The Damned and the Destroyed

by Kenneth Orvis, Brian Busby

Maxwell Dent studied law at McGill and served in the RCAF and Intelligence M-5 during the Korean War. For a private investigator, he’s as respectable as they come. No wonder then he's summoned to Huntley Ashton's Westmount mansion. A respected captain of industry, the wealthy man knows the PI can be relied upon to be discreet. Ashton’s daughter Helen has fallen into heroin addiction, and the millionaire wants Dent to smash the ring supplying her vice, just as he took down a ring operating in Korea. Set in 1954, the novel captures the dying days of the era in which Montreal had the reputation as one of the world’s great sin cities. The Damned and the Destroyed was originally published in 1962 by McClelland & Stewart in Canada and Dennis Dobson in the UK; this Ricochet Books edition marks the first print edition in more than five decades.

Genres: Crime

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 1962, The Damned and the Destroyed is about the Montreal drug trade in an era before the Sixties had really blossomed. Maxwell Dent is a private investigator and tycoon Huntley Ashton hires Dent to rescue his daughter from the ravages of heroin. And, Ashton didn't just want his daughter rescued. He wanted the dope peddlers smashed to pieces. The older daughter, Thorn, fills in the gaps. It is
well written, although at times it feels like a stern anti drug lecture and it feels a little dated. There's a lot of language about dilated pupils and purple scarred arms. And, of course, jazz musicians all have the heroin monkey on their backs. Dent disguises himself and infiltrates the
junkie community.