A Perfectly Proper Murder

Carl Wilcox #10

by Harold Adams

Carl Wilcox finds himself the prime suspect in the murder of a less-than-respectable small-town tycoon, and what he uncovers in the course of clearing his name becomes surprise even to him.

Genres: Mystery

150 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1993

About the author

BORN 1923

Reviews

[Maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

PROTAGONIST: Carl Wilcox, sign painter and sometime PI
SETTING: 1930s - Podunkville, South Dakota
SERIES: #10 of 16
RATING: 3.25
WHY: Carl Wilcox is in Podunkville, South Dakota, to do some sign painting when a local town scion is murdered. Basil Ecke had a bad temper and was known to have hit women when he lost it. He was also a womanizer. Carl assists the local sheriff in investigating the case. He's good at putting things together and reaching logical conclusions. Carl is an ex-con, but he's fundamentally decent. In each of the books, he gets involved with a local woman. Nothing flashy, but a satisfying read.

[Kathryn McCary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carl is back to working as a travelling sign painter (good thing, because there's only so many murders a small town such as Corden--or a small city such as Aquatown--can accommodate). He exchanges hostile words with the next-door neighbor at his boarding house in Podunkville, and next thing you know the guy is dead. So of course Carl gets involved in solving the murder. As always, the book is redolent of the dusty small-towns of South Dakota in the great depression and, as always, the atmosphere carries the narrative. A quick, pleasing read