The Crimson Clue

 The Crimson Clue (1952) by George Harmon Coxe

In his fourteenth outing, Courier photographer Kent Murdock once again finds himself knee-deep in murder. Patricia Canning, an old friend of Kent's, asks him to take pictures at her wedding. This is an unusual request, not because Kent doesn't use his camera outside of office hours but because Patricia's family is notoriously camera-shy. The opportunity to take approved candid shots of the Cannings would be the scoop of the year...if he were operating for the paper. As the wedding day progresses, Kent comes across an even bigger scoop. Except he may not be able to use it.

During a break in the wedding action, Kent is looking for a quiet place to exchange films and reload his camera. The Canning mansion is pretty much stuffed to the rafters with guests, but he ventures up to the third floor and finds a quieter area. Opening the door to what he thinks will be a small bedroom, he finds himself in a closet and he's not alone. It looks like someone stashed a drunken guest out of the way. But when Kent takes a closer look he realizes the man is not dead drunk...just dead. His newspaper instincts take over and he takes some pictures and goes through the man's pockets to discover his name. Then he decides that it can't possibly hurt anything if he waits to report it. In fact, it will help Patricia get away for her honeymoon and it will help the Courier scoop the other newspapers. 

What he doesn't know is that someone knows he found the corpse and the body is going to disappear before he can report it. In fact, he's silly enough to put the used film in his case and then leave the case while he goes off to take pictures of the happy couple riding off into the sunset. And...you guessed it...his camera bag with film included disappears as well. The Canning family (sans Patricia) closes ranks and claims that Kent has mistaken a drunken man for a dead one who must have come out of his stupor and wandered away. It's unfortunate that someone stole his camera bag, but they would be more than happy to compensate him for his loss. 

Kent knows what he saw and when an unidentified body shows up at the morgue (picked up in a suburb), he isn't surprised to find Neil Garvin in the appropriate drawer. As one might imagine, Lieutenant Bacon isn't too thrilled with Kent's story when he finally tells it and the two men spend the rest of the book trying to prove that Garvin really was killed in the Canning's house and looking for evidence that will point to the killer.

So...let's get the quibble out of the way first. While snapping his pictures of the corpse in the closet, Kent thinks he hears a noise. Why on earth would he abandon his film and run off to take more reception pictures? The man has been involved in 13 other murder cases (possibly more--I'm just going with the stories recorded by Coxe), surely to goodness he's learned something along the way. You'd think he'd be a little more careful about leaving evidence behind when it's possible somebody was around when he took the photos. If it's me, I drop the used film in my pocket and go off and take the honeymoon exit pictures. Actually, if it's me, I immediately report what I found. But then where would our plot be? I suspect not too far from what we get--a house full of possible suspects. With everyone milling about, it would be difficult to pinpoint who was where and when, so we really don't need the added difficulty of proving that the body was ever there in the first place.

If we ignore Kent's initial behavior when he discovers Garvin's body, then this is a really good detective novel. Lots of action and motives for the murder. The vital evidence is a bit out of the realm of younger readers, but certainly makes for a good reveal. Coxe does a good job of distracting from the culprit and provides an exciting wrap-up scene. In general, I have enjoyed all of the Kent Murdock stories (three others) I've read so far and I do like his relationship with Lt. Bacon. A good solid mystery. ★★★ and 1/4

First line: Among the employees of the Courier the Studio was the term used to designate the photographic department on the third floor.

Last line: Ten seconds later he was asking the Courier operator for the city desk.

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Deaths = 4 (one strangled; one natural; one auto accident; one shot)

All challenges fulfilled: BC by Erin,Vintage Scavenger Hunt,Mount TBR,Reading by the Numbers,Medical Examiner,Cloak & Dagger,Color Coded,Alphabet Soup,52 Books in 52 Weeks,Series Catch-Up,Stacking the Series,TBR 23 in '23,Linz the Bookworm RC,Pick Your Poison,Mystery Reporter,52 Book Club,