Portrait of a Dead Heiress

Mac #11

by Thomas B. Dewey

Suicide

a shut-and-opened case.

The beautiful heiress had done a foolproof job on herself. After a large dose of sleeping pills, she'd slashed her wrists, then climbed into the tub and drowned.

Only her fiance said suicide was impossible and begged Mac to help, at any price.

And when Mac started to investigate, he found that even the police weren't so sure of suicide - if the cop on his tail was any indication.

And there were other oddities - huge periodic withdrawals in the dead woman's bankbook; the homosexual artist who said he'd loved her; the seamy world of the slums where she'd made secret visits for years.

Each clue Mac uncovered sketched out a case that was anything open and shut - and a portrait of a dead heiress who had led two lives.

Genres: Mystery

160 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1, 1965

About the author

Thomas Blanchard Dewey was an American author of hardboiled crime novels. He created two series of novels: the first one features Mac, a private investigator from Chicago, the second features Pete Schofield.

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Portrait of a Dead Heiress is the twelfth volume in Thomas B. Dewey (the author, not the politician -different middle initial)'s long-running Mac private eye series. It's set in Chicago though the town itself is not named. Mac is a tough-nosed, no-nonsense detective and Dewey writes with that in mind. The writing isn't exactly terse, but it's not flowery or poetic either. Though there aren't phrases to underline and highlight, Dewey does what a writer should do - tells the story. And, here, that's the story of a rather uninterested detective poking around.

The client is a lonely doctor whose fiancé apparently swallowed a bottle of pills, slit her wrists, and drowned herself in the bathtub. That's a lot of insurance to make sure it went off as planned, but perhaps too much insurance. The doctor isn't buying it. And Mac seems stuck with this sad character who doesn't want to go home alone and drown his sorrows. Mac thinks the police aren't looking too hard for any other answers until Mac realizes that the apartment is being watched.

This isn't a big shootout scenario like in a Mike Hammer novel, but a slow and puzzling series of events involving and shedding light on the dearly departed heiress's life. And, in the end, Mac finally puts it all together. Through it all, Mac seems calm, collected, never out of control.

[Edwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The eleventh book in Dewey’s excellent Mac series finds the PI back in Chicago investigating an dubious suicide. The cast of characters include a heart-broken and shady doctor, a gay alcoholic artist, a corrupt cop, and young woman who works for a shifty retailer in a poor urban district. Dialog is colorful and concise showcasing Mac’s detection and interviewer skills. Interesting perspective on abortion in the pre-Roe v. Wade era , a plot point that is handled discreetly, being a somewhat taboo subject in this time period. The dialog and complex plotting are the strengths of this short novel, although the murder motive felt a bit contrived. Of all of the bevy of paperback original private eye series of the ‘50s and ‘60s I would rank Dewey’s Mac as my favorite. Another solid entry.

[Bev · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apparently Lorrie King, a beautiful young Chicago heiress, wanted to make her death triple-sure--after taking sleeping pills, she got into a full-to-the-brim bathtub, slit her wrists, and then drowned. But her fiancé, a devoted doctor, doesn't believe it. There was no suicide note and he tells Mac, the private eye he's hired to investigate, that there was no indication that Lorrie had anything to commit suicide over. Dr. Peter Kramm hires Mac to discover the truth and, if it really was suicide, find out who drove her to it.

Mac has barely begun to investigate before it looks like the doctor may be right...because if the police really believed in suicide then why is Detective Saunders still sniffing around and dogging Mac's footsteps? That's not the only odd thing--Mac discovers a cache of paper slips with notations in some sort of personal shorthand. At first, he thinks they're betting slips but can't figure why she'd hide two years' worth. Matching the slips up with huge periodic bank withdrawals, he begins to see a sinister pattern. There's Theresa Russ and her family--who knew Lorrie but are so reluctant to talk about her. Then, of course, there's the question of why Big Danny (a big shot in a little way) has taken such an interest in Mac and his investigation. The private eye also finds evidence of arguments with an artist whose work Lorrie had bought and supported for several years. Plenty of possibilities, but what is the answer? And will the client like it when Mac finds it?

I'm not finding that I have a whole lot to say about this one. I don't much care for the solution and can't quite decide if Dewey has reasons (beyond the page) for why he chose the culprit he did. That's probably saying too much and will be a spoiler if anyone reads my review (such as it is) and heads right off to read the book. I definitely can't say more without thoroughly spoiling the plot. The whole set up just makes me feel rather grubby and like I need a shower. The one saving grace in the whole thing is Mac. His character comes shining through--a good detective and an all-around good Joe. I've a few more books by Dewey on the TBR shelves and I hope that those stories are more in line with quality of the detective.

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