Ashton-Kirk, Investigator
(Penn Publishing Co., 1910)
During the 1910's, one of the most popular fictional detectives in America was John T. McIntyre's "Ashton-Kirk." To be frank, Kirk is little more than your average Sherlock Holmes clone. But his adventures are recounted in a masterful and ingenious manner. As such, he makes for one of the more interesting figures of mystery fiction. Who is he? To tell the truth, biographical details are not very forthcoming. He's a youngish bachelor. That much is certain. He's wealthy, too, and lives in great old mansion deep in the downtown of an American city-- probably Philadelphia. He spends his days shuffling through newspapers, reading crime books, and smoking Greek tobacco. Out of his home he runs a sort of mini-Scotland Yard, complete with staff investigators and a card-file system that would make a modern computer blush. He spends most of his leisure in discussion with his pal Pendleton. They sit back in their Morris chairs, smoke, and talk about everything from fine literature to the latest grisly homicide. And the present book involves just that. Cold-blooded murder.
The story begins when Miss Edyth Vale, a wealthy young heiress, seeks consultation with Ashton-Kirk on an urgent matter. It seems her fiancée, Arthur Morris, is being harassed and threatened by an antique dealer named Hume. Vale doesn't know quite the extent of the two men's enmity, but feels that something will happen if someone doesn't interpose. Ashton-Kirk promises to get to the bottom of the case, and find out what Hume wants. However, the next day Hume is found dead on the floor of his shop. His head is battered, and his body pinned to the floor with a bayonet. At this time, Arthur Morris turns up missing. The police, led by detective Osborne, start poking around, while Kirk-- who has the "go-ahead" of the entire department-- does his own sleuth-work. He discovers that Morris entered Hume's apartment just moments before the crime. He also learns that Miss Vale made an appearance soon afterwards. To add to the mix, an Italian violinist named Spatola is implicated in the crime. He, too, was a frequent visitor of Hume, and was seen to enter the building the night of the homicide.
As it turns out, Vale hasn't been 100% honest with Kirk. So the sleuth must follow his own leads. These take him to an asylum for death-mutes just outside the city, where a deformed little character named Locke-- sort of "mad professor" type of chap-- is tagged as a general suspect. But is he really the murderer? What does he know? Kirks investigations go deeper and deeper. The killer wanted something that Hume had on the premises. What was it? As Kirk and Pendleton start putting the pieces together, a grisly tapestry of crime is exposed to view. Is Miss Vale simply protecting Arthur Morris from implication in the crime? Or is she part of the whole affair?
Ashton-Kirk, Investigator is the first of a series of four books published between 1910 and 1918. It was followed by Ashton-Kirk, Secret Agent (1912), Ashton-Kirk, Special Detective (1914) and Ashton-Kirk, Criminologist (1918). These will be reviewed in order in the weeks ahead. But what are the merits of this particular book? As a tale of detective fiction, it is quite good. I found its story entertaining and the plot well laid-out. Of course, McIntyre is no literary genius. He is more of a technician than an artist. But he knows how to construct a story. The prose is plainly and simply written, with little or no ornament. There is a very slight romantic element that trickles in during the last fifty pages, but is negligible. Indeed, it seems the book is concluded a bit too rapidly, and the loose-ends tied up in a somewhat slap-dash fashion. But this defect is minor. The main plus of the tale is that, in the ninety-odd years since its initial publication, it has hardly aged at all. It still proves interesting and entertaining reading. One almost might have written it twenty or thirty years ago. It stands the test of time-- which is more than can be said of most Doyle imitations.
This tale, though reprinted many times under two different publishers, has for some reason become very scarce. Be prepared to spend upwards of $20-$30 for a decent copy. It is hoped that in the future some publisher rediscovers it, as it's still highly marketable. At any rate, its "cult classic" status cannot be denied. An online version was recently made available via Project Gutenberg. [To read the online version, go here]. I was lucky to get hold of an old beat-up copy of the 1918 reprint by A.L. Burt. It is missing most of the original illustrations, but retains one as a frontispiece. When all is said and done, Ashton-Kirk, Investigator is a swell book which meets about every expectation of readers looking for a fast and fun-paced ride through the annals of criminology-- 1910 style.
--B.A.S.
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