The Bloody Moonlight

Ed & Am Hunter #3

by Fredric Brown

Ed and Am have gotten away from the Carney life. These days, they're working for the Starlock Detective Agency. Ed's first case is a wealthy client trying to sound out whether an investment's worth it. But then he finds a body with its throat cut, and hears some external howling that might just be from a werewolf.

Genres: Crime, Fiction, Noir, Mystery

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1949

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 Bloody Moonlight

I always thought of Fredric Brown as a science fiction writer, but like many writers of the forties and fifties, he was a writer of whatever sold. He wrote quite a few mystery stories, the most well-known of which was his first novel, The Fabulous Clipjoint, which is not only the first novel in the Ed and Am Hunter series, but a widely acclaimed award-winning novel. The Bloody Moonlight is the third novel in the Ed and Am Hunter series, which was originally published between 1947 and 1963 with the first four being published in rapid succession (1947, 1948, 1949, and 1950) and the final three coming along many years later.

This series is a lighter-edged mystery, not focused on walking those mean streets where hardboiled cynical detectives often go. It features a juxtaposition between an older detective Uncle Am, an ex-carnie, and young Ed, who injects quite a bit of wide-eyed innocence into the stories and is awkward and shy around pretty girls. This particular novel centers around Ed with Uncle Am almost being absent from it. It takes place in a small isolated woodsy town where possible werewolves might roam (yup, part of the plot line). It also ends in a classic parlor gathering where the detective reveals who the real killer is. It’s an enjoyable read that probably had wide appeal.

[Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fredric Brown comes through with another excellent (#3) Ed and Am series mystery.

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looked at superficially, Fredric Brown appears to write noir thrillers in the manner of Hammett and Chandler, but on a much lower level. Absent are the stylistic finesse, the epigrammatic humor, the acts of tender humanity that suddenly break through the crass violence. Brown's style is flat and pedestrian, and he often seems to cater to the stereotypical pulp fiction reader's desire for titillation. Brown, however, is an ugly duckling--a detective story writer swimming amongst thriller writers.* Despite certain trappings, the heart of his mysteries is the detective doggedly trying to figure out what's going on via conversations with a sidekick or himself. They are feats of ratiocination rivaling those of Hercule Poirot or Ellery Queen.

While reveling in the ingenious twists and turns of the story, I foresaw keeping The Bloody Moonlight on my shelves in the privileged area of favorites. I might still do that, but I lopped off one star for the rushed denouement which cuts short several interesting character developments. But it remains an intensely enjoyable detective novel.

* I don't mean to deprecate Hammett and Chandler, who should probably be placed in the top echelon of writers devoted to chronicling the human condition. But they are not writers of detective stories.

[Raja99 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third Ed and Am Hunter novel, and it's excellent as usual. I did not read the blackmask.com edition pictured here.

[Rodolfo Santullo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Relectura feliz, una vez más. Y tercera entrega de la saga de Ed y Am Hunter (última en mi poder, la saga alcanza los siete títulos pero sólo se han traducido, y no todos, en baratas ediciones mexicanas muy difíciles de encontrar). Ed cuenta ahora con 20 años y se encuentra haciendo sus primeras armas en una agencia de detectives privados, siempre bajo el ala de su tío Am, que también ha regresado al oficio (y le ha conseguido la chaga a su pariente). El primer caso, realmente el primero ya que lleva apenas dos días trabajando, para Ed es viajar a un pueblito no demasiado lejos de Chicago y examinar el invento de un excéntrico científico para beneficio de su sobrina y posible inversora. Una tarea simple -más para un técnico que para un detective, reflexiona Ed- pero adecuada para empezar a desarrollar filo en el negocio, ¿verdad? No, claro que no, porque en nada aparecen los muertos, un sheriff que odia a los detectives, la posibilidad del primer amor y, además de todo, probablemente un licántropo suelto. Brown combina la mar de feliz sus pasiones -el policial con lo onírico, el misterio bien construido con el relato incluso de horror- y se mueve cómo pez en el agua, logrando (cuando no) un gran relato. Ed vuela solo por vez primera -Am queda atrás en Chicago y es singularmente secundario en esta entrega- y Brown aprovecha para moldear aún más su personalidad, definirlo todavía en mayor medida cómo su héroe protagonista, apelando a sus inseguridades pero también a sus códigos y valores, creando un gran personaje, en definitiva. Algún día conseguiré las novelas que me faltan (y ya puestos a soñar, los derechos para hacerlas en historieta).

[Ron Zack · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun blend of 40's pulp

In the third in the series, “The Bloody Moonlight” by Frederic Brown, has Ed and Uncle Am now working as operatives for the Starlock Detective Agency in Chicago. In this novel, Uncle Am has a minimal role as the handsome young Ed is sent to the small town of Tremont for a routine three-day assignment investigating a radio invention as an investment for his client. Of course, nothing is as it seems as Ed faces three deaths, including two with their throats torn out and Ed becomes the prime suspect. And throughout all this, Ed manages to fall in love at least once and ends up with at least two varieties of lipstick on his face.

In this novel, Frederic Brown’s usual assortment of interesting characters includes the wealthy, attractive, and flirtatious client; a stereotypical small-town sheriff; a former carney who now runs a newspaper; and an eccentric inventor, among others. The plot twists and turns as Brown throws in red herring after red herring, as motives and methods range from clinical lycanthropy (a psychiatric condition related to a werewolf like behavior), mad dogs, fraudulent inventions, and communication with beings on Mars or Jupiter.

This was a fun and suspenseful story with a smattering of violence, plenty of alcohol, and other attributes of 1940's pulp.

[Stven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ed and his Uncle Am are at it again, starting out this time to investigate a newfangled radio device and winding up in the muddle of a small-town murder. Once again the alcohol consumption in this story is a little bit frightening. Ed goes out with the newspaper editor for a chat, and they knock back a couple of rounds of martinis. She invites him to her place for pork chops, and they drink a couple more while supper is on the stove. He's got an appointment later that evening, so for his FIFTH drink he mixes it "a little light" because he doesn't want to be drunk! For me, after FOUR drinks, it's too late to worry about sobriety! But oh well. An intriguing, fun mystery, some cute business with the characters, and a bit of clever science-fictional overtones involving the radio invention.

[Randy Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Intriguing Mystery With A Wild Ending

Although part of the Ed and Am Hunter mystery series, this is totally an Ed story, as he goes off on his own to a small town to conduct an investigation. Ed and Am (who are nephew and uncle, respectively) have left the carnival where they worked in the previous book and are now professional private detectives, and this is Ed’s first solo job. He supposed to be vetting a new kind of radio for a potential investor, but of course a dead body turns up and then a beautiful woman and, well, it gets complicated. It’s an interesting story, well told by Brown, that keeps the reader intrigued throughout, and the ending turns out to be pretty unexpected (and a bit incredible, but that’s fine). All in all, a nicely diverting mystery.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't know there was another book with these characters, taking place before this one. Our narrator is a young guy who has been hired at the recommendation of his uncle as a detective. His first assignment is to evaluate an invention that is, apparently, picking up signals from Jupiter. While looking into this, south of Chicago, he literally stumbles on a murder, and is suspect of course. Lots of events, including the narrator making a pass at the Sheriff's wife, thinking it was his daughter. Brown's always fun, but the outlandishness of the Jupiter signal, and a bit about werewolves brought it down for me.

[Tom Britz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third Ed and Am Hunter mystery. Ed gets to have his first case fore the detective agency where his uncle Am works. He goes to Tremont about an hour away from Chicago to look into a story of an eccentric inventor that claims to have a radio set that he picks up signals from Mars on. It all sounds kind of hokey, but he has three days paid to get to the bottom of it. Then suddenly people begin dying.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like so many of Fredric Brown's crime novels, there is a suggestion of the supernatural. The Bloody Moonlight starts with a murder that has the appearance of being the work of a werewolf.

The Ed & Am novels are always enjoyable. I've been working my way through them.

[Slagle Rock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Corny but entertaining. Kind of like the Hardy Boys but with a lot of excessive drinking. I enjoyed this story and its radios, werewolves and Cadillac drivin' women.

[Mike O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pulpy, eccentric, good humored mystery, third in the series.

[Raime · Rating 2 out of 5]

A murder mystery with a somewhat interesting setup, but convoluted and ridiculous explanation.

[Lukas Persson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book, as enjoyable as anything else from Brown -- still my favorite pulp writer, hands down.