FORGOTTEN BOOK: A PART FOR A POLICEMAN

 A Part for a Policeman by John Creasey (1970)

Superintendent (formerly Inspector) Roger "Handsome" West's 38th novel begins with the brutal murder by beating of Danny O'Hara, Britain's most famous film star.  O'Hara was killed in his Berkeley Square apartment; hiding in a closet, and unknown to the police at the time, was a wild Irishman named Patrick Donovan.  As West arrived at the scene in the building's elevator, Donovan, armed with a gun, was making a break for it; he forced West back into the elevator and sent to the garage floor, where he attempted to shoot West point blank.  But Roger West was not so easily killed, as Creasey's regular readers know.

Donovan claimed he had not killed O'Hara.  He had confronted the film star, however, in an attempt to learn where his daughter, Mary Ellen, was.  Mary Ellen had been working for O'Hara for the past six months as a cook.  Donovan said that another man, whose features were hidden, had burst in and also demanded that O'Hara tell him where Mary Ellen was.  Donovan hid in the closet and accidently locked himself in.  there, he heard the brutal murder of the actor.  The killer (Donovan said) had escaped minutes before help had arrive to find the dead, beaten body.

The trail for Mary Ellen led to a private "nursing home" that was a front for an abortion racket. but an attempt had been made on Mary Ellen's life by poisoning.  The woman who ran the nursing home was cooperative, to a point.  She refused to say who sent the girls to her for abortions.  The poison was administered in the kitchen by a man who had claimed to be a friend of the cook's cousin; his rough description matched that of the man Donovan said had killed O'Hara.  Also on the list of suspects was the physician who tended to the patients at the nursing home.

Pressure is put on West from above because influential movers and shaker in the British film industry are afraid that the attack was one on the industry itself.  British film was just emerging as a major player in the movie business and a scandal could cost the industry its burgeoning influence.  This was threat enough to make government officials concerned.

O'Hara's main -- and most bitter -- rival in the acting field, Raymond Greatorex, was the next to be attacked.  Greatorex, seriously injured, remained in a coma.

Fearful of negative publicity, the heads of the movie industry have not informed the police of constant attacks by arson which have destroyed many finished pieces of film.

Arson also came into play when the doctor attending the nursing home and the woman who ran it were killed in a sudden fire at the doctor's home.  The fire was set by a chemical which burned very fast and very intensely; a fire, once it started, was impossible to stop.

West also has personal problems, stemming from his devotion to work.  His wife is feeling neglected and fears West is losing interest in her.  His two sons, now in their early twenties, are an added cause for concern as they try to maneuver their way through nascent careers which may or may bot suit them.  This stress, in additional to his heavy workload, is having a negative effect on West's mental and physical health.

A complicated tale, with many twists and turns, and one  in which what appears to be clear suddenly isn't.  Creasey keeps the pressure on admirably, allowing things to rush to a fast-paced conclusion.  As with many of his novels, it is only in the very last few pages that things are resolved.  And, as with some of Creasey's books, the finale comes so fast that it is difficult to realize the fallacies in the plot and in the final explanation.  This is not a major criticism.  The entertaining aspects of the novel far outweigh its flaws. 

Creasey (1908-1973), best known for his work in the mystery field, was the author of over 600 books under at last 28 pseudonyms.  His most acclaimed series were the books about Commander George Gideon of Scotland Yard, written under the pseudonym of "J. J. Marric." ("Marric" came from two of Creasey's sons -- Martin and Richard, which were also the names of the sons in the Roger West novels.)  Perhaps his most popular series concerned the Honourable Richard Rollison, a.k.a "The Toff," an aristocratic adventurer.  Almost as popular were the Roger West books.  Other series characters included Dr. Palfrey, John Mannering ("The Baron"), Patrick Dawlish, Emmanuel Cellini, Mark Kilby, and Department Z,; he also contributed several novels to the Sexton Blake series.  He also published a large number of westerns, romances, and juveniles,  Creasey was the founder of Britain's Crime Writers Association (CWA) and a past president of the Mystery Writers of America (MWA).  He won an Edgar Award in 1962 nd was named an MWA Grand Master in 1969.  He was awarded an MBE for services to the UK's National Savings Movement during wartime.  A dyslexic, Creasey could not serve during World War II because of childhood polio; instead, he contributed to the war effort by writing a slew of readily accessible books for the British public -- 144 books in four years.

Creasey will be remembered as a facile and enjoyable writer.