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Lieutenant Luis Mendoza #31
Felony File: A Louis Mendoza Mystery
Luis Mendoza of the Los Angeles Police Department takes on the challenge of big-city crime--four robberies, the murder of a young divorcee and a middle-aged woman, and the brutal beating and rape of a nine-year-old girl
246 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1980
20 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
Dell Shannon
154 books23 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 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 30, 2021
In this 192 page mystery novel Lieutenant Mendoza and his staff solve more cases in their busy L. A. Homicide Department. Inner city thugs and the lenient judges who let them off to rob and murder again frustrate the hard-working cops. This book deals with such crimes as large department store heists and the rape and murder of a little girl, while Mendoza achieves unwanted fame when he rescues a cat from a house fire.
June 29, 2023
Another good one, with the usual mixed assortment of crimes--routine, eye-popping, scary, dull.
The first major case of the book is the robbery at Bullocks, an expensive department store. It was carefully planned, with armed men hiding within the store until it was closed, waiting until the money has been collected from the various departments, then attacking when it was being transferred to the upstairs offices. The obvious assumption is that it was planned by someone familiar with the store routine, and, checking on records, finds that a similar heist occurred months earlier in the East. They track down various clues, but in the end, it comes down to pure luck: the robbers were of course only interested in the cash, and got rid of all the credits slips and checks--except for one mislaid check, found by a cleaning woman who decided to try and cash it for herself.
The case of the murdered policeman from the previous book comes to a horrific climax, leaving everyone shaking their heads and wondering why, why why?
For a spot of amusement, there is the gorgeous woman heister, robbing a bunch of stunned store clerks.
An upsetting episode that will have repercussions later in the book: some hooligans break into a house, killing the man who confronts them, and getting away with a whole twelve dollars. Turns out the man was the sole caregiver for his handicapped brother. As I noted before, this was before people paid much attention to the needs and rights of the handicapped. The old house is not especially wheelchair accessible, and the man, as he bitterly observes, can't even open a can of cat food for Merlin, his brother's pet. All that's left for him is to become a charity case. This is more than he can endure, and Mendoza, coming back to the neighborhood, discovers that the man has killed himself by gas, which sparked off a fire in the house--with Merlin trapped inside. Mendoza, of course, leaps into action, breaking in a window (ignoring the outraged firefighters) and scrambling under the smoke to find Merlin's basket. "Not another life, for nothing...." The firemen hastily provide an air mask. "In two minutes Merlin stirred and sneezed. He struggled up groggily in Mendoza's arms and uttered an indignant attempt at a serious feline cussword."
I love Mendoza. Merlin will find a home with a neighbor, and Mendoza will find his good deed rebounding on him with a vengeance.
There's an ugly episode with a nine-year-old, raped and dead in an utterly filthy house. The welfare woman in charge is horrified at the state of the house, and seems uncomprehending when Wanda points out that it was her responsibility to check on the state of the house and the children, when she was handing out money for them. She in fact had no way of knowing if there were any children involved at all--apparently anyone could walk into the office, say, "I'm an unemployed widow with five children; I need money", and money would be handed out without question. (Wanda, in fact came close to losing her cool over this one. She also came close to losing her lunch over the state of the house; once officials became aware, the house was swiftly condemned as uninhabitable.) The mother was a lush, indifferent to the children that she kept popping out. The solution to the case was fairly obvious, and proof quickly found by the intrepid lab team.
There's a bizarre case with a woman posing as an Avon lady, pushing her way into a home and then casually shooting the woman inside. Neither the victim nor her sister had the faintest idea whom the woman was. The divorced husband was far away, but could he have arranged his ex-wife's killing? The answer is a shock to everyone.
A woman found dead in a park. Her name--Marian Stromberg--is the same name as that of an elderly victim in the book DEATH BY INCHES. Why would anyone want to kill this prim, quiet, middle-aged widow living her prim, quiet, middle-aged life? Well, as seen before, appearances are not always what they seem....
There's a rather cool case for the lab: a store owner is apparently killed when he comes upon a store cleaner being assaulted. The poor woman is sprawled out in a rather obvious position, but there are more clues to be had: they have recently learned out to bring up latent fingerprints...on human skin! It takes a great deal of time and effort, but the results are worth it.
Alison is still working away on her dream house. George and Mary are working to renovate their new home, with Mary painting everything in sight. There's a rather odd comment to the effect that George is not handy with tools. Since when? That was how he got involved with Mary in the first place, volunteering to take care of all the odds and ends of house maintenance that she would otherwise have to pay to have done. Hackett and Angel have found their new house, but are having problems selling the old one; they finally settle for less than the house is worth, just to get it over with.
Not the most exciting book of the series, but as always, well-written.
The first major case of the book is the robbery at Bullocks, an expensive department store. It was carefully planned, with armed men hiding within the store until it was closed, waiting until the money has been collected from the various departments, then attacking when it was being transferred to the upstairs offices. The obvious assumption is that it was planned by someone familiar with the store routine, and, checking on records, finds that a similar heist occurred months earlier in the East. They track down various clues, but in the end, it comes down to pure luck: the robbers were of course only interested in the cash, and got rid of all the credits slips and checks--except for one mislaid check, found by a cleaning woman who decided to try and cash it for herself.
The case of the murdered policeman from the previous book comes to a horrific climax, leaving everyone shaking their heads and wondering why, why why?
For a spot of amusement, there is the gorgeous woman heister, robbing a bunch of stunned store clerks.
An upsetting episode that will have repercussions later in the book: some hooligans break into a house, killing the man who confronts them, and getting away with a whole twelve dollars. Turns out the man was the sole caregiver for his handicapped brother. As I noted before, this was before people paid much attention to the needs and rights of the handicapped. The old house is not especially wheelchair accessible, and the man, as he bitterly observes, can't even open a can of cat food for Merlin, his brother's pet. All that's left for him is to become a charity case. This is more than he can endure, and Mendoza, coming back to the neighborhood, discovers that the man has killed himself by gas, which sparked off a fire in the house--with Merlin trapped inside. Mendoza, of course, leaps into action, breaking in a window (ignoring the outraged firefighters) and scrambling under the smoke to find Merlin's basket. "Not another life, for nothing...." The firemen hastily provide an air mask. "In two minutes Merlin stirred and sneezed. He struggled up groggily in Mendoza's arms and uttered an indignant attempt at a serious feline cussword."
I love Mendoza. Merlin will find a home with a neighbor, and Mendoza will find his good deed rebounding on him with a vengeance.
There's an ugly episode with a nine-year-old, raped and dead in an utterly filthy house. The welfare woman in charge is horrified at the state of the house, and seems uncomprehending when Wanda points out that it was her responsibility to check on the state of the house and the children, when she was handing out money for them. She in fact had no way of knowing if there were any children involved at all--apparently anyone could walk into the office, say, "I'm an unemployed widow with five children; I need money", and money would be handed out without question. (Wanda, in fact came close to losing her cool over this one. She also came close to losing her lunch over the state of the house; once officials became aware, the house was swiftly condemned as uninhabitable.) The mother was a lush, indifferent to the children that she kept popping out. The solution to the case was fairly obvious, and proof quickly found by the intrepid lab team.
There's a bizarre case with a woman posing as an Avon lady, pushing her way into a home and then casually shooting the woman inside. Neither the victim nor her sister had the faintest idea whom the woman was. The divorced husband was far away, but could he have arranged his ex-wife's killing? The answer is a shock to everyone.
A woman found dead in a park. Her name--Marian Stromberg--is the same name as that of an elderly victim in the book DEATH BY INCHES. Why would anyone want to kill this prim, quiet, middle-aged widow living her prim, quiet, middle-aged life? Well, as seen before, appearances are not always what they seem....
There's a rather cool case for the lab: a store owner is apparently killed when he comes upon a store cleaner being assaulted. The poor woman is sprawled out in a rather obvious position, but there are more clues to be had: they have recently learned out to bring up latent fingerprints...on human skin! It takes a great deal of time and effort, but the results are worth it.
Alison is still working away on her dream house. George and Mary are working to renovate their new home, with Mary painting everything in sight. There's a rather odd comment to the effect that George is not handy with tools. Since when? That was how he got involved with Mary in the first place, volunteering to take care of all the odds and ends of house maintenance that she would otherwise have to pay to have done. Hackett and Angel have found their new house, but are having problems selling the old one; they finally settle for less than the house is worth, just to get it over with.
Not the most exciting book of the series, but as always, well-written.
November 4, 2018
This is the 31st book in the series, and I haven't read all of the in-between ones, but it was still very easy to get into after having read 4 or 5 others. In this police procedural, Lt. Mendoza and his gang are now in Robbery/Homicide, so have to deal with robberies and thefts as well as murders (or sometimes both in one case.) Two of the many cases run throughout the book: a series of robberies at major department stores, and the death of a middle-aged woman found in a park. As usual, the book is well-written and very interesting. My biggest problem (if you can call it that) was keeping the names straight - when they would refer to one of the earlier cases only by the victim's name, I occasionally had to flip back through the book to be sure I was thinking of the right one. My memory problem (or reading too fast), not the book's problem! I enjoyed it very much.
July 20, 2018
To all future writers hoping to get into the serial fiction game: read this book first so you can avoid its major mistakes.
Don't assume that future readers like myself, just discovering the characters, are going to know who and what you're talking about later on down the road. In the opening sentence of Chapter Two alone, the author throws in three characters we barely know. The first chapter is a scattershot of multiple crimes, and Shannon doesn't do his readers any favors in letting them know which crime/set of victims\suspects he's talking about at any given time. Maybe that sold a few books in 1980, but it made the work inaccessible to future generations.
Don't assume that future readers like myself, just discovering the characters, are going to know who and what you're talking about later on down the road. In the opening sentence of Chapter Two alone, the author throws in three characters we barely know. The first chapter is a scattershot of multiple crimes, and Shannon doesn't do his readers any favors in letting them know which crime/set of victims\suspects he's talking about at any given time. Maybe that sold a few books in 1980, but it made the work inaccessible to future generations.
March 26, 2021
A hot week in Robbery/Homicide.
I read this series a long time ago and decided that I'd pick up a few episodes at 99cents each. They were written about 40 years ago and read like a beloved TV serial about the LAPD division, the cops and the due diligence to identify victims, their perpetrators, what justice can be done. Like TV series as well as modern procedural novels, there is a lot involving the people who are driven to do such work including interpersonal interactions and family life. It's very busy with multiple cases worked on. I was not at all disappointed!
I read this series a long time ago and decided that I'd pick up a few episodes at 99cents each. They were written about 40 years ago and read like a beloved TV serial about the LAPD division, the cops and the due diligence to identify victims, their perpetrators, what justice can be done. Like TV series as well as modern procedural novels, there is a lot involving the people who are driven to do such work including interpersonal interactions and family life. It's very busy with multiple cases worked on. I was not at all disappointed!
March 10, 2023
Police procedural. It is fine. Like watching CSI or Law and Order. It serves its place but ultimately feels a little odd when every file gets closed with nothing left hanging. With all the talk of not being able to close files but all the current ones get closed, it seems like a bit of a deception.
July 27, 2021
Typical police procedural. Again, unmemorable but not unlikeable.
Gave away my copy.
Gave away my copy.
Read
November 17, 2022Poor Marion!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews