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Lieutenant Luis Mendoza #23
No Holiday for Crime
TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS AND ALL THROUGH LOS ANGELES CREATURES WERE STIRRING-STIRRING, IN THIS INSTANCE, AN OUTSIZED BREW OF NEFARIOUS DEEDS.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
About the author
Dell Shannon
157 books24 followersPseudonym of Elizabeth Linington.
Barbara "Elizabeth" Linington (March 11, 1921 – April 5, 1988) was an American novelist. She was awarded runner-up scrolls for best first mystery novel from the Mystery Writers of America for her 1960 novel, Case Pending, which introduced her most popular series character, LAPD Homicide Lieutenant Luis Mendoza. Her 1961 book, Nightmare, and her 1962 novel, Knave of Hearts, another entry in the Mendoza series, were both nominated for Edgars in the Best Novel category. Regarded as the "Queen of the Procedurals," she was one of the first women to write police procedurals — a male-dominated genre of police-story writing.
Besides crime, Linington also took interest in archaeology, the occult, gemstones, antique weapons and languages. Linington was also a conservative political activist who was an active member of the John Birch Society
Barbara "Elizabeth" Linington (March 11, 1921 – April 5, 1988) was an American novelist. She was awarded runner-up scrolls for best first mystery novel from the Mystery Writers of America for her 1960 novel, Case Pending, which introduced her most popular series character, LAPD Homicide Lieutenant Luis Mendoza. Her 1961 book, Nightmare, and her 1962 novel, Knave of Hearts, another entry in the Mendoza series, were both nominated for Edgars in the Best Novel category. Regarded as the "Queen of the Procedurals," she was one of the first women to write police procedurals — a male-dominated genre of police-story writing.
Besides crime, Linington also took interest in archaeology, the occult, gemstones, antique weapons and languages. Linington was also a conservative political activist who was an active member of the John Birch Society
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 10, 2023
Another winner! This is the first and only book Shannon wrote around a holiday season, and it starts out with a shakeup nearly as major as the earthquake of a few months back.
It opens with Saul Goldberg in the hospital. Saul Goldberg, formerly of Robbery-Theft. Huh? He is being visted by Lt. Mendoza, formerly of Homicide. WHAT???
I presume that Shannon based this on actual changes in the LAPD. Presumably they knew what they were doing, but I would have thought that both Robbery and Homicide had quite enough on their individual plates, thank you very much, without being combined into one department. Mendoza stays in charge of the newly expanded department, with just two added men--Conway and Shogart--plus Policewoman Wanda Larson (last seen in CHANCE TO KILL). Saul Goldberg has been (or rather, will be when he gets out of the hospital) transferred to Narcotics, under Pat Callahan, who has been promoted to Captain. (As a souvenir of his very last case in Robbery, Saul was given a case of parrot fever. How nice.)
Some thoughts on the change: Shogart, an old plodder of a detective, is shown to be phlegmatic about the change. This will change over time to a gradually deepening resentment, although he won't allow that to interfere with his work. Rich Conway immediately takes to Tom Landers; they are both about the same age, and both dating policewomen. Both are currently on nightwatch; they were added in to beef things up, as robberies do tend to happen more at night. I thought it odd, however, that both Landers and Conway have Tuesdays off. I mean, the week has seven days, they have four men on night watch, and it would make sense to have a different day off for each of them, so they would always have at least three men on duty. (Presumably Shannon arranged this so that they could go on double-dates together!) And no one quite knows what to do with Wanda Larson. It doesn't seem to occur to Mendoza or anyone else to ASK her what her duties are supposed to be; after all, how would they know until she tells them? Everyone is shocked (and delighted) to find that she can type up their reports for them. They quickly realize the advantage; rather than spending hours of the day typing the necessary reports, they can hand their notes to Wanda and head right back out again. Wanda, at the moment, is very happy to be their personal private secretary, but this will change over time, later she will be saying "I'm not a glorified secretary" even though that seems to be exactly what she is. She will gradually become a working member of the department. Not sure how she managed that; we never see her taking the Detective's exam or any extra training. I loved her comment to Mendoza, after the misunderstanding is cleared up, and she is in his office looking at his precisely arranged desk: "It looks so empty without the boxes of Kleenex...."
The big personal side story for this book is that the Graces, at long last, are able to claim little Celia Ann Harlow for their very own. Mendoza thoughtfully allows Jason to leave work early to pick her up (and get the dozen and one items of baby equipment that they hadn't already purchased). He will also get a Polaroid camera to get instant snapshots--although Higgins warns him that the upkeep will be astronomical.
The important case of the book is Lila Askell, who wanted to go home for Christmas. Waiting in Los Angeles on a three-hour stopover (Greyhound Bus) she, a serious, prim girl somehow ended up being thrown out of a car after being beaten and strangled. Palliser does most of the legwork on this one (and have you noticed that it's always Palliser who gets sent off on trips--escorting suspects, looking for bodies, going to interrogate people?) It takes a great deal of patience and hard slogging, but they will eventually get there.
Others: a series of hijackings of trucks carrying liquors, with the drivers being waylaid and struck down. (One of them gets out of the hospital ONE WEEK after getting a fractured skull--and this in the days before patients were shoved out the door after the barest minimal time!) There's the repeated thefts from a local warehouse, with the manager agitating to get trained guard dogs on duty. A B-girl luring the unwary johns, only to have her partner clip them over the head and rob them. A member of a cleaning company murdered while cleaning a university building--which is closed for the holidays. Why would anyone be lurking there?
A couple coming out of a restaurant on Christmas Eve are attacked in the lot; the man shot and the woman kidnapped and raped. She manages to identify her attacker--or did she? After the suspect manages to escape and go on the run, another woman nearly shares the same fate, with her husband killed. The suspect must have run for another reason; he surely wouldn't commit another assault while he's on the run. This is one where Mendoza demonstrates why he would have been burned as a warlock several centuries earlier.
We get a look at how the LAPD deals with the yearly problem of dealing with the Rose Parade and the following Rose Bowl--everyone, from every police department in the area gets put on a list and names are chosen at random. (Mendoza has been hit twice in twenty-four years, and hopes never to do it again.) Regardless of their positions, they all squeeze back into uniform and head out at three in the morning for an eighteen hour slog fielding traffic, lost children, and collapsing citizens. Oytch!
There is also a rather disquieting commentary on rape in general. I have to remind myself that this was the viewpoint at the time. The idea is that women, with the new revealing fashions (including mini-skirts) are simply asking to be assaulted, because they look like easy women. If that was what the rapists wanted, then surely they would proposition the women rather than attacking them? Sex is not the purpose of most rapes, it's simply the weapon used. It would make more sense to say that the revealing fashions--including the mini-skirts--would tend to make it EASIER to make a successful attack, not that they invite them. (Muslim women who are dressed head-to-toe in completely concealing black garments also get raped--and also get blamed for inciting it.)
Palliser gets a little more than he bargains for when he's on the scene of an accident. A visiting dog breeder who has broken her leg, is frantic for the welfare of her dog Azzie (Azrael, the Dark Angel). Palliser, stuck with the dog (quite a nice, well-behaved German Shepherd) calls upon Mendoza the animal man, who refers him to his own vet. (Dr. Stocking has apparently retired; it's now Dr. Douthit.) The dog breeder, Madge Borman, in a burst of gratitude, promises that Palliser and Roberta shall have one of Azzie's forthcoming puppies. Roberta wants a dog--but a smallish one, not a German Shepherd. (Bertha could tell them that Germing Shepherds aren't really too much trouble in the city.)
We get to see the various little vignettes of the men and their families celebrating Christmas and New Year's. We are also introduced to a new restaurant in the Burbank area--The Castaways, with a superb view down practically to the ocean. (This restaurant is still in business, by the way, and considered one of the best places to take a date!)
It opens with Saul Goldberg in the hospital. Saul Goldberg, formerly of Robbery-Theft. Huh? He is being visted by Lt. Mendoza, formerly of Homicide. WHAT???
I presume that Shannon based this on actual changes in the LAPD. Presumably they knew what they were doing, but I would have thought that both Robbery and Homicide had quite enough on their individual plates, thank you very much, without being combined into one department. Mendoza stays in charge of the newly expanded department, with just two added men--Conway and Shogart--plus Policewoman Wanda Larson (last seen in CHANCE TO KILL). Saul Goldberg has been (or rather, will be when he gets out of the hospital) transferred to Narcotics, under Pat Callahan, who has been promoted to Captain. (As a souvenir of his very last case in Robbery, Saul was given a case of parrot fever. How nice.)
Some thoughts on the change: Shogart, an old plodder of a detective, is shown to be phlegmatic about the change. This will change over time to a gradually deepening resentment, although he won't allow that to interfere with his work. Rich Conway immediately takes to Tom Landers; they are both about the same age, and both dating policewomen. Both are currently on nightwatch; they were added in to beef things up, as robberies do tend to happen more at night. I thought it odd, however, that both Landers and Conway have Tuesdays off. I mean, the week has seven days, they have four men on night watch, and it would make sense to have a different day off for each of them, so they would always have at least three men on duty. (Presumably Shannon arranged this so that they could go on double-dates together!) And no one quite knows what to do with Wanda Larson. It doesn't seem to occur to Mendoza or anyone else to ASK her what her duties are supposed to be; after all, how would they know until she tells them? Everyone is shocked (and delighted) to find that she can type up their reports for them. They quickly realize the advantage; rather than spending hours of the day typing the necessary reports, they can hand their notes to Wanda and head right back out again. Wanda, at the moment, is very happy to be their personal private secretary, but this will change over time, later she will be saying "I'm not a glorified secretary" even though that seems to be exactly what she is. She will gradually become a working member of the department. Not sure how she managed that; we never see her taking the Detective's exam or any extra training. I loved her comment to Mendoza, after the misunderstanding is cleared up, and she is in his office looking at his precisely arranged desk: "It looks so empty without the boxes of Kleenex...."
The big personal side story for this book is that the Graces, at long last, are able to claim little Celia Ann Harlow for their very own. Mendoza thoughtfully allows Jason to leave work early to pick her up (and get the dozen and one items of baby equipment that they hadn't already purchased). He will also get a Polaroid camera to get instant snapshots--although Higgins warns him that the upkeep will be astronomical.
The important case of the book is Lila Askell, who wanted to go home for Christmas. Waiting in Los Angeles on a three-hour stopover (Greyhound Bus) she, a serious, prim girl somehow ended up being thrown out of a car after being beaten and strangled. Palliser does most of the legwork on this one (and have you noticed that it's always Palliser who gets sent off on trips--escorting suspects, looking for bodies, going to interrogate people?) It takes a great deal of patience and hard slogging, but they will eventually get there.
Others: a series of hijackings of trucks carrying liquors, with the drivers being waylaid and struck down. (One of them gets out of the hospital ONE WEEK after getting a fractured skull--and this in the days before patients were shoved out the door after the barest minimal time!) There's the repeated thefts from a local warehouse, with the manager agitating to get trained guard dogs on duty. A B-girl luring the unwary johns, only to have her partner clip them over the head and rob them. A member of a cleaning company murdered while cleaning a university building--which is closed for the holidays. Why would anyone be lurking there?
A couple coming out of a restaurant on Christmas Eve are attacked in the lot; the man shot and the woman kidnapped and raped. She manages to identify her attacker--or did she? After the suspect manages to escape and go on the run, another woman nearly shares the same fate, with her husband killed. The suspect must have run for another reason; he surely wouldn't commit another assault while he's on the run. This is one where Mendoza demonstrates why he would have been burned as a warlock several centuries earlier.
We get a look at how the LAPD deals with the yearly problem of dealing with the Rose Parade and the following Rose Bowl--everyone, from every police department in the area gets put on a list and names are chosen at random. (Mendoza has been hit twice in twenty-four years, and hopes never to do it again.) Regardless of their positions, they all squeeze back into uniform and head out at three in the morning for an eighteen hour slog fielding traffic, lost children, and collapsing citizens. Oytch!
There is also a rather disquieting commentary on rape in general. I have to remind myself that this was the viewpoint at the time. The idea is that women, with the new revealing fashions (including mini-skirts) are simply asking to be assaulted, because they look like easy women. If that was what the rapists wanted, then surely they would proposition the women rather than attacking them? Sex is not the purpose of most rapes, it's simply the weapon used. It would make more sense to say that the revealing fashions--including the mini-skirts--would tend to make it EASIER to make a successful attack, not that they invite them. (Muslim women who are dressed head-to-toe in completely concealing black garments also get raped--and also get blamed for inciting it.)
Palliser gets a little more than he bargains for when he's on the scene of an accident. A visiting dog breeder who has broken her leg, is frantic for the welfare of her dog Azzie (Azrael, the Dark Angel). Palliser, stuck with the dog (quite a nice, well-behaved German Shepherd) calls upon Mendoza the animal man, who refers him to his own vet. (Dr. Stocking has apparently retired; it's now Dr. Douthit.) The dog breeder, Madge Borman, in a burst of gratitude, promises that Palliser and Roberta shall have one of Azzie's forthcoming puppies. Roberta wants a dog--but a smallish one, not a German Shepherd. (Bertha could tell them that Germing Shepherds aren't really too much trouble in the city.)
We get to see the various little vignettes of the men and their families celebrating Christmas and New Year's. We are also introduced to a new restaurant in the Burbank area--The Castaways, with a superb view down practically to the ocean. (This restaurant is still in business, by the way, and considered one of the best places to take a date!)
October 26, 2018
This book, as is apparent from the title, takes place over the Christmas and New Year's time frame. While trying to set up their own Christmases at home, Mendoza and his gang are kept very busy with daily robbery/murder cases. His Homicide Division has now been combined with Robbery & Theft, and some of the men are having trouble remembering to say "Robbery/Homicide" instead of just "Homicide" when they answer the phone. They are also thrilled to find they've been assigned a policewoman who will type up their reports for them (poor girl!) Two cases among the many run through the entire book - a series of liquor/delivery truck hijackings, and a young Mormon girl on her way home for Christmas who turns up dead. These books are so realistic, yet among the misery and gore and stupidity, she manages to inject a little humor every so often. Very enjoyable read.
February 24, 2026
Interesting view into attitudes and life in the 60's.
Thanks heavens i was too young to work at that time.
If you were a woman your career was wife and mother....
You could, as a woman, join the police force. As long as you understood you would be a secretary to the 'real' policemen, or you could work in Records and file documents.
And decent women wore skirts below the knees. Hookers and women, asking to be raped, wore minis. Mind you that attitude hasent changed 50 years later.
Thanks heavens i was too young to work at that time.
If you were a woman your career was wife and mother....
You could, as a woman, join the police force. As long as you understood you would be a secretary to the 'real' policemen, or you could work in Records and file documents.
And decent women wore skirts below the knees. Hookers and women, asking to be raped, wore minis. Mind you that attitude hasent changed 50 years later.
January 6, 2021
I bought this book because of its iconic cover, but oof I probably should have just dnfed it because I really didn't enjoy reading the sexist comments that were made about some of the women in the story
February 17, 2023
Police in the 60s & 70s
Like the tv show Dragnet. Not politically correct. It's gritty for its time. Murder, robbery, sexual assault, not for the easily triggered.
But I enjoyed it.
Like the tv show Dragnet. Not politically correct. It's gritty for its time. Murder, robbery, sexual assault, not for the easily triggered.
But I enjoyed it.
May 23, 2020
In this 23rd Luis Mendoza mystery, LAPD is overwhelmed by a spate of crimes at Christmas.
Read
December 11, 2022This was contemporary when I first read it. 45+ years later it's a classic mystery.
August 7, 2023
It was a very good read
October 8, 2014
Somewhat dated, but still enjoyable LAPD procedural.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews