Jim Hanvey, Detective

First published in 1923, this fine story collection from Cohen (1891–1957) stars New York investigator Jim Hanvey, whose “huge, fat, shapeless” head and other unattractive features make him perhaps the least impressive–looking sleuth in crime fiction. The seven short stories are all inverted mysteries, with the fascination derived from the ways in which Hanvey trips up a criminal whose culpability has already been revealed to the reader. In “Fish Eyes,” bank teller Clifford Wallace, after stealing a large sum from his employer, attempts to allay suspicion by reporting the missing cash to his boss, having already passed the money to his fiancée, who uses a safety-deposit box maintained in her dead sister’s name to store the loot. Hanvey’s called in to investigate, and his hovering, annoying Columbo-like presence leads Wallace to make a costly misstep. Hanvey’s acumen is also on display in cases involving stolen gems (“Caveat Emptor”) and an effort to rig a proxy fight (“Common Stock”). The affable but lonely Hanvey is a unique and sympathetic creation. This Library of Congress Crime Classic provides a pleasant change of pace. (Aug.)