The Mystery of the Stolen Hats is a humorous detective novel by Bruce Graeme, part of a series starring Superintendent Stevens of Scotland Yard and the brilliant French detective Pierre Allain of the Surete Nationale.
Completely winning and entertaining, with a twisted plot.
When wealthy American Martyn Kerrigan travels to London and then disappears, Stevens is asked by the head of Scotland Yard to investigate (on the sly) what happened to his friend. Stevens tries to conceal his delight as the trail leads to Paris where he happily reunites with his old friend Allain - they've enjoyed many adventures in past novels. The search for Kerrigan gets sidetracked as they are both pulled into a murder case involving another American man - prowlers in the night broke into a neighbourhood townhouse and killed Madame as she slept - with her daughter and the mysterious American bound and gagged in other bedrooms.
As they mull over the details in a local cafe, a customer is agitated - his hat has been stolen! Indeed, several hats have been stolen over the past few weeks, all over Paris, all of the same brand. Back at headquarters, they are alone in an office when Pierre Allain's hat is stolen! Mon Dieu. It's an epidemic.
Joining the team is a hired detective from the Pinkerton Agency, over on the Queen Mary at the request of Kerrigan's wife, by the name of B.Y. Heck (many jokes ensue). American Heck, British Stevens and French Allain are all the best of friends and have worked together before, each offering a different style.
This rips right along without extraneous sidelines or background. The mystery is puzzling and twisted, with the added bonus that once you get into one aspect, a hat is stolen and the story shifts along with it. Where is Martyn Kerrigan? Who killed Madame? Where are the hats? The answers will out through the French style of investigation - a reconstruction of the crime.
Along with a tight mystery, this has a lot of good hearted humour between the friends.
I stumbled on this gem of a mystery, and found another on eBay, the first starring Stevens and Allain. For fans of detective novels, I can't rate it high enough. Recommended.
1939 / Hardcover / 314 pages
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