The Late Lamented

Ed & Am Hunter #6

by Fredric Brown

A dead man and a pile of missing money have two Chicago detectives investigating the deceased’s daughter in this entry in the Edgar Award–winning series.
 
Tens of thousands of dollars have disappeared from the city of Chicago’s coffers, and the late Jason Rogers is the likely embezzler. So Rogers’s daughter seems to be the one to interview to determine where the funds are stashed.
 
But the nephew-and-uncle team of Ed and Ambrose Hunter is hitting a brick wall as the woman remains tight-lipped and loyal. The pair of private detectives is going to have to dig deeper if they want to balance the books of justice . . .
 
“[Fredric Brown is] a real pro—a natural storyteller.” — The New York Times Book Review

Genres: Mystery

206 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

Fredric Brown was an American science fiction and mystery writer. He was one of the boldest early writers in genre fiction in his use of narrative experimentation. While never in the front rank of popularity in his lifetime, Brown has developed a considerable cult following in the almost half century since he last wrote. His works have been periodically reprinted and he has a worldwide fan base, most notably in the U.S. and Europe, and especially in France, where there have been several recent movie adaptations of his work. He also remains popular in Japan.

Never financially secure, Brown - like many other pulp writers - often wrote at a furious pace in order to pay bills. This accounts, at least in part, for the uneven quality of his work. A newspaperman by profession, Brown was only able to devote 14 years of his life as a full-time fiction writer. Brown was also a heavy drinker, and this at times doubtless affected his productivity. A cultured man and omnivorous reader whose interests ranged far beyond those of most pulp writers, Brown had a lifelong interest in the flute, chess, poker, and the works of Lewis Carroll. Brown married twice and was the father of two sons.

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Late Lamented is the sixth book in Brown’s Ed and Am Hunter detective series. Uncle Am was an old carney who has now settled in Chicago and partnered with young Ed as a two-man detective agency. Ed can’t be that young anymore. It’s been eight years since volume five in the series came out, but his role in the series is to forever play the young innocent wet behind the ears guy to Uncle Am’s elder wisdom. Nevertheless, we learn here that Am can now be spotted tailing a suspect. Perhaps it’s time he turned the game fully over to Ed. Indeed, in this story, Ed plays the primary investigator role.

A municipal treasurer was struck by a car and is now the late treasurer. Yet, three months later an incredibly complicated scheme of embezzlement had come to light and the bonding company wants to know if they have to pay out $47,000 which was a lot in those days.

It is suspected that the daughter of the late lamented probable embezzler might know something. So Ed takes a room in the rooming house where she’s staying, hoping to gain her confidence. But Wanda Rogers has a distrusting eye and ferrets out that Ed is not as innocent as he pretends to be. Nevertheless, Ed manages to convince Wanda that he could be a help to her, particularly if her father turns out to be innocent. Turns out Ed is a bit of a sly dog with the women after all, at least as far as Wanda is concerned.

Along the way, we learn that Ed can’t fight with the big guys and in fact is knocked out with one punch. Ed also plays Trombone, loves jazz, and reads a great selection of authors.

Don’t expect rock em sock ‘em action so much as dogged investigation and careful exploring of clues until the pair (Ed and Am) put it all together and solve the puzzle.

[Tim Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ed and Am Hunter are back and have been subcontracted by the Starlock Agency to look into an embezzlement case with missing money, an allegedly dead embezzler and his beautiful daughter who may or may not know where the money is located. It's Ed's job to get close to the girl (a rope job) and find out if she knows anything.

This is the sixth and penultimate book in the Hunter series. While the first five came out at a rate of about one per year, Brown waited eight years between the fifth book and this one. The last two books are generally seen as weaker than the original five, but I'm not at all sure why that's the case with this one. It's one of the stronger books in the series. Brown plays a bit against type by having both Am and Ed flub the job very early on, but they are able to salvage it. There is only one murder (leaving aside the death of the possible embezzler which precipitates the action) and it happens late in the book and offscreen. Brown really does try to show what actual private detection feels like, within the confines of the need for some action and adventure.

I found this to be a solid entry in a very solid series.

[Ron Zack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Luke Warm

The Ed and Am Hunter series by Frederic Brown continues with the seventh installment, The Late Lamented. Each novel in the series can stand alone and Ed Hunter, as the narrator gives sufficient background for context. Still, it has been nice reading these in order and watching the evolution of the protagonists, an uncle, and nephew who operate a detective agency in Chicago. Previously, they worked for a carney and another detective agency.

This story is interesting as the Hunters again demonstrate the benefits of painstaking humdrum detective work. It is a glimpse of life in a small, big-city detective agency. The pair works more than just the case the story deals with. We see how business comes in and some of the behind-the-scene mundane workings of reports and relationships. Unfortunately, while interesting, it doesn't make much of a riveting story.

This one is pretty predictable. But it held my interest while I learned about embezzlement, and some of life in Chicago in the 1950s. Basically, people could not accomplish a thing without a drink and a smoke, gambling was easy to find, rooming houses were pretty normal places to live, and human relationships were much as they are today. Uncle Am is wise and stands back till needed. Ed, young and handsome, finds a girl to sleep with. Ed gets in a fight.

Although Ed does not believe in coincidences, the book is full of them. The unwinding of the crime is contrived and unlikely. But I love the brief detail provided on Ed's trombone playing and Italian opera, and the tie-in to their prior carney life that includes a dwarf crime boss (former clown) who is running a nightclub.

The book is worth reading if you have an interest in that era and particularly Chicago. But it won't set your world on fire.

[Randy Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Clever And Satisfying Mystery

In this mystery featuring the nephew and uncle detective team of Ed and Ambrose Hunter are investigating the embezzlement of $46,000 from a city treasury in hopes of either finding the money or clearing the treasurer (who is now dead) so their client, an insurance company, won’t have to pay off. It’s essentially a procedural, following them step-by-step as they trace people, question people, etc. It’s an entertaining and diverting book, cleverly plotted and well written. The solution to the mystery is satisfying without being too absurd. All in all, a pleasant read for fans of the genre.

[Chris Garber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the most believable explanation, but Brown has a unique voice and the characters are well drawn.