Murder Is a Collector's Item

by Elizabeth Dean

Twenty-six-year-old Emma Marsh isn't much at spelling or geography and perhaps she butchers the odd literary quotation of two, but she's a keen judge of character and more than able to hold her own when it comes to selling antiques or solving murders. When she stumbles upon the body of a rich collector on the floor of the Boston antiques shop where she works, suspicion quickly falls on her missing boss. Emma knows Jeff Graham is no murderer, but veteran homicide cop, Jerry Donovan doesn't share her conviction.

Genres: Mystery

190 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1939

Reviews

[Bev]

Dean's first book was written as a dare--this seems to be a theme with several of our Golden Age authors. A group of friends all decided to if they could each write 20,000 words of fiction in a month's time. Dean was the only one who met the deadline and her friends challenged her to turn it into a novel. So, she did and created Emma Marsh, antique saleswoman and a fair judge of character. She works as right-hand woman to Jeff Graham who has helped her several times in the past.

One of their wealthy clients makes an appointment with Jeff to view a valuable secretary, but when Emma opens the shop the next morning she find the client, Richard Norwitch, stabbed to death on the floor and the secretary is missing in action. So is Jeff. She is certain that Jeff is no murderer, but Lieutenant Donovan finds the circumstantial evidence to be a bit compelling. And if the missing antiques dealer didn't do it, then probably Emma did. Or maybe Emma's boyfriend, Hank Fairbanks--who also happens to be the nephew and joint-heir of the dead man. Of course, being friends with Hank and Emma, he doesn't seriously believe it, but when all the clues seem to lead nowhere, he doesn't know what to believe.

Fortunately, Emma and Hank make pretty good amateur detectives and they manage to locate Jeff's missing car (with a bullet hole in the window and blood on the seat...but no Jeff) as well as several important witnesses. When a rival antiques dealer winds up dead in the shop, the mystery gets even murkier and the killer will try to kill two more people before Emman, Hank and Donovan figure out who they are.

This was a fun, almost screwball comedy mystery that would have ranked a bit higher if some of the humorous banter hadn't been so hard to follow. There are two scenes where Emma, Hank, and Donovan are going back and forth about clues and suspicions and whatnot and then a little light bulb goes on for one (or more) of them and we all supposedly know what they've just figured out--except I didn't either time because the banter lost me in mid-bant. Whatever I was supposed to catch flew by so high over my head that it missed my glove completely (over the fence and into the bleachers). I do like the relationship the three have. I just wish some of the conversation weren't so convoluted.

I had a sneaking suspicion that the villain really was the villain and I was right. I was pretty proud of myself for figuring it out before either Hank or Emma. Overall, this is a good debut mystery and I look forward to reading the other Dean book I have on the TBR (Murder a Mile High) and to finding the remaining book in the series (Murder Is a Serious Business). ★★★ and 1/2 (rounded up)

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.

[Susan]

There are only three novels featuring antiques store clerk Emma Marsh, and this is the first. Emma and her boss Jeff are happily running a small Boston business until the body of a wealthy client is found in the shop. His heir and nephew is Emma's boyfriend Hank, an aspiring detective. There are a lot of reasons that Emma won't be frank with the police--she's not downright Gracie-Allenish, but some days it's close--and she wants to be sure they don't suspect hot-tempered Jeff (they do). Lots of fun.

[Lisa Kucharski]

This is a murder mystery that involves three people investigating- somewhat together to solve the crime. The main character is Emma who works at antique shop, who while seeming to be a lightweight- is actually able to find out a lot, but sometimes her heart does get in the way of doing the reasonable thing at time. Hank who wants to be a detective and who should be suspect no. 1, is in love with Emma. He can be both smart and sometimes gets in his own way due to emotions and partying a bit too hard. The third person trying to solve the crime is the Donovan- the police official in charge of actually solving the crime.

The book starts out a bit muddled but after about a third of the way in, the path does seem to clear. The victim doesn’t seem to be mourned a great deal; and, another person missing who could also be a prime suspect creates more concern. The story does have a lightheartedness about it, but there is indeed a mystery, and hit and miss the trio does indeed finally put together the pieces.

Enjoyable but I can’t say I’ll go out of my way to find the other two stories she wrote. If they cross my path, I would certainly get them.

[Nancy]

A fun mystery. I sure miss Rue Morgue Press. They would find these gems and bring them back to life. Fun characters, cunning puzzle and satisfactory solution. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the antique shop. I will look for more by Elizabeth Dean.

[Peggy]

Thoroughly enjoyed this romp!

[Terry]

A "classic" from the late 30s mostly, I think, because it is purportedly one of the few not only penned by a woman in that period but also has a woman in the forefront of the team solving the mystery. That last is a bit of a stretch. It's a book full of red herrings but the story held my attention.

[Kate]

For my full review click here:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...