The Complete Casebook of Cardigan, Volume 1 - Frederick Nebel

In 1931, after a very successful run in BLACK MASK with several series, Frederick Nebel began selling to DIME DETECTIVE, BLACK MASK’s main rival over at Popular Publications. Having chronicled the adventures of a private detective named Donahue for BLACK MASK, Nebel created a new one (or revived an old one from one of his Northerns, some say) in Jack Cardigan, an operative for the Cosmos Detective Agency. The adventures of Cardigan proved to be Nebel’s longest-running series. Having read and really enjoyed the Donahue stories, I was eager to move on to the Cardigan yarns, since they’re very similar.

THE COMPLETE CASEBOOK OF CARDIGAN, VOLUME 1 includes the stories published in DIME DETECTIVE in 1931 and ’32. The first story, “Death Alley” (DIME DETECTIVE, November 1931) involves Cardigan in a murder that at first seems tied up with a labor dispute but may have its origins in something else. It’s a good introduction to the tough, smart Cardigan.

In “Hell’s Paycheck” (December 1931), Cardigan arrives in an unnamed city (Kansas City, maybe, but that’s just a guess) on a job, and as soon as he gets off the train he’s picked up and taken for a ride. The guys planning to rub him out don’t succeed, of course, so he winds up tackling a case of political corruption, a reformer, and a blackmail racket.

“Six Diamonds and a Dick” (January 1932) finds Cardigan on the trail of some stolen diamonds, obviously. This story is important because it introduces Patricia Seaward, a female Cosmos operative who appears frequently in the series. I like her. She’s petite, according to Nebel, but plenty tough and smart.

“And Then There Was Murder” (February 1932) is a sequel to “Six Diamonds and a Dick”, as some of the repercussions from that case put Cardigan’s life in danger. The attempt to kill him goes awry, however, and results in an innocent’s death, which means Cardigan is going to go all-out to deliver justice.

In “Phantom Fingers” (March 1932), Cardigan is summoned to a meeting with a potential client, but when he gets there he finds the man dead in bed, strangled. That’s not the only strangulation murder in this fast-paced tale of jewel robberies and missing emeralds.

After several years in St. Louis, Cardigan moves back to New York City in “Murder on the Loose” (April 1932). He’s still working for the Cosmos Detective Agency, but not for long. After a clash with his boss, George Hammerhorn, he resigns. The case involves a dead man Cardigan finds in his room one evening when he returns to the hotel where he’s living. Cardigan straightens everything out, of course, and mends fences with Hammerhorn so that he’s still a Cosmos op by the time the story ends.

“Rogues’ Ransom” (August 1932) is the first time the Cardigan series is mentioned on a DIME DETECTIVE cover, although not by title in this case. Cardigan, Pat Seaward, and a couple of other Cosmos operatives are sent to Ohio to retrieve the kidnapped three-year-old daughter of a rich man. Naturally, things get violent and complicated. Although Nebel’s writing is as terse and hardboiled as ever in this one, the plot is driven by some unlikely coincidences which make this the weakest entry in the series so far, although still entertaining to read.

In “Lead Pearls” (September 1932), the job is to recover a valuable necklace stolen daringly in the street right from the neck of the rich woman wearing it. But then her butler is killed, a Cosmos Agency dick is bumped off, and the case becomes a lot more complicated and personal for Cardigan, culminating in a great rooftop shootout.

“The Dead Don’t Die” (October 1932), the title of this story says, but an acerbic drama critic known for his vicious reviews certainly does, his throat slashed from ear to ear. But since he’d hired the Cosmos Detective Agency the day before the murder, Cardigan is determined to find the killer and doesn’t back down, even when Pat Seaward is kidnapped.

As “The Candy Killer” (November 1932) opens, Cardigan is being given a new assignment: bodyguard a beautiful Polish movie star who is taking the fortune she made in Hollywood and going back to her European home. But before the boat can sail, the movie star is kidnapped and Cardigan is off another wild, violent case.

“A Truck-Load of Diamonds” (December 1932) wraps up this first volume. Cardigan is hot on the trail of a valuable diamond bracelet that’s stolen from a jewelry store messenger in broad daylight. This story is cleverly plotted but also winds up being the bleakest in the book.

One thing that really struck me in reading these stories is that although Cardigan does do some detecting and crimes get solved, these aren’t really mysteries in the way we usually think of that term. They’re action/adventure yarns in which the protagonist happens to be a private detective. The mystery is just the impetus for all the action in which Cardigan gets involved. I’m not complaining about this at all, mind you. These are wonderful stories, and if you’re a fan of hardboiled fiction, THE COMPLETE CASEBOOK OF CARDIGAN, VOLUME 1 gets my highest recommendation. It's available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover editions. I’m glad there are three more volumes to go in this series. Lots of good reading ahead!