The Velvet Touch

Nick Velvet

by Edward D. Hoch

Edward D. Hoch's latest collection contains 14 stories about Nick Velvet, the choosey crook who steals only the seemingly valueless -- a bald man's comb, an overdue library book, a faded flag, a playing card, and so on. And in order to pull off a successful robbery, Nick often has to solve a crime as well -- sometimes the crimes committed by Sandra Paris, The White Queen, who claims to do impossible things before breakfast. The Velvet Touch contains all of Nick's encounters with the White Queen. The book includes an introduction by the author and a complete Nick Velvet checklist.

Genres: Mystery, Short Stories, Fiction

225 pages, Paperback

First published August 5, 2000

About the author

Edward D. Hoch is one of the most honored mystery writers of all time.

* 1968 Edgar Allan Poe Award (Mystery Writers of America): "The Oblong Room", The Saint Mystery Magazine, July 1967
* 1998 Anthony Award (Bouchercon World Mystery Convention): "One Bag of Coconuts", EQMM, November 1997
* 2001 Anthony Award (Bouchercon): "The Problem of the Potting Shed", EQMM, July 2000
* 2007 Ellery Queen Readers Choice Award (awarded 2008): "The Theft of the Ostracized Ostrich", EQMM, June 2007
* Lifetime Achievement Award (Private Eye Writers of America), 2000
* Grand Master (Mystery Writers of America), 2001
* Lifetime Achievement Award (Bouchercon), 2001

Reviews

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains:
a) six solo adventures of Nick Velvet,
b) seven cases where Nick crosses thr path of his rival/competitor White Queen,
c) one very special case that brought those two in contact with Hoch's another creation, i.e. Captain Leopold.
The stories are all brilliant. They are full of warmth and incisive observations that are identifying features of Hoch's writing.
These are not cozy mysteries. They involve politics, family secrets, and other tensions. But they are immensely enjoyable, which, I believe, is the only thing that eventually matters.
Highly recommended.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the whole a collection of tight little mysteries, the early ones are a little rough around the edges but the last 5 or so are highly intricate and page turners. Definitely for fans of charming anti heroes such as Lawrence Block's "Burglar" series.

[JoeK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, but not as good as I was expecting. A lot of the thefts were not very amazing or ingenious, and most relied on lucky timing. There were also a few things that bugged me, like the McGuffin in the Sherlockian Slipper would mean nothing to a non-Sherlock Holmes fan. I had to look it up on the internet to figure it out and I've read all the Holmes stories. The stories in this collection were written pre-Internet, so the ending of that particular tale must have been frustrating to many readers.

I think I was hoping for earlier stories. When a series (TV or book) starts exploring old ground (Nick meeting Gloria) or adding new characters (The White Queen) it's time to wrap it up and start writing something else.

There were quite a few extra hyphens in this book that indicate the editing as lax when converting the original hard copy to digital

[David Peek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read

From the creator of the Dr. Sam stories. These are fun reads with an interesting premise. A please diversion on a cold winter day.

[Lisa T. Ungerer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nick Velvet is fun

A fun thief with an occasional episode of sleuthing, Nick Velvet is an unlikely hero. But the stories are engaging and light. Recommended

[The other Sandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was one of those examples of the adage 'you can't go home again.'

I first discovered the Nick Velvet stories in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine when I was in junior high and loved them. I couldn't wait to find out why someone would want to pay Nick to steal the worthless item in each story. However, reading the stories again as an adult, the mysteries I thought were so clever back then were screamingly obvious now, and the methods of theft were utterly implausible to the point of being ridiculous and could only work on paper where people can only see and hear what the author says they can. I mean, what are the odds that someone can sneak into an occupied house holding a stray cat in a sack and not be given away by the meowing (or snarling or hissing) of the cat? (Pretty good, I guess, if the author decides the cat is going to sit quietly and take it.)

It was so disappointing to discover that these stories weren't as good as I'd remembered.