Jim Hanvey, Detective: Crime & Mystery Tales: Fish Eyes, Homespun Silk, Common Stock, Helen of Troy, Caveat Emptor…

by Octavus Roy Cohen

Jim Hanvey is not a typical private detective. He is overweight, he waddles around, he blinks like some sort of fish, he plays with a gold toothpick that he wears on a chain around his waist. But what he has is a great memory for faces, a sharp mind, and a sense of fair play that makes him very well respected and feared by the higher level of criminals. Once he enters the story, we see the swindle begin to unravel – sometimes because of Hanvey, sometimes because the mere presence of Hanvey upsets the criminal to such an extent that he does himself in. Table of Fish Eyes Homespun Silk Common Stock Helen of Troy Caveat Emptor The Knight's Gambit Pink Bait

Genres: Fiction, Mystery

118 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 15, 2021

About the author

Octavus Roy Cohen was an American author, born in South Carolina where he received his secondary education at the Porter Military Academy, now the exclusive Porter-Gaud School. He went on to receive a college education at the Clemson University. Between 1910 and 1912 he worked in the editorial departments of the Birmingham Ledger, the Charleston News and Courier, the Bayonne Times, and the Newark Morning Star. He became popular as a result of his stories printed in The Saturday Evening Post which concerned themselves with the adventures of the Southern Negro. If his people seemed to possess the usual mythical Negro qualities of drollery and miscomprehensions, his tales at any rate were spirited. In 1913, he was admitted to the South Carolina bar and practiced law in Charleston for two years. Between 1917 and his death he published 56 books, works that included humorous and detective novels, plays, and collections of short stories. He also composed successful Broadway plays and radio, film, and television scripts.

Reviews

[Pamela Mclaren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful short stories showcase an unusual detective hero, that of the rotund, can not tell a lie, fashion-challenged Jim Hanvey.

What he doesn't have in looks, Hanvey has in his little gray brain cells. Whether his is following the trail of stolen gems, subtly directing a young heiress to reconsider marriage, or helping guard an business representative carrying valuable proxy notes, he is always on the case, and not too surprising his "ah shucks," behavior and honesty, strikes fear in the hearts of those who think they can get away with their criminal activity. I loved how Cohen crafts the setting, the individuals and then develops the clever deduction and solution. And this collection is just plain fun to read.

[Annarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a new to me author and I'm happy I discovered this stories written in the Golden Age of Mystery.
They are entertaining, riveting and the puzzle are complex and not easy to solve.
I liked the MC, an unusual type of detective and think they aged well.
NOTE: they were written a long time ago so they are not politically correct.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine