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SALLY'S IN THE ALLEY
by Norbert Davis
Rue Morgue Press, January 2002
155 pages
$14.00
ISBN: 0915230461


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Wisecracking P.I. Doan (he doesn't seem to have a first name) is back to tickle the funnybone of the reading public in this second novel by short story writer Norbert Davis. First published in 1943, Sally's in the Alley features Doan and his irresistible Great Dane, Carstairs, in a madcap adventure involving a drunken prospector named Dust-Mouth Haggerty, a hidden ore deposit needed for the war effort, and a whole passel of G-men out to locate both.

The action starts in Hollywood where federal agents Arne and Barstow finagle Doan into cutting a deal with the government-hating Haggerty. Dust-Mouth, a man whose brain is as dry as his pie hole, plans to sell his secret to the Japanese in exchange for a deed to the state of Iowa. Doan pursues the old man to Heliotrope, a town in the Mojave Desert so plagued by trouble that neither California nor Nevada will lay claim to it. The trip is not without complications. Doan meets up with a variety of weird characters along the way including Harriet Hathaway, an extremely patriotic young woman set on becoming a WAAC; Mr. Blue, a victim of Hathaway's fervor who insists he never knew there was a war on; Susan Sally, a film star who loses her steak to Carstairs; Doc Gravelmeyer, a medic whose surgical ineptness has led him to a second career as an undertaker; and, last but not least, a variety of very dead bodies.

Never a dog to be left behind, Carstairs sniffs his way to glory as he chases bad guys through old movie sets and even older Hollywood apartments. Doan's ever-faithful sidekick is at his side when the chubby P.I. finally collars the criminal, finds the ore, and saves the beautiful Harriet all at the same time.

Davis' skill at comic writing is never better than in this classic reprint released this year by Rue Morgue Press. Although he wrote only three novels and two short stories starring Doan and Carstairs, Davis' contribution to the mystery world cannot be underestimated. By successfully combining the hard-boiled detective story with unabashed comedy, he opened the door for other writers to explore humor in their mysteries. Thanks to Rue Morgue Press, his efforts can now be appreciated by an entirely new generation of readers.

Reviewed by Mary V. Welk, September 2002

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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