Mayhem in B-Flat: A Homer Evans Murder Mystery

A 1940 contemporary review described Mayhem in B-Flat as "a sizzling concoction of murder, merriment and madness". A zany cast of characters collide in a far-fetched plot that unfolds in the decadent and scandalous background of Paris in the late 1930s. This is pure fiction; there is no hint of the worsening international situation in Europe. Surprisingly, Elliot Paul, the author, does not allow the humorous situations that continually arise to undermine the mystery itself. Mayhem in B-Flat is a detection novel that challenges the reader. The investigation of the theft of a rare Guarnerius violin during a public concert is unexpectedly complicated by multiple murders, gang warfare, mysterious poisons, and a possible escape from Devil's Island. The plot is unpredictable. The eccentric, improbable characters are immensely entertaining. I will leave the details unspecified. The reader derives much enjoyment from the unexpected events and unanticipated coincidences that characterize the plot. Mayhem in B-Flat is the third story involving Homer Evans, an independently wealthy, well-educated, suave American with a penchant for solving complex mysteries. I have not read the two earlier stories - The Mysterious Mickey Finn and Hugger-Mugger in the Louvre - but their titles suggest a similar humorous vein. Dover Publications specializes in publishing works no longer in print. I particularly enjoy the Dover mystery and detective fiction series. Many selections are recognized classics by authors like Wilkie Collins, G. K. Chesterton, and J. Sheridan LeFanu. Others, like Mayhem in B-Flat (1940), are rarely encountered today. These inexpensive reprints are not only enjoyable reading, but they also provide an intriguing look at contemporary life and attitudes of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

I think humorous mysteries are wonderful, and know of none better than this. Set in Paris between the wars (what Paul calls Paris's best American period) the Homer Evans mysteries have broad humor and a distinctive wit. Add an inspired selection of funny names, a varied and eccentric cast of characters, word-play of a highly entertaining order (as when one Lvov Kvek is described as "a former colonel in the recent army of the late Czar"), and "Mayhem in B-Flat" is well outfitted for humor. Even the chapter headings are funny. As for the mystery involved, there's hardly anything comparable for bizarre complications and circumstances outside Alice Tilton's (i.e., Phoebe Atwood Taylor's) Leonidas Witherall mysteries and one of her Asey Mayo mysteries, "Spring Harrowing". Even if possible, a plot summary is inadvisable, as aeshtetic merit and mental health might equally suffer. However, a list of the some of the elements of this tale may give an idea of its dizzying effect: the theft of an extremely valuable violin called "The Sinner Without Malice"; corpses that hardly seem to have noticed their own passing; a significant error in a game of checkers; forged fingerprints; a lady baritone; tarantula fights; barratry; thugs known as Dental Jake and Godo the Whack; a fiendishly dangerous new poison; a greasy thumbprint dating back to around the time of the Norman Conquest; a permeable wall; a revolutionary glue; and Hyacinthe Toudoux, medical examiner for the Prefect of Police. Only three of Elliot Paul's Homer Evans mystery titles seem to have been in print in the last thirty-five years or so. That is unfortunate, for Evans and his friends inhabit a distinctive, strange, and funny world. To get there go past "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" and Dortmunder country, then hang a right as you pass "Charade", aiming toward "The Last of Sheila". Halfway to "The Thin Man" wave at Tish, enter Paris, and fall down laughing.