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paul_cornelius's review
4.0
The last of David Dodge's Al Colby novels finds his investigator/adventurer pulled in to help Pancha Porter, an American mining heiress, discover just what is wrong with her lead mine situated some 18,000 feet in the Bolivian Andes. It's suddenly seeing production halved and returns fall. What follows is a solid mystery that takes advantage of the bleak atmosphere of the mountain, which depicts the grayness of life for the exploited Indians who live beside its mine, and the dispirited Americans in charge of it all. As with every other Dodge book I've read, the writing is smooth and efficient yet enticing in the way it leads you from one clue to the next. And it reflects Colby himself. As Pancha says towards the end, Colby seems hardboiled. But he's not. Perhaps he's not the marshmallow she then senses him to be. But he is a moralistic observer. No pushover, he has his limits. But as long as justice and duty can be upheld, he is willing to tweak the truth and the application of law.
Another thing to take note of with Dodge. His characters and their lives soon become the focus of attention. Who they are and how they became who they are is what motivates the novel. Still, the mystery of the tassel never lets itself succumb to being a mere Hitchcockian MacGuffin. It has a role in unraveling the story--and it's a matter of literally (a word that seems to have been cheapened in everyday conversation of late) unraveling it, too. I might venture so far as to say it even serves something of a symbolic purpose, especially as it comes to be so closely associated with the actions belonging to the wife, Lili, of the mine's manager, Braillard. Her apparent stoicism is all too ready to give way to her own kind of pent up violence.
Dodge traveled and lived in Central and South America. It shows in his novels, which have the sense of authenticity of place about them. Not only that of place but of a certain time as well, the postwar years of the late 1940s and early 50s. Transplanting an American noirish detective into this locale and making it work without seeming forced or false is quite some feat. I only wish Dodge had continued to write more Al Colby novels.
Another thing to take note of with Dodge. His characters and their lives soon become the focus of attention. Who they are and how they became who they are is what motivates the novel. Still, the mystery of the tassel never lets itself succumb to being a mere Hitchcockian MacGuffin. It has a role in unraveling the story--and it's a matter of literally (a word that seems to have been cheapened in everyday conversation of late) unraveling it, too. I might venture so far as to say it even serves something of a symbolic purpose, especially as it comes to be so closely associated with the actions belonging to the wife, Lili, of the mine's manager, Braillard. Her apparent stoicism is all too ready to give way to her own kind of pent up violence.
Dodge traveled and lived in Central and South America. It shows in his novels, which have the sense of authenticity of place about them. Not only that of place but of a certain time as well, the postwar years of the late 1940s and early 50s. Transplanting an American noirish detective into this locale and making it work without seeming forced or false is quite some feat. I only wish Dodge had continued to write more Al Colby novels.
bhalpin's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Competent mystery that I read because I found an awesome vintage paperback in a little free library. It's a decently constructed mystery, but ultimately nothing special and probably not worth reading given its egregious racism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Blatantly and unapolagetically racist toward the indigenous people of the Andes.
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