Readers sometimes ask for mysteries without murder. Octavus Roy Cohen’s Jim Hanvey, Detective, fits the bill. The seven stories in the collection, first published in 1923, feature Jim Hanvey, who investigates con men and thieves. The stories originally appeared in The Saturday Evening Post, and are now reprinted as part of the Library of Congress Crime Classics with an introduction by Leslie S. Klinger.

Carla D. Hayden, Librarian of Congress, writes a Foreward for this series, including the comment that these books shed a light on the culture of the time. She admits that many of the titles include language and stereotypes that are now considered offensive, but they were not at the time the stories were written. They give readers the chance to reflect on the change in society’s perceptions. I always appreciate those statements.

Leslie S. Klinger, editor of the book, introduces Jim Hanvey, “a detective whose slow and stupid appearance masked a sharp mind and a tenacious character.” Hanvey’s appearance truly shows that appearances can be deceiving because he must be described as one of the most grotesque detectives in literature. Although Klinger describes him as “a warm, big-hearted, genuinely likable detective”, Cohen opens most of the stories with his physical description. Jim Hanvey is an enormous man wearing shapeless, cheap clothes, with a huge head and pendulous jaw. He’s “big and ugly and ungainly”. But, it’s the description of his dead-looking fish eyes, blinking slowly, that stay with the reader because Cohen concentrates on those eyes, calling them “great sleepy orbs of fishy hue”. Hanvey smokes cheap cigars that reek, and wears a gold toothpick, given to him by a criminal. He has few friends, and those he has are criminals who know he will treat them fairly. But, he terrorizes them because he has caught and put more than a few behind bars, and they know how intelligent he is.

If you’re looking for action-packed stories, Jim Hanvey, Detective, is not for you. The stories are as slow-moving as Hanvey himself. However, if you like to watch thieves crack under pressure, and read interesting dialogue, check these out. Some of the characters only have to know Hanvey is watching, and they destroy themselves. In “Fish Eyes”, a thief cracks because he’s under the impression that Hanvey knows everything. In “The Knight’s Gambit”, my favorite story in the group, a con man intends to marry a millionaire’s seventeen-year-old daughter. Jim Hanvey’s presence alone is enough to upset the man, and he makes mistakes in front of the besotted girl. Hanvey tries to convince them he’s on their side, but his presence alone, along with his agreeable nature, ruins the con man’s plans.

The stories are enjoyable if you want to watch a slow-moving detective ruin criminals by his presence and reputation alone. In some ways, they remind me of other stories from that period, G.K. Chesterton’s Father Brown relates stories based on his intuition and keen understanding of human nature. Jacques Futrelle’s “The Thinking Machine” stories are not action-packed, but rely on intelligence. Jim Hanvey, Detective will satisfy those readers who appreciate the classic mystery stories.

Jim Hanvey, Detective by Octavus Roy Cohen, edited by Leslie S. Klinger. Library of Congress, Sourcebook, Poisoned Pen Press, 2021. ISBN 9781464215032 (paperback), 256p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a .PDF to review for a journal.