Rufus King (2) (1893–1966)

“If Lily ever gets married it will be for her money…As a natural follow-up it was then predicted that when a fortune hunter did hook her, he would sooner or later do away with Lily and hustle off with the Verta loot into the arms of a blonde.” — Rendezvous With Death


Rufus King was a well known mystery writer whose career spanned from the late 1920s to the mid 1960s. While his Lieutenant Valor mystery novels are perhaps his best remembered work — when he is remembered at all — he also created three other strikingly different sleuths to star in stories of varying length. In addition, he wrote some nifty one-off mystery stories, such as this one, which first appeared in the August 1958 issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. And it’s wonderful.

When both her parents are killed in a freak boating accident, the captain of the yacht remaining alive only long enough to speak a truncated sentence which can be interpreted in many ways, ugly-duckling Lily Verta is left a wealthy Florida heiress. Insurance agent Mr. Etherton is immediately suspicious, wondering if the parents might have been led to their watery grave somehow. But then comes the sad and shocking proclamation from Dr. Mallory that Lily has a heart condition that will cause her to drop dead any moment.

King does a wonderful job within this short mystery story of creating a sympathetic bond between the reader and Lily. We are saddened by her plight, and we feel helpless when she decides to end it all. But then we feel elation when a young man about to do the same thing saves her.

“For a timeless hour they talked, saying nothing, saying everything, in relief-lightened reaction to death averted. And toward the hours end they saw nothing but each other’s eyes and all the wordless things, the true things, in their depths.”

Yet there is suspicion from those around her that Duke Hart, who does not know that young Lily is in her twilight, might be a fortune hunter desiring to help her off this mortal coil a bit sooner than expected. Even though Duke’s profession involves snakes, Lily is happy at last, and not suspicious. At first…

“The trade wind was mimosa-laden, and the pungent scent of the night seemed to Lily to hold in its sweetness a taint of decay.”

This one does not go in the direction you might surmise from what’s been said, because not everything is as it seems. There’s a wonderful last-second twist, and a turn of events which will surprise and delight mystery lovers with a romantic heart. The perfect length for bedtime or a lunch break, this is a wonderful, beautifully written and executed, old-fashioned mystery story in the grand tradition. I can’t imagine that this wasn’t the best story in that August 1958 issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. Very Highly recommended.… (more)

By contemporary standards most older mysteries have tepid thrills and unfold at the speed of grass growing.

This 1929 mystery (which takes place in one night) moves swiftly, has Law & Order-like time checks, and is full of sharp observations of human nature. It has a world-weary detective, a wealthy client with vague anxieties for her husband, a basket full of twists, and a brief passage by the victim (and not by letter or flashback).

Well worth seeking out: telling more would spoil the story.

(Rufus King's books are not easy to find and they have not made it onto the free-book-online sites the way many of his contemporaries' books have. That said, a perfectly acceptable copy of one of his mysteries should not cost more than $10. (If it does the price is either silly or the book ought to look brand new.))

-Kushana… (more)