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Losers, Weepers
A criminal mix-up puts an office drone in the line of fire
Jim Morgan can’t afford the briefcase. His wife’s spending has strangled him with debt, and he’s down to his last $20. But the briefcase in the leather shop calls to him. It looks like something an executive would own. It smells like success. When he buys it, he feels a confidence he hasn’t felt in years. He tells off the office bully. He talks his way into a raise. The briefcase has made him a new man—and soon, it will be his downfall.
Stopping on his way home for a cocktail, Morgan sets the briefcase on the barroom floor. When he picks it up, it’s filled with cash. He’s walked off with $100,000 in stolen money. And getting rid of it will turn his life upside down—or end it.
Jim Morgan can’t afford the briefcase. His wife’s spending has strangled him with debt, and he’s down to his last $20. But the briefcase in the leather shop calls to him. It looks like something an executive would own. It smells like success. When he buys it, he feels a confidence he hasn’t felt in years. He tells off the office bully. He talks his way into a raise. The briefcase has made him a new man—and soon, it will be his downfall.
Stopping on his way home for a cocktail, Morgan sets the briefcase on the barroom floor. When he picks it up, it’s filled with cash. He’s walked off with $100,000 in stolen money. And getting rid of it will turn his life upside down—or end it.
Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 1966
35 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
Ellery Queen
1,799 books492 followersaka Barnaby Ross.
(Pseudonym of Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee)
"Ellery Queen" was a pen name created and shared by two cousins, Frederic Dannay (1905-1982) and Manfred B. Lee (1905-1971), as well as the name of their most famous detective. Born in Brooklyn, they spent forty two years writing, editing, and anthologizing under the name, gaining a reputation as the foremost American authors of the Golden Age "fair play" mystery.
Although eventually famous on television and radio, Queen's first appearance came in 1928 when the cousins won a mystery-writing contest with the book that would eventually be published as The Roman Hat Mystery. Their character was an amateur detective who used his spare time to assist his police inspector father in solving baffling crimes. Besides writing the Queen novels, Dannay and Lee cofounded Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, one of the most influential crime publications of all time. Although Dannay outlived his cousin by nine years, he retired Queen upon Lee's death.
Several of the later "Ellery Queen" books were written by other authors, including Jack Vance, Avram Davidson, and Theodore Sturgeon.
(Pseudonym of Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee)
"Ellery Queen" was a pen name created and shared by two cousins, Frederic Dannay (1905-1982) and Manfred B. Lee (1905-1971), as well as the name of their most famous detective. Born in Brooklyn, they spent forty two years writing, editing, and anthologizing under the name, gaining a reputation as the foremost American authors of the Golden Age "fair play" mystery.
Although eventually famous on television and radio, Queen's first appearance came in 1928 when the cousins won a mystery-writing contest with the book that would eventually be published as The Roman Hat Mystery. Their character was an amateur detective who used his spare time to assist his police inspector father in solving baffling crimes. Besides writing the Queen novels, Dannay and Lee cofounded Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, one of the most influential crime publications of all time. Although Dannay outlived his cousin by nine years, he retired Queen upon Lee's death.
Several of the later "Ellery Queen" books were written by other authors, including Jack Vance, Avram Davidson, and Theodore Sturgeon.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 21, 2021
I stand by my second update for this book. Perhaps not Queen's best mystery, but definitely an entertaining one.
November 24, 2023
I have burned through so many of Richard Deming's novels over the past couple of years, I was curious to read one of the nine he penned using the Ellery Queen pseudonym. Would they read like normal Deming, or did he have to change his style? I needn't have worried: "Losers, Weepers" is exactly like all of Deming's other hardboiled novels. In this one, the main character is accidentally given a briefcase containing a huge sum of money. Stuck with a conscience, he considers handing it over to the police, but the guy's money-hungry wife urges him to hold on to it. That turns out to be a very, very bad idea. The book is fast-moving and never dull. I only hope the rest of the Deming-Queen books are as enjoyable as this one. Starting the next one today!
January 11, 2024
What a refreshing light and enjoyable read!
I don’t know when this was originally written, but it effortlessly took me back to a simpler time. It is highly engaging with characters that have the perfect amount of development to understand and empathize with.
The book reminds me of the movie A Simple Plan ( which of course wasn’t!). It is a mystery with a nice comical touch.
I highly recommend it for a light snowy afternoon read
I don’t know when this was originally written, but it effortlessly took me back to a simpler time. It is highly engaging with characters that have the perfect amount of development to understand and empathize with.
The book reminds me of the movie A Simple Plan ( which of course wasn’t!). It is a mystery with a nice comical touch.
I highly recommend it for a light snowy afternoon read
January 11, 2024
Good mystery
An Ellery Queen story without Ellery in the story. Very well written and worth reading. When all is said and done, would you keep the money?
An Ellery Queen story without Ellery in the story. Very well written and worth reading. When all is said and done, would you keep the money?
May 22, 2020
( O Mistério da Mala Trocada )
October 9, 2016
Good Ellery Queen mystery where pretty much everybody is a bad guy!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews