The Dishonest Murderer

Mr. & Mrs. North #13

by Frances Lockridge, Richard Lockridge

The Dishonest Murderer, a Mr. and Mrs. North mystery

“One of the best Mr. and Mrs. North mysteries the Lockridges have produced, ‘The Dishonest Murderer’ is well plotted, smooth, and urbane. It has good suspense, and the delineation of the strengths and frailties of the human beings involved in the crime is interesting.”—The New York Times

At a party celebrating the release of Admiral Satterbee’s memoirs, Pam North hits it off with the Admiral’s daughter, Freddie, who is engaged to a U.S. senator. Later that night, sadly, it is found that Senator Kirkhill has lost his husbandly suitability when he is discovered dead, murdered, in fact. Freddie seeks the Norths for help; she has information that could shed light on the murder, but involving the police might be a bad idea.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy, Fiction, Ebooks

222 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1949

About the author

Frances Louise (Davis) Lockridge wrote popular mysteries and children's books with husband Richard Lockridge. They also published under the shared pseudonym Francis Richards.

Reviews

[Zain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes…The Norths, Again…

During a cold New Years Eve in New York, Senator Kirkhill is found murdered! And in a disreputable part of town! And wearing the old crumbly clothes of a vagabond!

As usual, Lieutenant Weigand is helped by the helpful Pamela North. She already has a healthy list of suspects: The crooked private investigator, Mr. Smiley? Admiral Satterbee, who hired him? Freddie Haven, daughter of Satterbee and fiancé of the senator? Phipps, the senator’s right-hand man? And a useful cast of characters?

This is the thirteenth book in the series (so I believe), and the suspense and originality has not run out. Lots of delightful banter, eating delicious food, and definitely many martinis.

A fascinating reading with the satisfaction of a clever ending.

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Dishonest Murderer, lucky 13th in the series featuring Pam and Jerry North and their friend, Lieutenant Bill Weigand, proves one of the suspenseful of all. A progressive senator is due to marry the daughter of an admiral — only he never shows up to the New Year’s Eve party given in their honor. That’s because he’d been murdered earlier that evening.

The novel packs more suspense and lots more twists and turns than usual; authors Frances and Richard Lockride made this a novel not to miss. I’ve been along since the first book, The Norths Meet Murder, but I promise newbies that they won’t feel the least bit lost. Highly, highly recommended.

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Mr. and Mrs. North book, but it was still a good mystery. I'll have to try more of them in the future.

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

I discovered Francis and Richard Lockridge's books after reading about Gladys Taber, a favorite author of mine. Apparently they were all friends back in the day. I also learned that the Mr. and Mrs. North series was quite popular in the forties and fifties and was eventually made into a radio program and adapted into a screenplay. So, of course I had to try it out. The mystery was enjoyable and played like a 1940's movie in my head. Some intrigue, minimal big action scenes, and lots of dialogue. I'll have to check out another Mr. and Mrs. North mystery soon.

[Marley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished this in one overnight marathon read. The Dishonest Murderer is #13 in the series. I wanted to read them in order, but most of the Kindle editions are a bit pricey in my current circumstances so I settled for this since it was more than half the price of the others.

Pam and Jerry find themselves in the midst of political intrigue when Sen. Bruce Kirkhill, a liberal but anti-communist, senator from a western state (unnamed) is found dead under mysterious circumstances: wearing old clothes, sitting in a frozen doorway in the Bowery. The autopsy indicates he was full of chloral hydrate. ohoh. Mayhem follows.

Our cast of characters is led by the Senator's fiance Mrs. Freddie Havens, his daughter Celia,his secretary Howard Phipps, Mrs. Havens father retired admiral, Wiliam Satterbee, a dirtbag PI, and other relatives and hangers on including the utterly perfect bathing suit model Breese Burnley. (don't we all have one of these perfect people in our lives?) Of course, there's Lt. Weigand & crew to steer the ship, including a new cop, William Blake (of all names) .Oh I forgot cats.

The star of this episode is the finally crafted Freddie Havens who gives the Pam North a run for her money in figuring things out. Freddie and Bill Blake (or Freddie and Pam) might have made an interesting spin-off series.

A good murder mystery appropriate for our smarmy presidential campaign.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Pam and Jerry North so much. I want to live Pam's life. Manhattan, siamese cats, cocktails, smart friends, NO job...sigh!

[Anna Katharine · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I scored a pile of vintage, hardback Mr. & Mrs. North mysteries at The Book Exchange in Hickory, NC I might have squealed in glee- I've always loved them, but have only found battered pulp paperbacks in the past. The Dishonest Murder is my clear favorite thus far, in part because I love mid-century tales of New York society, but largely because the characters are so lively. Female characters were fully involved in the action, rather than serving as props or motivation; I'd have to go back and check, but this might actually pass the Bechdel test! I'm glad politics were just a minor background detail and not enough to get boring. As usual, tension is supplied by Mrs. North getting herself into a spot, but the puzzle was believable and the denouement unexpected. Highly recommended.

[Jessi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another fun and fast mystery read from the authors of Pam and Jerry North. I pegged the murderer pretty early (which means this was not only clued fairly, but fairly broadly) but Pam’s bright chatter and the interesting use of third person narrative (giving us explicit thoughts and feelings of various characters) made this book a delight.

When Pam and Jerry attend a New Year’s Eve party, they little realize that most of the people they meet will end up as suspects in a murder case. The cast of characters include an admiral, his daughter, her senator fiancé, his daughter, her beau, the senator’s housekeeper and daughter (former love-interest for the senator), and the senator’s campaign manager. When the hub of the wheel that connects them all (the senator) is found dead in a doorway of the wrong part of town, and he’s wearing borrowed bum’s clothing. Who killed, him, why, and why was he wearing those clothes?

[Jeffrey Marks · Rating 4 out of 5]

The early books in the series are written from the POVs of Pam North and Lt. Weigand; however, the later books also include the perspective of 3rd characters, typically women who are going to be accused of the crimes, but are innocent. This book spent a lot of time in the 3rd character's viewpoint, mostly worrying.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Freddie Haven is not a woman who is easily confused. However, earlier today, she thought she saw her fiancé US Senator Bruce Kirkhill just for a moment when the car she was in stopped briefly at a traffic light. But that man couldn’t be Bruce! What would he be doing in that part of town dressed so shabbily? Bruce told Freddie he would be taking a train from Washington DC to NY City and arrive around 10 pm. There is a New Year’s Eve party tonight hosted by Freddie’s father, a retired Vice Admiral, at their home in the Navy Yard. As the party begins, Freddie remains on edge each time the doorbell rings and Bruce doesn’t arrive. Everyone close to the engaged couple are at this gathering. No one seems to know if Bruce changed his plans. Then, a police detective appears in the foyer and asks for Senator Kirkhill’s daughter - his next of kin...

[Victoria Beavers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Very Solid Entry

This is a fabulous series. They were written in and take place in NYC, mostly in the 1950's (I'm at least in the ballpark). They're so well done, so correct in their description of the iconic town and time, that the entire series is elevated to something more than merely a cozy little mystery.

Mr. and Mrs. North are brilliantly drawn characters. So much fun! Mrs. North has a keen mind, but people have a difficult time keeping up with the way she communicates her thoughts. Some readers may think she's a witless scatterbrain, but she isn't. She has skills.

I'm reading them in order. It's not required, but in an extremely character-centered series as this, I prefer it. But please don't hesitate to join in anywhere. None of them disappoint. In fact, this one is one of my favorites, so far. Please enjoy.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed it; light but fun. A New Year's Eve party goes awry when the main attraction doesn't show up - the party was supposed to be both a New Year's Eve party and an acknowledgement of the engagement of Senator Kirkhill and Freddie Haven - but when the Senator doesn't show up, the party guests are left to wonder why ... and then the police show up, and ask for someone to come see if a body they've found is the Senator. But why was he found in old clothes, in a doorway, and full of chloral hydrate? Pam's insistence that the murderer is very dishonest - a liar - is startling to all - since when isn't murder fundamentally dishonest? - but it goes a ways to pointing to the solution of the crime.

[Delia Binder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was about halfway through this book when I hit a passage discussing the victim's staunch Anticommunist stance, and I went, "Wait a minute - how old is this book anyway?" Prior to that I'd had a feeling this was a series written by a non-American writer, because the writing seemed just a bit more formal than I was used to - so I checked for a copyright page, which didn't exist in the Kindle version I read. Googling it, I discovered the book, written in 1949, was the midpoint of a long-running mystery series from the late 1930s to the early 1960s, and was the basis of a 12-year long radio series, a hit Broadway play, a two-year television series in the Fifties, and even a feature film starring Gracie Allen as Mrs. Smith.

Gracie Allen - Playing The Gracie Allen Part

[Dorothy J. Barkell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another winner

This mystery involving the Norths and Lt Weigand starts with a New Year's party and a missing guest. That guest happens to be a senator and the fiancee of the party's hostess. The mystery surrounds the senator, his aide, his estranged brother, and his fiancee's family and friends. Before long, the Norths are involved, and the hint of bribery and dishonesty begin to stain the Senator's reputation. It takes the police department and the Norths to untangle the situation and bring a cunning criminal to justice.

[Robyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Early Bird Book Deal | too much time in the wrong head. | One of the things I really enjoy about this series is that the women, though their thought processes aren't always strictly logical, are intelligent and aware. In this book we spend most of the time seeing from the perspective of Freddie Haven, who is a classic Miss Silver heroine. In other words, a complete moron who makes every possible mistake because she's flighty and naive and jumps to conclusions.

[Sharon Weyant-Muir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast paced mystery

Have been reading the North mysteries and found this one to be easier to understand and fast paced. Everyone seems to be trying to solve the mystery except the maid and butler so there were several trails to follow. Pam's convoluted thinking always seems to get them in the right direction. At least this mystery didn't have the police arresting the person least likely to be the killer.

[Cathy Hooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was probably a 2.5 for me, but I am kind, so I rounded up. I had recently stumbled on to the Miss Silver cozies written in the 30s and 40s and love the authenticity of reading a book set in the 30s that is actually written during that time. I thought the same night be true for these as they were apparently very popular in the 40s and 50s. Sadly, I did not care for these. If these are true to life, I guess I can see how NYC got the nickname of the city that never sleeps because all of the action took place after midnight. I don’t know when any of these people slept. It is the story of a woman whose fiancé is killed and she tries to find out what happened. He is a senator, but that didn’t seem to help much in the investigation. Also she has zero emotion about his death. In fact all of the characters were like cardboard cut outs...no depth. If this was a popular long running series, either I picked the one did, or mystery writing has improved by leaps and bounds.

[Judi · Rating 5 out of 5]

More fun with the Norths. A senator is found dead on the Bowery. His fiance's father (an Admiral), the fiance, the daughter of his housekeeper, the seedy detective hired by the Admiral are all suspected. More fun with the Norths' cats, and Pam's odd thought processes which again endanger her. Recommended.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now that my books are unpacked from moving I once again have access to the Lockridge titles that I own. Started re-reading the Mr. & Mrs. North series this summer, but sadly the library only owned a few. Have re-read 4 so far this month and may fit in a few more....

[Heatherinblack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pam got it all wrong

Which is not really giving anything away because it was all VERY convoluted and it was hard to keep things straight. The also drink A LOT. But, that was the time.

[Rudy Seifert · Rating 2 out of 5]

A slight NY murder mystery from 1949, readable, but just only.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

For once, Mrs. North didn’t figure it out until the very end

[Christine PNW · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first book of the new year was a New Year mystery!

[Whistler's Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like many women of her generation, Freddie Satterbee Haven was widowed by WWII and returned to the New York City home of her father, Retired Admiral Satterbee. Motherless from an early age, she and her father are unusually close. When she becomes engaged to U.S. Senator Bruce Kirkhill, her father’s protective instincts shift into high gear. Like many military men he distrusts politicians. But is there really something shady about the popular, powerful senator or would Freddie’s father resent anyone she marries?

Senator Kirkhill is a widower himself with a daughter not much younger than Freddie. The two women are friendly and Freddie Haven has the looks and social savvy to thrive in the national political arena. Celia is also motherless and she and her father are devoted to each other, but now she’s engaged to a nice young man and will soon be independent. Friends and relatives are gathered at the Satterbee apartment to ring in the new year, but the senator never shows up.

A few hours later, his body is discovered slumped in a doorway in a run-down neighborhood. To add to the mystery, the wealthy senator is dressed in the shabby clothes of a derelict. Who has he gone to meet and why is he in disguise?

Pam and Jerry North have been invited to the party by Admiral Satterbee, who’s written a book being published by Jerry’s firm. Something about Mrs. North’s sympathetic, slightly eccentric personality appeals to Freddie and when she realizes that Bruce Kirkhill’s death could involve her family in scandal and heartbreak, she turns to Pam North for help. She knows that her father was mistrustful of Kirkhill and a terse conversation overheard on the phone leads her to believe that he may know something about the mysterious death. She’s determined to shield her father from suspicion.

The Senator’s life and death prove to be quite complicated. His former mistress is a gorgeous model who planned to leverage her position into a prestigious marriage. Was she willing to kill Kirkhill rather than lose him to another woman? His alcoholic brother has been a problem for years. Was he trying to blackmail his successful brother and did their meeting result in murder?

Then there’s his fervent support for a government utilities project that powerful energy companies see as a threat. The owner of the biggest company is the father of the young man who’s engaged to Celia Kirkhill. There are rumors that the senator is playing a dangerous game - accepting money from the corporations in exchange for eventually reversing his position on the project. His loyal assistant Howard Phipps swears that Kirkhill was an honest man, but who’s been pocketing those kick-backs?

Of course, Pam North has her own theory, but can she convince her friend Lt. Bill Weigand of the NYPD? In addition to Weigand and his usual sidekick Sgt. Mullins, this book introduces a new policeman. Sgt. William Blake is handsome, smooth, and very attracted to beautiful Freddie Haven. In the end, a trap must be laid and both Freddie and Pam are put into danger to expose a killer who's determined to frame someone else for his crime. As Pam North says disapprovingly, "That's DISHONEST!"

Like all the Mr and Mrs North books, this one is well-written and witty. The authors loved New York City and in their skillful hands, the Big Apple becomes part of the story. Their books take us back in time and allow us to experience life in the aftermath of WWII. Enjoy.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's New Year's Eve and Freddie (Winifred) Haven is ready to celebrate...not just a new year, but a new beginning. The party is being held in honor of her engagement to Senator Bruce Kirkhill. But things begin to go wrong before the midnight revelry begins. As they are making final preparations for the party, her father, Admiral Sattrbee, is acting a bit odd, haltingly asking whether she's sure about this engagement, and then she accidentally overhears part of his telephone conversation with an unknown man. A conversation that seems to be about her fiancé. Then Bruce doesn't turn up at "ten-ish" as expected--nor at eleven-ish or midnight. When the party is winding down, a policeman arrives with the news that man, whom they hope very much isn't the senator (but by implication they very much believe is...), has been found dead in very unfortunate circumstances. And could someone come and verify whether the man is Kirkhill or not? It is.

Now, of course, this is a Pam & Jerry North story--so where do they come in? Well, as it happens, Admiral Satterbee is preparing to publish his memoirs and has naturally decided to do so with North Books. Pam & Jerry were invited to the New Year's party and stopped in for a while. Pam's radar went off and she knew that Freddie was worried about something and, being Pam, had been especially nice to the young woman even though she and Jerry had to rush off to another party. Bill Weigand (who seems to catch all the calls for murder in New York City) is on the case. And when a rather disreputable little man shows up at the Satterbee apartment to see her father, Freddie gets even more worried and hares off to the Norths apartment to ask Pam's advice...because somebody had once mentioned to her that "those Norths are amateur detectives...or something."

Senator Kirkhill was found in a seedy section of town, wearing worn and scruffy clothes. He had died from chloral hydrate. One might think that he'd run into trouble of some sort down in the Bowery, but Weigand and company focus on the senator's associates, friends, and family-to-be--because everyone seems to be hiding something and one of them just might be hiding the guilty knowledge of murder. He also happens by the Norths' apartment while Freddie is there and wonders why she's so frightened. Not that she'll admit it him. But Weigand will find out in the end...and he'll get his killer too.

Another light and breezy adventure with the Norths. My memory of this one must be better--or I was just very astute today--because I spotted the culprit right away (as I recall, I spotted them right off the first time I read it, many moons ago). But this didn't prevent me from enjoying myself thoroughly. I love reading the Lockridge books when I need a light, comfortable story. And, I had forgotten the slight twist at the end--where Freddie Haven gives Pamela North a run for her money on figuring out what the culprit is doing while they're doing it. Great fun!

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic Lockridge

Not the best of their, but still worth reading. It follows the puzzle style, rather than the current action/suspense model. It is fun to follow Pam North as she and Bill Weigand close in on the killer.

Written in the Mr. & Mrs. North mold.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun. Wish I was Mrs North!

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series!

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Pam & Jerry North! Why aren't more of these books digitized?????

[Karen Plummer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guessed whodunit but not the why of the murder. Another fun read.