Murder Money

Edward S. Aarons' first published work appeared in 1938 with the novels Death in a Lighthouse (aka The Cowl of Doom) and Murder Money (aka $1,000,000 in Corpses), both published in paperback by Phoenix Press under Aarons' typical pseudonym, Edward Ronns. The books have been combined into an excellent twofer by Stark House Press with an introduction by the always enjoyable Nicholas Litchfield. In this review, I'm handling Murder Money.

In this mystery, Aarons introduces readers to Leo Storm, an eccentric man who tells Valerie, the female lead, that he does three things as an occupation: 1) Nothing, meaning vacationing, swimming, and fishing. 2) Archaeologist, dabbling in things like mummies. 3) He's a private-detective, messing around with missing persons, murder, and theft, all factors that contribute to the novel's plot. He travels with a Greek gun enthusiast named Poppo who handles Storm's light work.

As the book opens, Storm is on a vacation visiting a resort town in Maine. There, he finds a suitcase containing a quarter-mil in a tree. But, his attachment to the attache case is only temporary when he is held up by a man with a gun claiming the loot as his own. Storm later confronts an alcoholic Native American, deemed “the sheriff”, although he's not really any lawman, just a laborer that is working for a wealthy vacationer named Coulter. In this exchange of unpleasantness, Storm then runs into Valerie, Coulter's secretary. She wants to hire him to tail a guy she claims is tailing her. Storm, a quirky individual with a penchant for loaded dice, doesn't take the job and rudely sends her on her way. But, a moment later, the quirky detective tells Poppo that the woman is telling the truth – someone is, in fact, following her. 

Murder Money has a rather contrived plot device that propels a handful of characters into a monetary rat race. First, the wealthy investor Coulter is selling $250K in jewelry to a con artist who specializes in blackmailing paranormal professionals, people that describe themselves as psychics, ghost whisperers, etc. Coulter's investment will be paid back with interest after the con artist blackmails these professionals into giving him money to avoid being outed as a fake. It's a high concept. But the blackmailer is soon found dead, and the $250K is stolen. But is it? Because another $250K appears in the mix from a different source. So, there are two $250K loots floating around. Who's behind this crazy caper, and how is Valerie involved? That's the payoff in Murder Money.

Edward S. Aarons often used foggy seaside towns in New England to position his crime-noir elements. Murder  Money makes great use of the rural Maine countryside, complete with views of the ocean, dense forest, and the obligatory mist to seemingly isolate this small resort and its guests. The story is pure pulp, with shady characters like mobsters, their gunmen, bullheaded cops, sarcastic private-eyes, beautiful lounge singers, and, of course, the damsel in distress. There's no denying the plot is a bit stuffy and convoluted, and Storm is a prude. But it all works out if you love a pulpy crime caper with cartoonish heroes and villains. There's a seriousness that emerges with a gunshot as Aarons tips into some violent storytelling at the mid-point of the novel. 

Overall, Stark House Press is doing God's work by reprinting Aarons' crime-fiction work. Be sure to get this twofer HERE and the excellent juvenile delinquent book Gang Rumble HERE.