The Lazy Detective

The premise is delectable: a detective whose laziness has become legendary at Scotland Yard, yet whose mind works in mysterious ways. Set in 1920s London, the novel opens with Chief Constable Winter confronting Inspector Harry Labar about rising crime in his division. The warning is clear: shape up or face consequences. But Labar knows something his boss does not, he's been playing a longer game. When a mysterious woman hands him a hundred-pound bribe and wealthy man Solly Gertstein is burgled of valuable jewels, Labar finds himself entangled with Larry Hughes, a shadowy crime organizer. What follows is a cat-and-mouse investigation where Labar's apparent lethargy masks a razor-sharp mind, working furiously beneath a surface of disinterest. The novel pulses with period atmosphere and double-crosses, culminating in a deepening mystery involving Gertstein's companion, Miss Penelope Noelson. This is Golden Age detection with a twist: the detective who seems to do nothing accomplishes far more than his industrious colleagues.