“Rehearsal For Murder” By Frank Bunce. (1957) Mr.
Humble is in trouble again. Back home in New York after unmasking a killer on
the SS Vagabond, people now look up to the accountant in his role of amateur
private detective. When asked to speak
at the Greater-Riverdale-on-the-Hudson-Club, he speaks openly of the city
government corruption, and tells the audience that the police hushed up the
murder of Judge Steven Roper, by calling it suicide. To make matters worse he
even calls a lawyer, Attorney Joseph Standahl a crook and head of the city
crime. His speech goes viral, and thankfully, Dorrit Bly hears about it in
California. Before she can reach New York, Mr. Humble is set up in a frame by
the police, and caught with a prostitute during a raid. Of course, the girl had
called offering information, and the police were waiting for him to appear. Now
he’s stuck in jail, embarrassed, and no sign of release – until Dorrit Bly
arrives with more knowledge of law than the police, and has him out of jail
rickety split. Now all she has to do is smooth things over with Joseph
Standahl, which she does admirably. People are being murdered over the picture
of a dancer. And it all leads back to the judge’s murder. It also involves an
old case of child kidnapping. But the murders are framed to look like suicides.
It will take the stumbling Mr. Humble and the genius of Dorrit Bly and her
photographic memory to unlock the hidden secrets, and unmask another killer.
Originating as a pulp magazine mystery series, Dorrit Bly and Mr. Humble were
brought into paperbacks editions with at least two books. This is the second.
The stories are lots of fun, and I hope I can find more stories featuring this
pair. Highly recommended.
Doc Savage: 
