Tiger Claws

by Frank L. Packard

When Keith and Allan Wharton set out for fresh water on the remote South Pacific island in their trading schooner, Malola, they had no idea that they were about to be ruthlessly attacked by criminals that were stranded, ship-wrecked on the island. Keith and the two remaining crew swear to take vengeance on the criminals who eventually migrate back to New York City. The four criminals have their own secrets and their own jealousies. Keith pairs up with detective, Bob Clinton, of the United States Secret Service. Going underground they find that the trail of the four is fraught with danger to themselves and to Doris Marland, who is somehow related to the four and the mysterious mahogany box, which seems to be the prize piece. FrankLPackard.Blogspot.Com

204 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1928

About the author

Frank Lucius Packard was born in Montreal, Quebec and educated at McGill University and the University of Liege. As a young man he worked as a civil engineer for the Canadian Pacific Railway. His experiences working on the railroad led to his writing a series of mystery novels, the most famous of which featured a character called Jimmie Dale.

Frank Packard died in 1942 in Lachine, Quebec and was buried in the Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal.

Reviews

[Rick Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Major characters:
Allan Wharton, sea trader
Keith Wharton, his younger brother, a.k.a. Rookie Dyke
Gur Singh, their East Indian navigator
Hoka, a Malay crewman
Taipi, a Malay crewman
Blackie, one of four shipwrecked criminals
Whitie, one of four shipwrecked criminals
The Weasel, one of four shipwrecked criminals
The Magpie, one of four shipwrecked criminals, with no fingers
Bob Clinton, US Secret Service, a.k.a. Canary Jim

Locale: The South Pacific and New York City

Synopsis: Allan and Keith Wharton are successful sea traders on their schooner Malola. The crew includes Hoka, Taipa, and navigator Gur Singh. They spot a signal fire on a small, supposedly uninhabited island. Four of them set out to the island in a rowboat, leaving Gur Singh on board. No sooner do they land, then they are overpowered by four castaways. In the fight, Allan and Taipi are killed, Keith and Hoka left for dead. When they revive, the find the castaways have stolen their rowboat, rowed out and disappeared with the Malola.

Keith and Hola survive a while on the island, then Gur Singh arrives in a different schooner. He finds Hola dead from his injuries, and rescues Keith. He relates what he learned about the four criminals when he was on board with them:
The four are named Blackie, Whitie, The Weasel, and The Magpie
They have a small mahogany box which is very valuable
Their ultimate destination is New York City.
Keith sets out in pursuit to bring the four to justice. In New York, he teams up with old friend, Secret Service agent Bob Clinton. The two go underground on the Upper East Side - Clinton as Canary Jim, Keith as Rookie Dyke - to track them down.

Review: The book has two major parts: the island scene and (mostly) the New York City scene. The New York scene is a really nice portrayal of the tun down lower East Side, with lots of shady characters and dim light bulbs. Much of the dialogue is rendered in tough-guy phonetics, which gets tedious: "Youse can count on Bowery Sal for anythin' youse wants any time; an' I'll tell Tony youse're de one an' only."

Packard's writing style takes a little getting used to - plenty of exclamation marks, run-on sentences, and stacks of rhetorical questions. But still there is a solid adventure underneath.

[Trish Boese · Rating 4 out of 5]

4* A grand tale of suspense by Frank Packard. The story starts out on the high seas of Polynesia, then travels to the underworld of New York as Keith searches for the four criminals who killed his brother. There is a mystery surrounding the mahogony box which everyone is after, and where does the lovely girl fit in?