Puzzle for Fiends

Peter Duluth Mystery #5

by Patrick Quentin

paperbound

Genres: Mystery

222 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1946

About the author

Patrick Quentin, Q. Patrick and Jonathan Stagge were pen names under which Hugh Callingham Wheeler (19 March 1912 – 26 July 1987), Richard Wilson Webb (August 1901 – December 1966), Martha Mott Kelley (30 April 1906–2005) and Mary Louise White Aswell (3 June 1902 – 24 December 1984) wrote detective fiction. In some foreign countries their books have been published under the variant Quentin Patrick. Most of the stories were written by Webb and Wheeler in collaboration, or by Wheeler alone. Their most famous creation is the amateur sleuth Peter Duluth. In 1963, the story collection The Ordeal of Mrs. Snow was given a Special Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America.

AKA:
Πάτρικ Κουέντιν (Greek)

Reviews

[Robyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Early Bird Book Deal | Fairly awful, should have been a stand-alone, the author shouldn't have tried to write when he was so desperate to get laid | This only gets a second star because I managed to finish it, it really is bad. There's no reason for this to be part of the series, because as an amnesia patient Peter isn't Peter, Iris isn't present, and all of the history of the series is obliterated. Instead we get this prick who keeps musing on the bosom of the woman he thinks is his mother, the warm young breasts of the woman he thinks is his sister, whom he keeps kissing hard on the mouth, the firm breasts of the really trashy woman he thinks is his wife, who is written with zero redeeming qualities yet Peter keeps thinking about how obsessed he is with her, how crazed he is by her existence, she's inside his blood, he can't get enough of her, even defending her against solid accusations of murder and proven accusations that she sleeps with any guy who looks at her, just because she's constantly climbing into his lap. Bonus appearance by developmentally disabled (? Maybe? They keep saying how mentally slow he is) bronzed god non-English-speaking servant who likes to be naked and who gets sexually used by more than one of the women, and weird fundamentalist church group whose leader actually sniffs Peter's breath for the scent of alcohol (Peter, btw, when he has his memory, had to do full inpatient treatment for alcoholism, but is now drinking without his memory, somehow I suspect he magically won't have fallen off the wagon in the next book). Every time anyone speaks to a member of the opposite sex they call them "baby", sometimes more than once in a sentence. Not worth the time.

[Jiří Pavlovský · Rating 3 out of 5]

Třetí Quentin… a mě láká najít jeho další knihy. Protože tohle je vážně retro pohoda. Jako když se koukáte na nějakou starou černobílou kriminálku a překvapí vás, jak moc je zábavná. A svým způsobem i dobře vystavěná. Jasně, ty nároky na starší příběhy nejsou tak velké, člověk jim toho víc toleruje, víc akceptuje, když se postavy chovají přehnaně… nebo naopak, když jsou v ohrožení života a přijímají to asi tak, jako by jim v martini chyběla jedna oliva.

Stále platí to, že je každá kniha úplně jiná. Tady se Peter Duluth rozloučí se svou ženou, která letí podpořit americké vojáky do Japonska, nasedne do auta a vyráží domů. Když znovu otevře oči, leží v posteli, nad ním se sklání postarší dáma, říká mu, že měl nehodu a že se jmenuje Gordon Friend. A Peter Duluth nemůže oponovat, protože po úraze hlavy vůbec netuší, kdo vlastně je.

Je to klasické téma, člověk se ztrátou paměti obklíčený nepřáteli… v tomhle případě až příliš milující rodinou. Tady navíc ještě upoutaný na vozík, aby se už vůbec nemohl bránit. Příběh ale šlape dost rychle vpřed a to, co by dneska stačilo autorovi na pěti set stránkový epos, je tady docela rychle vyřešeno, aby přišel další zvrat a krize nutná k vyřešení. A vzápětí další. Ano, pointa příběhu je vám jasná dopředu, ale jak se několikrát za knihu změní nastavení a hlavní ohrožení, tak to není zase tak dlouho, aby vás to štvalo. Navíc, to, že je hrdina trdlo, si už člověk tak nějak zvykl.

[Two Envelopes And A Phone · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars…but do I round up, or do I round down?

Let the Battle begin!:

Okay. The whole scenario is contrived, and a bit unbelievable…but it has charm, wit, and no matter how unlikely any of this would be to happen, I’m glad the authors had faith in the idea, and licked it into shape. Too much fun to leave as a dubious rough draft in a drawer, because it seemed too wonky.

Very transparent - I figured out the Major thingy, and a Minor Thingy. But I didn’t figure everything out. And somehow it was all very suspenseful, regardless of how tough it was for the writers to camouflage some key elements. I mean, I was very worried about our main character the whole time. Who could he trust, really?

It’s as if Cornell Woolrich combined Knives Out with Misery by Stephen King, and brought it to Fredric Brown for some stylistic touch-ups to keep it light, since you couldn’t peddle this as completely, darkly serious.

A bandaged invalid amnesiac is told by the family a squirrelly doctor has brought him to, that he is Gordy, naughty family member who has had an accident. He has vague memory flashes that tell him he is not Gordy. But the family is both charming and creepy at the same time, and they want him to certain things…

Seems like an atypical approach in a series that usually reads more to formula. I appreciate that. The battle is over! Don’t expect an insoluble puzzle (for fiends!), but everything else is terrific. Rounded up, of course!

[Tansy Hepton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was surprisingly good, given its age and its obscurity; I had never come across the author(s) before. Yes, it's a bit dated and the twists in the plot are not unexpected, but it's well written and kept me up late at night. Incidentally, I read the green penguin "crime" version, which added to its charm.

[Boweavil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good although a bit dated, but that's understandable. Unfortunately, the ending was a bit too obvious.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...

[Filip · Rating 2 out of 5]

At times this book was painful to read - with the plot being really easy to figure out and the protagonist being annoyingly naive. Still, it qwas described in such a way that I found reading it really enjoyable.