Puzzle for Pilgrims

Peter Duluth Mystery #6

by Patrick Quentin

Sally Haven, archelypal rich bitch, dies in mysterious circumstances. No one mourns - but everyone suffers.... In pursuit of his errant wife, Peter Duluth finds himself drawn unwillingly into a nightmarish world of conspiracy, jealous passions and blackmail. Could his own wife be the murderer? Or is she protecting her lover, the dead woman's husband? Marietta, Marlin Haven's unstable sister - would she kill for him too? As pressure and confusion mount, Duluth and the doomed trio travel from Mexico City to Veracruz. Then another death, And Peter finally uncovers the diabolic sweetness of Sally Haven's revenge.

Genres: Mystery

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1947

About the author

Patrick Quentin, Q. Patrick and Jonathan Stagge were pen names under which Hugh Callingham Wheeler (19 March 1912 – 26 July 1987), Richard Wilson Webb (August 1901 – December 1966), Martha Mott Kelley (30 April 1906–2005) and Mary Louise White Aswell (3 June 1902 – 24 December 1984) wrote detective fiction. In some foreign countries their books have been published under the variant Quentin Patrick. Most of the stories were written by Webb and Wheeler in collaboration, or by Wheeler alone. Their most famous creation is the amateur sleuth Peter Duluth. In 1963, the story collection The Ordeal of Mrs. Snow was given a Special Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America.

AKA:
Πάτρικ Κουέντιν (Greek)

Reviews

[Bev · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Fate of the Immodest Blonde (aka Puzzle for Pilgrims; 1947) by Patrick Quentin [Hugh Wheeler & Richard Webb]

Peter Duluth's wife Iris has left him after things went sour when he returned from the war. She's run off to Mexico and fallen for a golden boy, genius writer by the name of Martin Haven. Of course, not only is Iris still married to Peter but Martin is married to a rich blonde by the name of Sally. And Sally doesn't want to let him go. She's threatening all sorts of things. So Iris asks Peter come and stand by in case she needs him to file for divorce or any other little thing--like getting her and the boyfriend and the boyfriend's sister out of a muddle that involves a sleazy private detective.

You see, Sally winds up dead. And Jake (the detective) fixes it so the police don't suspect foul play but that he can also blackmail Martin, Marietta (the sister), and Iris--because one of them must have killed Sally. He says that all he wants is a measly little $50,000 out of the cool two million that Martin will inherit...but who ever heard of a blackmailer stopping with one payoff? Jake winds up dead too and Peter is stuck with clean-up.

What a squalid, sordid little story. I could just leave it at that, but I won't. I have yet to find a book written under the Patrick Quentin pseudonym that I can wholeheartedly endorse. Now granted, I haven't exactly read scads of them (only two others: Puzzle for Fools and Black Widow), but each of those caused me to believe that the Peter Duluth series just might not be my cup of tea. And yet...my affection for those pocket-size editions of mysteries keeps bringing more of them into my house, so I give him another try. And, guess what? He's still not my cup of tea.

The plot isn't even as straight-forward as I've implied with the synopsis above. Peter winds up involved with Marietta. Marietta has a more-than-sisterly love for her brother. But she also wants to get away from his influence. On top of that, she has a thing for dirty, brawny men (like Jake). But she says she loves Peter because he's not like Martin or the dirty, brawny men. Sally is vindictive--but then she says she's not. Iris is going to run away with Martin and then she's not but now she's not fit to wipe Peter's shoes. Jake killed Sally to get away from the vindictive little blonde and to open up a gold mine of blackmail. No--wait, Martin killed Sally and Jake. No--wait, Marietta killed Sally and Jake. No--wait.... Geez, what a nasty little merry-go-round.

The best thing I can say about this is that Webb and Wheeler do a good job with psychology of these characters. They get the ins and outs of obsessive love and deflection and self-absorption down pat. But that doesn't mean you're going to like any of these people. None of them--not even Peter, our protagonist--elicit an ounce of sympathy, but it's because we do understand them so well. Unfortunately. The plot is twisted tighter than a corkscrew, so there's that as well. Plot is decently well-done. ★★ for plot and psychology.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting any review content. Thanks.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Patrick Quentin was a pseudonym for a couple of different writing teams, and their products are of widely varying quality. But this particular book is one of the best. set in Mexico after WWII, it features the series character peter Duluth, broadway producer. Psychologically acute and with a wonderful sense of place, It reminds me of the books by Matthew Head (the art critic John Canaday in his day job) and I have no higher praise than that.

[Jiří Pavlovský · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tohle bylo vážně dobré. Další příběh z Duluthovské série se psychickými deformacemi postav pohybuje už na samé hranici toho, co bylo v té době akceptovatelné. V některých okamžicích až psychologický thriller, ve kterém jsou hrdinové uvězněni ve svých vztazích a vinách. Není tu moc mrtvých, spíš se tu pracuje s napětím a klaustrofobickými situacemi. I když je to detektivka, tak hrdinové víc likvidují stopy po vraždách, než že by někdo pátral. Naštěstí jde o vraždy v Mexiku, takže policii obvykle stačí šoupnout pár babek a je všechno v pohodě. Jenže, není vždycky dobré každému věřit, a tak mají hrdinové brzo na triku vyděrače, který se jim nakvartýruje do života a začne si vyskakovat.

Celá kniha mohla být ve své době velmi silná. I dnes to funguje, byť už spíš jako náčrtek k příběhu, který by vyžadoval jistou aktualizaci. Knížka vznikla v roce 1947, takže ty hranice, co se mohlo, jsou opravdu hodně pevné. Tady se hrdinovi (opět Peter Duluth) rozpadne manželství a on i manželka žijí s někým jiným – ovšem samozřejmě, bez sexu, nepošpinění. Stejně tak jsou tu naznačovány určité sexuální motivy a deformace, ale opět, velmi cudně. Přesto ale ten stísňující pocit z nezdravých vztahů, tajností, vražd, cizího prostředí, ze kterého není možné utéct, a agresivně bodrého vyděrače, funguje celkem dodnes.

A bacha, je to i první detektivka, ve které Peter Duluth skutečně odhalí pachatele… čistě proto, že tam nikdo jiný, kdo by mohl zločince odhalit, není.

Vlastně jediné, co bych vytknul, je překlad. Ten je dost toporný a tvrdě naráží na idiomy. Ne, není to tak hrozné jako věci jako knížky z Gabi, tohle se ještě pořád dá číst.

[Fabio Pucci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ennesima conferma dell’abilità del due Webb-Weeler nel varcare con classe tutti i possibili territori del giallo. Siamo in questo caso nel campo del noir – con fulcro whodunit - tutto passioni, gelosie, amori che nascono o che sfioriscono, anbientato in un paesino messicano in piena festa paesana che non è solo sfondo, ma cuore pulsante e vera e propria chiave di lettura nel racconto. Pur con qualche stereotipo e qualche eccessiva nota di colore, il giallo si evolve coinvolgente e morboso, pure con serpeggianti umori incenstuosi a fare da contrappunto. Scrittura essenziale ma elegante, come tipico del due. Finale magari non originalissimo, ma perfetto per rimettere al loro posto tutti i tasselli della vicenda.

***

[Marina Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This started out really well - funny and wisecracking and lots of atmosphere, but got a little too rushed toward the end.

[Nathanael Booth · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Patrick Quentin” is apparently pseudonymous, a cover-name for a pair of authors a la Ellery Queen. This novel—the second or third in the series—finds the central character (Peter Duluth) in Mexico, depressed over the decision of his wife to leave him. The book unfolds as a sort of noir, with the twisted relationships of the Duluths, the Havens, and a California detective who plays his own game. The title refers to Martin Haven’s favorite childhood game—playing at being a pilgrim, a task to which all else must be subject, including the life of his own sister. In a way, each of the characters here is a pilgrim in his or her own right: traveling toward some idea of the good, and ruthlessly stepping on and over anyone who gets in the way. The pain caused by this singlemindedness is palpable, and bleeds through nearly every page of this book; if nothing else, it is intensely felt, with the sad melancholy of Peter and Iris or the mad tragedy of Marietta forcing itself into the reader’s head. This book is far more than its plot (which can be figured out with little effort); it is a moving portrait of broken people and broken promises.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

i love patrick quentin's mysteries, but this is a weaker entry. set in mexico in 1947, it's a good tough noir-ish thriller. Plot strains credulity, but the sense of ex-pat life then is well done.
I read it under the terrible title "The Fate of the Immodest Blonde."

[Giancarlo Berardinelli]

Come posso scaricarlo in pdf?

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars