March 3, 1997
Nefarious doings among movers and shakers in Depression-era New York City animate a lively chase for a story-and a murderer-for newspaper nightclub columnist Alexander Brass. It all begins when a furtive tipster promises an explosive story and gives Brass an envelope filled with photographs of several powerful people caught in compromising sexual positions. Intrigued, Brass sends a newspaper stringer to follow the mystery man. When the stringer is murdered, Brass and his team resolve to find the killer. Brass's young assistant, Morgan DeWitt, tells the story in a smart, wide-eyed style that perfectly fits the time and place. The trail leads Brass, his gorgeous and indispensable secretary, Gloria Adams, and DeWitt to anti-Nazi German immigrants (it's 1935) and a stripper who doesn't know about her photographer brother's sleazy sideline. The team's press clout gets them close to a U.S. senator who was among the photo subjects. He has a lavish estate and a beautiful nymphomaniac daughter who charms DeWitt but may be after information. Walk-ons by Charles Lindbergh and W.C. Fields add spice to the already bright, funny dialogue. Kurland (A Plague of Spies, etc.) constructs a thoroughly engaging showcase for a likable bunch of characters.
December 7, 2015
This strong series launch from Kurland (Who Thinks Evil), set in New York City in 1935, introduces a winning pair of sleuths: gossip columnist Alexander Brass and his sidekick, aspiring novelist Morgan DeWitt. A fat man who won't identify himself appears at Brass's Manhattan office and leaves an envelope to be opened by Brass only. When Brass opens it, he finds a series of photographs of prominent people in compromising positions, including a U.S. senator, a state judge, a philanthropist, and a department store magnate. When Brass dispatches reporter Billy Fox to tail the anonymous deliveryman, Billy winds up with his throat cut. Holding himself responsible, Brass sets about to solve the killing, aided by Billy's widow and DeWitt. While the very mobile and social Brass is not an obvious stand-in for Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe, his way of speaking, his selectively straightforward dealings with the police, and his rapport with DeWitt bear some resemblances to Stout's reclusive genius and bode well for future installments.