Last week I bought a copy of Megan Abbott's Bury Me Deep. Back when the title was announced, I immediately thought of Masur's book, which is a lot different from Abbott's, I'm sure.Masur was a lawyer who wanted to write a book that crossed the with of Rex Stout's books with the complicated legal stuff in Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason novels. Masur's first-person narrator is lawyer Scott Jordan, and if he's not Archie Goodwin, he's not bad. I wouldn't classify the book as hard-boiled. It's more like medium-boiled. Jordan's no tough guy, though he can do what's called for in a tough situation.
The book opens with Jordan walking into his apartment and seeing the woman pictured on the cover to the left. Within a few hours, she's dead, and Jordan is (of course) a suspect in the murder. The story's fast-moving and complex and holds up well, even though the book's over 60 years old.
Masure went on to have a long career and served as MWA president. He died only a few years ago, but now his books are mostly (and unjustly forgotten). You should pick one up and check it out.
6 comments:
There's also a third BMD by a Christopher Pike. I guess the title (from the song) speaks to people.
Never read Pike's book. I like Hank Snow's version of the song.
Bill,
I just finished Megan's Bury Me Deep and it was absolutely wonderful.
Now it appears that I could spend the rest of the summer reading books with that title.
Terrie
Well, yes...the only issue of the Canadian shudder pulp UNCANNY TALES I've seen has a cover advertising "Bury Me Deep!"--between the other shudder (sadististic sexual suspense fiction otherwise of the SCOOBY-DOO fake horror variety), horror and crime-fiction magazines, the number of short fictions with that title has got to be sizable.
Harold Q. Masur will never be forgotten, by me, for ghost-editing the 1970s ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS: anthologies (after the previous ghost editor, Robert Arthur, gave up all his ghosts).
Masur's Scott Jordan books are really good.
By coincidence, I just started reading this very book Sunday night. I was hooked from the first page.
Post a Comment