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The Search for My Great-Uncle's Head
This work is a classic country house murder written by one of the masters of the hard-boiled genre.
297 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1937
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About the author
Jonathan Latimer
58 books30 followersJonathan Latimer was born in Chicago on 23rd October 1906. His main series character was the private investigator Bill Crane. An important character in the development of the hard boiled genre. A notable title is Solomon's Vineyard, the controversy over the content saw the US publication delayed by nine years. The author later concentrated on screen plays and also worked for five years on the Perry Mason television series.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 5, 2019
Jonathan Latimer's Bill Crane stories are hard-boiled tales with a large dose of humor, but "The Search for my Great Uncle's Head" is something different. The title is the tip-off: this detective story is gruesome, outrageous, and tongue in cheek.
The voice of the narrator/ protagonist--a shy, slightly dorky college teacher--has charm, and the plot is intricate and absurd. If you like affectionate parodies of the old country house "Clue" type of murder mystery, this book will appeal to you.
November 6, 2022
Written in 1937 by Jonathan Latimer, a screen writer for Paramount and MGM (Topper Returns, The Glass Key, Perry Mason). It reads very much like a 1937 Murder mystery/ locked room/detective movie with a bit of a comic edge. It feels British but is set in an estate in Michigan, maybe more of a spoof on the British Manor house mystery.
The story begins as a wealthy man, Tobias Coffin, summons his relatives to his home. The main character, his nephew, Professor Peter Coffin arrives at the isolated home of his uncle Tobias Coffin on a dark and stormy night. As the relatives gather, we soon learn that a madman has escaped from the local asylum, and eventually more than one person loses their head, literally. With a house full of 'Coffins' or potential victims/ suspects, the local sheriff and Insurance detective, Colonel Black solve the murder mystery, apprehend the culprits and all is well.
I read this more than 40 yrs ago, not sure why I've kept it in my library all these years but it is a bit of a fun read that doesn't take itself too seriously.
The story begins as a wealthy man, Tobias Coffin, summons his relatives to his home. The main character, his nephew, Professor Peter Coffin arrives at the isolated home of his uncle Tobias Coffin on a dark and stormy night. As the relatives gather, we soon learn that a madman has escaped from the local asylum, and eventually more than one person loses their head, literally. With a house full of 'Coffins' or potential victims/ suspects, the local sheriff and Insurance detective, Colonel Black solve the murder mystery, apprehend the culprits and all is well.
I read this more than 40 yrs ago, not sure why I've kept it in my library all these years but it is a bit of a fun read that doesn't take itself too seriously.
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December 22, 2025Latimer’s “The Search for my Great Uncle’s Head” has a uniquely great title that has yet to be replicated. Narrated from the point of view of Professor Peter Coffin, we get the story of an ornery rich uncle who has decided to invite the whole far flung family to an event. He is reworking his will and wants to announce the new beneficiaries.
Peter arrives at night,intending to walk the final distance around the lake, but crossing paths with an escaped madman rumored to have beheaded his wife and kids. After trampling through the rain for hours though when Peter reaches the house, he himself appears to be a madman and isn’t immediately welcomed.
Soon thereafter the uncle is found decapitated and the new will is missing. The elements are there for the murder mystery in the Catskills as the family members go about their activities, but suspicious of each other and frightened by the escaped madman as the house appears invaded over and over again. Peter himself is not taken seriously as he tries to deduce something from the clues. But then the local sheriff is comedic in his ineptitude and the insurance investigator, known as a Colonel, plays at being Inspector Clouseau.
Latimer intersperses shocking scenes of terror with a crew at the estate who often seem more preoccupied with having fun and spatting with each other than keeping watch for the village madman.
Peter arrives at night,intending to walk the final distance around the lake, but crossing paths with an escaped madman rumored to have beheaded his wife and kids. After trampling through the rain for hours though when Peter reaches the house, he himself appears to be a madman and isn’t immediately welcomed.
Soon thereafter the uncle is found decapitated and the new will is missing. The elements are there for the murder mystery in the Catskills as the family members go about their activities, but suspicious of each other and frightened by the escaped madman as the house appears invaded over and over again. Peter himself is not taken seriously as he tries to deduce something from the clues. But then the local sheriff is comedic in his ineptitude and the insurance investigator, known as a Colonel, plays at being Inspector Clouseau.
Latimer intersperses shocking scenes of terror with a crew at the estate who often seem more preoccupied with having fun and spatting with each other than keeping watch for the village madman.
April 29, 2020
A bit of a curiosity. I think I ordered this because I was interested in the writer of the screenplay of The Glass Key, but I can't remember why. His books don't seem to be in print in the UK, available on Kindle but I'm not so good at reading off a screen, too much like work and not as much pleasure. So, checking out second-hand paperback copies. This is my first and not what I expected. I knew that Latimer's reputation was based on hard-boiled American crime fiction in the 1930s while doing the odd screenplay for Hollywood. This was not that. This is a classic English country house mystery, albeit set in Michigan, not my cup of tea at all. I suppose the clue is that it was written under the pen name Peter Coffin, the lead character but reprinted in the 1980s under Jonathan Latimer. Well, he writes with great ease and it is very entertaining and enjoyable. It is full of nonsense (not least, where is all the blood?) but nonetheless carries you forward quickly and there is an underlying humour that is is clearly poking fun at the genre. I suspect if I had come from one of his hard-boiled works to this, I would have been disappointed, but this was definitely fun.
January 21, 2025
When alien abduction seems like the only possibility....
Latimer published this book under an alias, which is understandable. Much harder to figure is how he came to write it at all. Latimer wrote hard-boiled mysteries like Hammett and Chandler. This is a classic English country-house mystery, right down to the starchy English butler. The hero accuses another character of "not playing the game."
In 1937, Latimer was in the middle of his Bill Crane mystery series, which is hard-boiled to the core. Three years later he wrote "Solomon's Vineyard." That one was so racy and violent it wasn't published in the U.S. for ten years and then only in a expurgated version.
How did Latimer morph into "Peter Coffin" who narrates a story of relatives gathering at an isolated old house in Michigan. The gang is there at the invitation of rich Uncle Tobias Coffin, who's (naturally) changing his will. The woods are creepy and so are some of the servants. And just to make sure we don't get bored, there's an escaped lunatic running around. He was sent to the asylum for chopping off heads. Is he up to his old tricks or is a clever criminal pulling a copy-cat act?
Peter is an English professor - quiet, pompous, and a hypochondriac. A shy bachelor, he lives on the West Coast with his formidable Aunt Nineveh. She refused Tobias' invitation, guessing that he'd make the family dance to his tune by dangling his substantial fortune. He was and it worked, as it always does.
Peter is the odd-man-out, having little interest in Tobias's money. He has fond memories of childhood summers spent at Chrystal Lake and some lingering affection for his great-uncle. His independence appeals to old Tobias, who sees the young man as protection against the greedy relatives who can't wait to get their inheritances.
There are two families of relatives, middle-aged men with their wives and grown children. And there's a pretty young blonde who's a relative of Tobias's long-dead wife. The young men are vying for her attention and Peter is surprised to find that he's as attracted to her as the others. Then the host is found dead (sans his head) and his new will is missing and all hell breaks loose.
If you're used to Latimer's usual style, this one will be a shock, but it's worth sticking with it. The setting and characters are bland compared to his gritty books set in Chicago or California. What it does have is Latimer's zany humor, starting with the family name "Coffin."
The county sheriff is a seed merchant elected on a reform ticket. Searching for an escaped killer is giving him a nervous breakdown. NOW, the richest guy in town is missing his head. The sheriff and his energetic, but inexperienced staff are hilarious.
To be fair, it's a difficult case. All the relatives are lying about something, even if it's just to protect each other. The frail housekeeper knows more than she's telling. Bronson the Butler makes the mistake of telling everyone he KNOWS SOMETHING, but refusing to say what. We all know how that's going to end, don't we?
Peter does some quiet investigating on his own. After all, he's spent his life in academic research, using clues to lead him to the information he needs. However, he's not used to dealing with live people and he's definitely not used to being in love.
Then an investigator from Uncle Tobias' insurance company arrives. Tobias left a substantial insurance policy and two young relatives will benefit, depending on how he died. Colonel Black is a shrewd, sophisticated guy accustomed to family feuds and he takes this one in stride.
It's just complicated enough to hold my interest without being over-cooked. The characters are varied and believable and the humor is delightful. It's not a standard Latimer mystery, but it's a good one.
Latimer published this book under an alias, which is understandable. Much harder to figure is how he came to write it at all. Latimer wrote hard-boiled mysteries like Hammett and Chandler. This is a classic English country-house mystery, right down to the starchy English butler. The hero accuses another character of "not playing the game."
In 1937, Latimer was in the middle of his Bill Crane mystery series, which is hard-boiled to the core. Three years later he wrote "Solomon's Vineyard." That one was so racy and violent it wasn't published in the U.S. for ten years and then only in a expurgated version.
How did Latimer morph into "Peter Coffin" who narrates a story of relatives gathering at an isolated old house in Michigan. The gang is there at the invitation of rich Uncle Tobias Coffin, who's (naturally) changing his will. The woods are creepy and so are some of the servants. And just to make sure we don't get bored, there's an escaped lunatic running around. He was sent to the asylum for chopping off heads. Is he up to his old tricks or is a clever criminal pulling a copy-cat act?
Peter is an English professor - quiet, pompous, and a hypochondriac. A shy bachelor, he lives on the West Coast with his formidable Aunt Nineveh. She refused Tobias' invitation, guessing that he'd make the family dance to his tune by dangling his substantial fortune. He was and it worked, as it always does.
Peter is the odd-man-out, having little interest in Tobias's money. He has fond memories of childhood summers spent at Chrystal Lake and some lingering affection for his great-uncle. His independence appeals to old Tobias, who sees the young man as protection against the greedy relatives who can't wait to get their inheritances.
There are two families of relatives, middle-aged men with their wives and grown children. And there's a pretty young blonde who's a relative of Tobias's long-dead wife. The young men are vying for her attention and Peter is surprised to find that he's as attracted to her as the others. Then the host is found dead (sans his head) and his new will is missing and all hell breaks loose.
If you're used to Latimer's usual style, this one will be a shock, but it's worth sticking with it. The setting and characters are bland compared to his gritty books set in Chicago or California. What it does have is Latimer's zany humor, starting with the family name "Coffin."
The county sheriff is a seed merchant elected on a reform ticket. Searching for an escaped killer is giving him a nervous breakdown. NOW, the richest guy in town is missing his head. The sheriff and his energetic, but inexperienced staff are hilarious.
To be fair, it's a difficult case. All the relatives are lying about something, even if it's just to protect each other. The frail housekeeper knows more than she's telling. Bronson the Butler makes the mistake of telling everyone he KNOWS SOMETHING, but refusing to say what. We all know how that's going to end, don't we?
Peter does some quiet investigating on his own. After all, he's spent his life in academic research, using clues to lead him to the information he needs. However, he's not used to dealing with live people and he's definitely not used to being in love.
Then an investigator from Uncle Tobias' insurance company arrives. Tobias left a substantial insurance policy and two young relatives will benefit, depending on how he died. Colonel Black is a shrewd, sophisticated guy accustomed to family feuds and he takes this one in stride.
It's just complicated enough to hold my interest without being over-cooked. The characters are varied and believable and the humor is delightful. It's not a standard Latimer mystery, but it's a good one.
March 6, 2024
Definitely an unusual approach to the isolated mansion, family gathering mystery. I always admire Latimer's writing so I immediately picked it up when I found it. What a surprise! A spoof which starts on the cover and continues to the end. The timid professor gets off the bus in the middle of the night and makes his way through a spooky swamp to the family mansion to meet the family members to discuss a will. The story develops with a very unique murder, love interests, a very strange intruder and the most off the wall method of locomotion to escape making footsteps. And the timid professor gets the girl too. Very strange story. I liked it.
May 1, 2021
Love the title! And there is more than one missing head. Story holds up well for a book first published in 1937.
April 9, 2023
At times a bit repetitive, a bit convoluted, a bit boring, a bit silly, but overall, not too bad.
October 5, 2023
A funny hard boiled mystery from the 1930's. It was great and paked with witty dialogue and wonderful characters.
July 12, 2012
The book is a bit slow paced, particularly for modern audiences raised on action films and television. But the characters are engaging and reasonably well drawn. Overall the book comes off more as a parody of the "country house mystery" so common to Agatha Christie or Dorothy L. Sayers. I think fans of those two ladies would enjoy the book far more than fans of Ed McBain or Jeffrey Deaver.
My only serious complaint is the unreality of decaptitating not one but two bodies. The author had obviously never heard of Robert Devereaux, Earl of Essex when he had his executioner use a kitchen meat cleaver to smoothly, easily lop off heads like carrots with one stroke and no blood spray or other impediment.
My only serious complaint is the unreality of decaptitating not one but two bodies. The author had obviously never heard of Robert Devereaux, Earl of Essex when he had his executioner use a kitchen meat cleaver to smoothly, easily lop off heads like carrots with one stroke and no blood spray or other impediment.
February 16, 2008
Latimer, who is more than capable of brilliance (Soloman's Vineyard, Lady in the Morgue), here drops his usual amoral, hardboiled attitude and tries his hand at a British-inspired drawing room mystery/comedy. The result: trite, expected, and decidedly not mysterious or comedic. Latimer originally published the novel under the name "Peter Coffin," who is a character in the book.
March 26, 2011
Adorably quaint to start, a very good mindless read (which is what I sought at the time). Then it never ended. EVER. Something so trite should not be so close to 300 pages. Sadly, you will most likely need to be missing your own head to comfortably accompany Peter Coffin on the search for his uncle's.
June 3, 2012
The title's the best part.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews