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Whit Whitney #1
Death and Taxes
The first novel from one of the greatest of mystery writers, the man who would later go on to write TO CATCH A THIEF.
Often compared to Dashiell Hammett, David Dodge's urbane writing style stands the test of time. His novels still show the hallmarks of being fresh, fast-paced and witty.
Whit Whitney is the last person you’d want to meet. The taxman is no one’s best friend. But in 1940’s San Francisco, there’s a price to pay for murder, romance, and heavy drinking, and the taxman turned detective is coming to collect.
Hilarious and twisty, Dodge’s first novel is among his best, and makes for a terrific introduction to one of last century’s greatest talents in mystery.
Often compared to Dashiell Hammett, David Dodge's urbane writing style stands the test of time. His novels still show the hallmarks of being fresh, fast-paced and witty.
Whit Whitney is the last person you’d want to meet. The taxman is no one’s best friend. But in 1940’s San Francisco, there’s a price to pay for murder, romance, and heavy drinking, and the taxman turned detective is coming to collect.
Hilarious and twisty, Dodge’s first novel is among his best, and makes for a terrific introduction to one of last century’s greatest talents in mystery.
314 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1941
51 people are currently reading
204 people want to read
About the author
David Dodge
89 books28 followersDavid Francis Dodge (August 18, 1910 – August 1974) was an author of mystery/thriller novels and humorous travel books. His first book was published in 1941. His fiction is characterized by tight plotting, brisk dialogue, memorable and well-defined characters, and (often) exotic locations. His travel writing documented the (mis)adventures of the Dodge family (David, his wife Elva, and daughter Kendal) as they roamed around the world. Practical advice and information for the traveler on a budget are sprinkled liberally throughout the books.
David Dodge was born in Berkeley, California, the youngest child of George Andrew Dodge, a San Francisco architect, and Maude Ellingwood Bennett Dodge. Following George's death in an automobile accident, Maude "Monnie" Dodge moved the family (David and his three older sisters, Kathryn, Frances, and Marian) to Southern California, where David attended Lincoln High School in Los Angeles but did not graduate.
After leaving school, he worked as a bank messenger, a marine fireman, a stevedore, and a night watchman. In 1934, he went to work for the San Francisco accounting firm of McLaren, Goode & Company, becoming a Certified Public Accountant in 1937. On July 17, 1936, he was married to Elva Keith, a former Macmillan Company editorial representative, and their only daughter, Kendal, was born in 1940. After the attack on Pearl Harbor he joined the U.S. Naval Reserve, emerging three years later with the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
David Dodge's first experience as a writer came through his involvement with the Macondray Lane Players, a group of amateur playwrights, producers, and actors whose goal was to create a theater purely for pleasure. The group was founded by George Henry Burkhardt (Dodge's brother-in-law) and performed exclusively at Macondria, a little theater located in the basement of Burkhardt's house at 56 Macondray Lane on San Francisco's Russian Hill. His publishing career began in 1936 when he won First Prize in the Northern California Drama Association's Third Annual One Act Play Tournament. The prize-winning play, "A Certain Man Had Two Sons," was subsequently published by the Banner Play Bureau, of San Francisco. Another Dodge play, "Christmas Eve at the Mermaid," co-written by Loyall McLaren (his boss at McLaren, Goode & Co.), was performed as the Bohemian Club's Christmas play of 1940, and again in 1959. In 1961, the Grabhorn Press published the play in a volume entitled Shakespeare in Bohemia.
His career as a writer really began, however, when he made a bet with his wife that he could write a better mystery novel than the ones they were reading during a rainy family vacation. He drew on his professional experience as a CPA and wrote his first novel, Death and Taxes, featuring San Francisco tax expert and reluctant detective James "Whit" Whitney. It was published by Macmillan in 1941 and he won five dollars from Elva. Three more Whitney novels soon followed: Shear the Black Sheep (Macmillan, 1942), Bullets for the Bridegroom (Macmillan, 1944) and It Ain't Hay (Simon & Schuster, 1946), in which Whit tangles with marijuana smugglers. With its subject matter and extremely evocative cover art on both the first edition dust jacket and the paperback reprint, this book remains one of Dodge's most collectible titles.
Upon his release from active duty by the Navy in 1945, Dodge left San Francisco and set out for Guatemala by car with his wife and daughter, beginning his second career as a travel writer. The Dodge family's misadventures on the road through Mexico are hilariously documented in How Green Was My Father (Simon & Schuster, 1947). His Latin American experiences also produced a second series character, expatriate private investigator and tough-guy adventurer Al Colby, who first appears in The Long Escape (Random House, 1948).
Two more well-received Colby books appeared in 1949 and 1950, but with the publication of To Catch a Thief in 1952, Dodge abandoned series ch
David Dodge was born in Berkeley, California, the youngest child of George Andrew Dodge, a San Francisco architect, and Maude Ellingwood Bennett Dodge. Following George's death in an automobile accident, Maude "Monnie" Dodge moved the family (David and his three older sisters, Kathryn, Frances, and Marian) to Southern California, where David attended Lincoln High School in Los Angeles but did not graduate.
After leaving school, he worked as a bank messenger, a marine fireman, a stevedore, and a night watchman. In 1934, he went to work for the San Francisco accounting firm of McLaren, Goode & Company, becoming a Certified Public Accountant in 1937. On July 17, 1936, he was married to Elva Keith, a former Macmillan Company editorial representative, and their only daughter, Kendal, was born in 1940. After the attack on Pearl Harbor he joined the U.S. Naval Reserve, emerging three years later with the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
David Dodge's first experience as a writer came through his involvement with the Macondray Lane Players, a group of amateur playwrights, producers, and actors whose goal was to create a theater purely for pleasure. The group was founded by George Henry Burkhardt (Dodge's brother-in-law) and performed exclusively at Macondria, a little theater located in the basement of Burkhardt's house at 56 Macondray Lane on San Francisco's Russian Hill. His publishing career began in 1936 when he won First Prize in the Northern California Drama Association's Third Annual One Act Play Tournament. The prize-winning play, "A Certain Man Had Two Sons," was subsequently published by the Banner Play Bureau, of San Francisco. Another Dodge play, "Christmas Eve at the Mermaid," co-written by Loyall McLaren (his boss at McLaren, Goode & Co.), was performed as the Bohemian Club's Christmas play of 1940, and again in 1959. In 1961, the Grabhorn Press published the play in a volume entitled Shakespeare in Bohemia.
His career as a writer really began, however, when he made a bet with his wife that he could write a better mystery novel than the ones they were reading during a rainy family vacation. He drew on his professional experience as a CPA and wrote his first novel, Death and Taxes, featuring San Francisco tax expert and reluctant detective James "Whit" Whitney. It was published by Macmillan in 1941 and he won five dollars from Elva. Three more Whitney novels soon followed: Shear the Black Sheep (Macmillan, 1942), Bullets for the Bridegroom (Macmillan, 1944) and It Ain't Hay (Simon & Schuster, 1946), in which Whit tangles with marijuana smugglers. With its subject matter and extremely evocative cover art on both the first edition dust jacket and the paperback reprint, this book remains one of Dodge's most collectible titles.
Upon his release from active duty by the Navy in 1945, Dodge left San Francisco and set out for Guatemala by car with his wife and daughter, beginning his second career as a travel writer. The Dodge family's misadventures on the road through Mexico are hilariously documented in How Green Was My Father (Simon & Schuster, 1947). His Latin American experiences also produced a second series character, expatriate private investigator and tough-guy adventurer Al Colby, who first appears in The Long Escape (Random House, 1948).
Two more well-received Colby books appeared in 1949 and 1950, but with the publication of To Catch a Thief in 1952, Dodge abandoned series ch
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
May 11, 2023
I like this book, so I’m putting that out as a prologue or prelude, before I begin my disclaimers and caveats. It was written and published in 1941. Consequently, the writing is a little dated (a lot, my sons would say). The dialogue reads like black and white noir movies, where all the men sound like Humphrey Bogart, Jimmy Stewart, or Edward G. Robinson and all the women speak like Katharine Hepburn or Rita Hayworth. Political correctness did not exist in those days so those readers sensitive to slurs might have difficulty with the language even though I can’t remember any expletives uttered.
The story is about tax evasion and its penal consequences. The characters are flat, but reminiscent of a different time, that I’m only familiar with via cinema, but still, it tickled my nostalgia neurons to fire and bombard the rest of me with yummy endorphins. In conclusion, I was happy to read another literary oddity, but I enjoyed this one a lot more than the last. Young people, word of warning, you probably won’t like this unless you are into classic movies. Note to Hitchcock fans: Dodge wrote To Catch a Thief.
The story is about tax evasion and its penal consequences. The characters are flat, but reminiscent of a different time, that I’m only familiar with via cinema, but still, it tickled my nostalgia neurons to fire and bombard the rest of me with yummy endorphins. In conclusion, I was happy to read another literary oddity, but I enjoyed this one a lot more than the last. Young people, word of warning, you probably won’t like this unless you are into classic movies. Note to Hitchcock fans: Dodge wrote To Catch a Thief.
April 22, 2023
David Dodge, before he became famous for "It Takes A Thief," began his writing career with "Death And Taxes," the first of four novels starring a CPA in San Francisco. This book was written in 1941 an the succeeding three books in the series written in 1942 ("Shear the Black Sheep"), 1944 (Bullets for the Bridegroom"), and 1946 ("It Ain't Hay"). It took nearly a decade after publishing his first book for Dodge to become well-known as a writer and for his craft to fully develop. Dodge worked as an accountant before turning full time to writing and appropriate his first series of books feature an accountant as the unlikely protagonist.
Whitney, was a hard-drinking CPA with a strong right cross who was not going to let go of a murder case after his partner was murdered. His partner, "George MacLeod had a bankroll, a good-looking brunette wife, and a weakness for blondes. He did pretty good in both fields until he got involved with a girl with yellow hair and tax troubles." What a terrific pulpy opening to a novel! With gangsters, bootleggers, a pair of playboy-type accountants, and a mystery having to do with taxes, tax refunds, and, of course, murder, Dodge was off and running with his first novel.
The story involves a bootlegging fortune, a gorgeous blonde heiress, bullets, gunfire, and more. As others have noted, this series is not as good a read as Dodge's later series about Al Colby in Latin America, but who else would have an accountant as his hero in a hardboiled novel?
Whitney, was a hard-drinking CPA with a strong right cross who was not going to let go of a murder case after his partner was murdered. His partner, "George MacLeod had a bankroll, a good-looking brunette wife, and a weakness for blondes. He did pretty good in both fields until he got involved with a girl with yellow hair and tax troubles." What a terrific pulpy opening to a novel! With gangsters, bootleggers, a pair of playboy-type accountants, and a mystery having to do with taxes, tax refunds, and, of course, murder, Dodge was off and running with his first novel.
The story involves a bootlegging fortune, a gorgeous blonde heiress, bullets, gunfire, and more. As others have noted, this series is not as good a read as Dodge's later series about Al Colby in Latin America, but who else would have an accountant as his hero in a hardboiled novel?
September 12, 2021
David Dodge hit the ground running with this first novel and never looked back. All the strengths I see in his Al Colby novels that I've read are also present in Death and Taxes. Figured around a tax fraud and a CPA James "Whit" Whitney's investigation, the story draws upon Dodge's own background as an accountant and CPA. Hard to believe that the life of an accountant would provide the inspiration for such an addictive piece of detective fiction. But what you see here comes back in later novels, the ease of writing and the smoothness of the plot, the sense of continuity that never breaks off, and the ability to constantly advance the story and never allow any lags to occur. Finally, although written in 1941, before America's entry into World War II, Death and Taxes has something of a postwar feel to it. There is an exotic mix in it that somehow provides just enough shine in the shadows to separate it from the 1930s hardboiled fiction and place it more in the contrasting world of postwar noir. Or at least so it seems to me.
July 30, 2011
This is David Dodge's inaugural novel first published in 1941 by Macmillan. Whit Whitney, our hero, is a CPA in California where he's drawn into a complex murder mystery involving the violent death of his firm's partner. Big money is at stake, a cool million tax refund coming from Uncle Sam. Only the rich estate in question is run by bootleggers, gangsters, and thugs.
If you like to try a different hardboiled mystery, Death and Taxes just might turn your crank. It's the first hardboiled title I've ever read with a CPA cum private eye as the protagonist. I got a bit lost in following the tax codes and laws, but the book's energetic pace, sharp prose, and entertaining cast of characters all gelled to hold my interest. All told, I vote a thumb's up. Three other titles fill out the Whit Whitney series.
Randy Brandt contributes an insight introduction, explaining about David Dodge's colorful life and literary career.
If you like to try a different hardboiled mystery, Death and Taxes just might turn your crank. It's the first hardboiled title I've ever read with a CPA cum private eye as the protagonist. I got a bit lost in following the tax codes and laws, but the book's energetic pace, sharp prose, and entertaining cast of characters all gelled to hold my interest. All told, I vote a thumb's up. Three other titles fill out the Whit Whitney series.
Randy Brandt contributes an insight introduction, explaining about David Dodge's colorful life and literary career.
April 5, 2023
Can a mild-mannered accountant be an amateur detective?
I love old mysteries, but I'd never heard of David Dodge before stumbling onto this gem. He was a native Californian (born in 1910) whose family suffered financially after the death of his father. Dropping out of high school and trying various jobs, Dodge became a CPA in 1937. He must have found the work so interesting that he figured he could build a book around it and this (his first) was published in 1941.
It's set in San Francisco and the hero is "Whit" Whitney the dashing young junior partner in a two-man accounting firm. When his partner is murdered, Whitney reluctantly teams up with the S.F.P.D. to solve the murder and retrieve the evidence needed to claim a big tax refund for a beautiful heiress.
It's a complicated story of legal breweries and bootlegging, business partners who don't trust each other, and how underworld characters are never far removed from even the most respectable appearing businesses. The climax is not a complete surprise, but it's well done.
This was the first of four mysteries that Dodge wrote about Whitney and they sold well enough to allow him and his family to travel extensively. He had further success with several travel books and then started setting his mysteries in more exotic locations. TO CATCH A THIEF caught the attention of Alfred Hitchcock and was made into a classic movie.
But I like the domestic books. The characters are what you would expect from the noir period and the humor is out-standing. It's a simpler time, when a bad case of sunburn is an inconvenience, not a precursor to cancer. WWII has begun, but Americans are still sitting it out and all the stylish San Francisco gents have a "Jap" houseboy, some of whom are as handy at keeping intruders at bay as they are at mixing highballs.
The police complain about regulations that keep them from beating confessions out of suspects, but it doesn't hold them back much. The idea of driving from Mexico to San Francisco through miles of farm land is almost as attractive as a world in which TWO different guns means PROFESSIONAL KILLERS! It's a charming, well-written period piece and I enjoyed it. I hope the others in this series will be available as Kindle editions soon. I'm ready to buy them.
I love old mysteries, but I'd never heard of David Dodge before stumbling onto this gem. He was a native Californian (born in 1910) whose family suffered financially after the death of his father. Dropping out of high school and trying various jobs, Dodge became a CPA in 1937. He must have found the work so interesting that he figured he could build a book around it and this (his first) was published in 1941.
It's set in San Francisco and the hero is "Whit" Whitney the dashing young junior partner in a two-man accounting firm. When his partner is murdered, Whitney reluctantly teams up with the S.F.P.D. to solve the murder and retrieve the evidence needed to claim a big tax refund for a beautiful heiress.
It's a complicated story of legal breweries and bootlegging, business partners who don't trust each other, and how underworld characters are never far removed from even the most respectable appearing businesses. The climax is not a complete surprise, but it's well done.
This was the first of four mysteries that Dodge wrote about Whitney and they sold well enough to allow him and his family to travel extensively. He had further success with several travel books and then started setting his mysteries in more exotic locations. TO CATCH A THIEF caught the attention of Alfred Hitchcock and was made into a classic movie.
But I like the domestic books. The characters are what you would expect from the noir period and the humor is out-standing. It's a simpler time, when a bad case of sunburn is an inconvenience, not a precursor to cancer. WWII has begun, but Americans are still sitting it out and all the stylish San Francisco gents have a "Jap" houseboy, some of whom are as handy at keeping intruders at bay as they are at mixing highballs.
The police complain about regulations that keep them from beating confessions out of suspects, but it doesn't hold them back much. The idea of driving from Mexico to San Francisco through miles of farm land is almost as attractive as a world in which TWO different guns means PROFESSIONAL KILLERS! It's a charming, well-written period piece and I enjoyed it. I hope the others in this series will be available as Kindle editions soon. I'm ready to buy them.
May 1, 2023
Don't know quite what I was thinking when I picked this book other than it fit into a challenge I was doing but I'm glad I picked it up.
It's a bit of a hoot — really.
I'd never head of David Dodge but I won't soon forget this author or his work. This is the first mystery book that he wrote, in 1941. He wrote it on a bet with his wife, using his experience working as CPA in a San Francisco accounting firm; and it is not just a good mystery but filled with great characters and dialogue.
Who would think that a book about a murdered CPA, a bit of bootlegging during prohibition, tax fraud and overpayment to the U.S. Treasury would come out to be a delicious, totally surprising story. Whit Whitney is the accounting partner to George MacLeod and has finally gotten a vacation, which he decides to take in Mexico. Everything seems to go almost swimmingly — think hard-drinking, womanizing man on a spree south of the border but Whit not only gets drunk and sunburned, he has to leave two lovely young women when MacLeod calls and orders him back to help him with a big case. When Whit returns, he finds MacLeod is dead.
And Whit quickly figures that the murder is result of the reopening of a case in which MacLeod's client is found to have sold bootlegged beer and not reported the earnings. Taxes and penalties equal a cool million — in 1940! Its enough to make the client kill himself ... or did he? And why was MacLeod killed? Was there something in the old file that was dangerous to another? You bet!
Whit may not like the tactics the police choose to bring the killer out in the open but he goes along with it and even more, he pulls the strings to the solution.
Yes, the story may be a bit dated. Yes, amateur detectives don't talk, dress, walk and act like those 1940s actors like Humphrey Bogart anymore. But who cares when the story is funny and smart? This was good reading from start to finish.
It's a bit of a hoot — really.
I'd never head of David Dodge but I won't soon forget this author or his work. This is the first mystery book that he wrote, in 1941. He wrote it on a bet with his wife, using his experience working as CPA in a San Francisco accounting firm; and it is not just a good mystery but filled with great characters and dialogue.
Who would think that a book about a murdered CPA, a bit of bootlegging during prohibition, tax fraud and overpayment to the U.S. Treasury would come out to be a delicious, totally surprising story. Whit Whitney is the accounting partner to George MacLeod and has finally gotten a vacation, which he decides to take in Mexico. Everything seems to go almost swimmingly — think hard-drinking, womanizing man on a spree south of the border but Whit not only gets drunk and sunburned, he has to leave two lovely young women when MacLeod calls and orders him back to help him with a big case. When Whit returns, he finds MacLeod is dead.
And Whit quickly figures that the murder is result of the reopening of a case in which MacLeod's client is found to have sold bootlegged beer and not reported the earnings. Taxes and penalties equal a cool million — in 1940! Its enough to make the client kill himself ... or did he? And why was MacLeod killed? Was there something in the old file that was dangerous to another? You bet!
Whit may not like the tactics the police choose to bring the killer out in the open but he goes along with it and even more, he pulls the strings to the solution.
Yes, the story may be a bit dated. Yes, amateur detectives don't talk, dress, walk and act like those 1940s actors like Humphrey Bogart anymore. But who cares when the story is funny and smart? This was good reading from start to finish.
April 13, 2019
This is 1940s book with a San Francisco setting. If you are a tax or accounting professional and a mystery fan this book is for you. The story is about a San Francisco small accounting firm with two partners. When one of the partner (George MacLeod) was murdered, the other partner (Whitney) suspected George was murdered because he was about to file a $600,000 tax refund on behalf of a client days before the statute of limitation for filing the claim runs out. Whitney, however, was at a loss as to what is the basis of the refund claim and why somebody cared enough to murder. It turns out the tax refund claim was for a deceased client (a Harold Wolff)'s estate for bootlegging income he made in 1921 and 1922 during prohibition. After a lot of sleuthing, both by amateurs like Whitney and his colleagues as well as a quite competent police lieutenant Webster, they discovered Wolff actually was tricked into overpaying his tax because he only got half the profits. The other half was paid to his silent partner. The silent partner, in order to avoid having to pay tax himself if Wolff's refund claim is filed (which would set the IRS into action), first killed Wolff, then the accountant.
It is a very interesting book and moved at a good pace. There was some interesting local color both in San Francisco scenery as well as the accounting world in the 1940s.
It is a very interesting book and moved at a good pace. There was some interesting local color both in San Francisco scenery as well as the accounting world in the 1940s.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 6, 2016
Quote:
"Larson stayed where he was. The reporters looked at each other & back at Larson. Larson wiped the palms of his hands on his pants, grinning, and the fourth estate moved in on him.
There wasn't much to it. It was the first time Larson had had a fair chance to do a job he was fitted for, and he went about it with his whole heart. The reporter who had done the talking was in front; Larson banged him in the mouth with a left hook and caught the man behind him with a round-house swing. They both lost interest in the news of the day. The third reporter slugged Larson once in the eye before he was knocked flat on his back, and the fourth man fled from the apartment while Larson was stumbling over the other bodies to get to him. The whole thing took thirty seconds."
David Dodge has been compared to Hammett & Chandler. In this his first published novel (circa 1941), Hammett's 'The Thin Man' comes to mind. Actually, i preferred this to 'The Thin Man'.
"Larson stayed where he was. The reporters looked at each other & back at Larson. Larson wiped the palms of his hands on his pants, grinning, and the fourth estate moved in on him.
There wasn't much to it. It was the first time Larson had had a fair chance to do a job he was fitted for, and he went about it with his whole heart. The reporter who had done the talking was in front; Larson banged him in the mouth with a left hook and caught the man behind him with a round-house swing. They both lost interest in the news of the day. The third reporter slugged Larson once in the eye before he was knocked flat on his back, and the fourth man fled from the apartment while Larson was stumbling over the other bodies to get to him. The whole thing took thirty seconds."
David Dodge has been compared to Hammett & Chandler. In this his first published novel (circa 1941), Hammett's 'The Thin Man' comes to mind. Actually, i preferred this to 'The Thin Man'.
December 28, 2025
I enjoy murder mysteries set in San Francisco. This one written in 1941 reads like a noir movie, where the hero is put up as bait, in this case by the police, and in constant danger.
CPAs are pretty boring in their work, but this involves a young man Whit Whitney partnered with an established CPA George MacLeod. When the elder is killed at the office during an investigation into an IRS tax refund of an East Bay beer brewery during Prohibition, things get complicated, and interesting. There is a lot of money involved, and thus many suspects.
A quick read at 279 pages, this is book one of a four book series.
The author is more known for writing To Catch A Thief, filmed by Alfred Hitchcock.
CPAs are pretty boring in their work, but this involves a young man Whit Whitney partnered with an established CPA George MacLeod. When the elder is killed at the office during an investigation into an IRS tax refund of an East Bay beer brewery during Prohibition, things get complicated, and interesting. There is a lot of money involved, and thus many suspects.
A quick read at 279 pages, this is book one of a four book series.
The author is more known for writing To Catch A Thief, filmed by Alfred Hitchcock.
December 12, 2022
Noir, as a genre, doesn't hold up super well in the modern era, being, as it is, seeped in tough-guy police brutality culture. Apart from one scene in which the "hero" police inspector beats up a suspect, the story is engaging and clever. I'll try another one.
Addendum: I will NOT try another one from this series; the Walt Whitney series appears to be long out of print, except for this title. I cannot get any of the other three from any library to which I have access, and used book sales price #2 at between $85 and $145. Not happenin'. I'll give To Catch a Thief a go.
Addendum: I will NOT try another one from this series; the Walt Whitney series appears to be long out of print, except for this title. I cannot get any of the other three from any library to which I have access, and used book sales price #2 at between $85 and $145. Not happenin'. I'll give To Catch a Thief a go.
May 13, 2017
A great mystery by David Dodge. Whit Whitney is an accountant on vacation, when his partner is killed. It turns out a bootlegger paid too much income tax on his ill gotten goods back in the day, and the deadline for the refund is coming quickly.
Lots of dread, tension, and even action. A great portrait of San Francisco before the meltdown of the Haight-Ashbury 60s.
Lots of dread, tension, and even action. A great portrait of San Francisco before the meltdown of the Haight-Ashbury 60s.
October 15, 2017
Very good. The plot is full of surprises without being unbelievable. The characters are OK.
Might have been a little, if written in the first person.
Might have been a little, if written in the first person.
Want to read
October 13, 2018Synopsis: Whit Whitney is the taxman turned detective; in San Francisco there’s a price to pay for murder, romance, and drinking.
January 21, 2023
A Great Dinosaur
The 1940 San Francisco streets bring back the days of no cell phones, no computers, sexy dames. Lovingly anachronistic. A real treat.
The 1940 San Francisco streets bring back the days of no cell phones, no computers, sexy dames. Lovingly anachronistic. A real treat.
July 8, 2023
Like watching a great B&W movie, but with words!
February 20, 2010
Standard issue pulp from 1941. It's the first novel by a tax accountant -- your classic "I could write as well as these guys!" project -- so there is plenty of detail on the numbers side. Dodge ended up with a successful writing career, including To Catch a Thief, which ended up as a Hitchcock film. The heavy Chandler influences (not really a bad thing) fade as you get into the meat of the story. All your standard heroes, villians, and sidekicks. Both a blonde and a brunette. And a mystery that is not completely predicatable, but also doesn't feel like a cheat when revealed.
December 19, 2023
I bought this solely based on the title. In a previous life I did taxes and estate planning and I loved mysteries so this book was made for me. It turns out to be a good example of the hard boiled genre. The amount of alcohol is astounding, the women are all femmes fatale, and there are lots of bullets. The hero gets shot but continues on. The plot is good too.
Warning: There is lots of racist, sexist and other -ists language. If this offends you, don't read it. I consider it an artifact of a particular time and marvel at how far we've come.
Warning: There is lots of racist, sexist and other -ists language. If this offends you, don't read it. I consider it an artifact of a particular time and marvel at how far we've come.
January 23, 2016
I read this for a challenge. Do you know how hard it is to find any books with an accountant as the lead? Let's just say, this was the only one I found. It wasn't bad - but it is dated. The storyline itself was quite interesting. The dialogue is very "30's", which today plays old - some very "not politically correct" terms used. I kept thinking of it in black and white movie scenes however and how cool they would be.
January 12, 2015
This was a good crime novel, but not anything that sparked a lot of conversation. The topic we most discussed was the difference in society between 1940 and now. The characters were not really memorable, and in fact I had trouble remembering who was who. It was a good crime novel, but not something I will read again. The most interesting part was the forward about the author!
May 7, 2015
Atmospheric without intending to be, this noir novel is a great snapshot of San Francisco and the Bay Area in the years between the end of Prohibition and the U.S.'s entry into World War II. There are overlapping mysteries in both past and present, the pace is lively and the characters are interesting, and the book manages to make a surprising amount of suspense out of a looming IRS deadline.
June 21, 2015
Good, light, suspense tale that I chose because the author wrote To Catch a Thief, which later became a movie starring Cary Grant! Oh, and also because it was free or extremely cheap for Kindle. Not bad for summer reading; a fun ride. However, even though a great number of characters could've "dunit," the ending was still not a thrilling surprise.
October 16, 2015
David Dodge is introduced as "Often compared to Dashiell Hammett," but would be hard to then summon up examples. The question to ask of such gushing endorsements is to ask give me something comparable.
OK, I like David Dodge, but in his own right and that falls on par with Erle Stanley Gardner. but without Gardner's vast output.
OK, I like David Dodge, but in his own right and that falls on par with Erle Stanley Gardner. but without Gardner's vast output.
March 6, 2015
I think I've learned a few things while reading this book. It was a well-paced drama and a fast read. The characters are nicely developed and engaging.
March 22, 2015
Good read
Good read. Characters were interesting and it tied together nicely. Not too much drama and fluff. Looking forward to reading more from the author.
Good read. Characters were interesting and it tied together nicely. Not too much drama and fluff. Looking forward to reading more from the author.
April 1, 2015
Good detective story. Interesting characters and plot with a few twists. Well written. Good read
September 8, 2015
book started good but got to slow towards end
May 11, 2012
Fun, fast-paced crime mystery that I read for my book club.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews