bat that the title is a dog. It actually does play in to the novel (not in that way) but it's still not a good title. The book, however, is much better than I'd expected. The last two novels in the series are generally regarded as, at best, lesser works. But I found this one far more enjoyable than I was expecting.

Am has been hired by Vince Dolan to tail his wife. Almost simultaneously Mike Dolan, his young son, embroils Ed in the family by trying to steal his gun, ostensibly to protect his father from people plotting to kill him. Of course there's a not as young daughter for whom Ed falls (as Ed is want to do). And the solution, while not completely surprising is satisfying. I think one of the things that Brown always does in these books is to show that the life of a private detective isn't non-stop action. There is a lot of boredom and a lot of bills to pay without a lot of income.

Not the highlight of the series. But far better than I expected. Well worth a read and a decent wrap-up for the uncle and nephew sleuths.

[Ron Zack · Rating 3 out of 5]

What's Missing From Mrs. Murphy's Underpants?

“Mrs. Murphy’s Underpants” is the 7th and last book in the series of Ed and Am Hunter novels by Frederic Brown. Brown once again shows himself to be a good story teller and has developed two of the most consistent, interesting, and memorable characters in this genre.

As principals of the Hunter & Hunter detective agency, the two operatives seem to spend a lot of time sitting around playing gin rummy waiting for the telephone to ring. Another pastime, introduced in this book, is the Mrs. Murphy mind game in which they attempt to best one another with rhymes such as: “Who put the dying mule in Mrs. Murphy’s swimming pool?”

As in the other books, several bread-and-butter cases are interspersed in between scenes of the main case and the reader definitely gets the feel of the monotony that makes up much of a private detective’s business life. But the main case is weak, the lulls in the action are very long, and even the points of action seem watered down. The Mrs. Murphy business is not at all relevant to the story and the author strains to fit it in.

This is not one of Brown’s best. Still, as I have now read (and reviewed) all 7 of the Ed and Am novels, I’m going to miss these two.

[Jim Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have been a fan of Brown's mystery/crime/detective fiction and also his SF. I had read and enjoyed all the previous Am & Ed Hunter novels and but this was a letdown. The writing seemed forced and overly drawn out. This appears to be the last novel in the series. But I would still recommend reading the other 6 stories beginning with "The Fabulous Clipjoint" from 1947. It tells how the uncle and nephew first teamed up and is a very good novel. I gave that one 4 stars.

[Lukas Persson · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the mystery might be a bit soft, the character portrait within is actually a really nice send-off for the characters. I would expand upon that over the mystery, if I were to ever adapt this into a film.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ed Hunter and his uncle Am(brose) have a private detective agency which handles small cases and makes a living for the two. Then they get involved in the Dolan family's problems when eight-year-old Mike Dolan tries to steal Ed's gun. Vince Dolan is an honest businessman whose business--working for the Syndicate--happens to be illegal. He has a beautiful daughter, Ed's special attraction in the case, and a wife with problems. But is someone really trying to kill likeable Vince, or does Mike completely misunderstand the situation? Light, fast-moving and fun.

[D.S. Cohen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fredric Brown is one of my all-time favorite writers, but this doesn't read or feel like his usual style. It was almost as though he was trying to mimic Ian Flemming's style. Very dry and dull with nothing interesting ever happening.