Death Plays Solitaire

Death Plays Solitaire, first published in 1939, opens with newspaper reporter Rufus Reed’s assignment to cover the electrocution of Dan Hillyard, a bank robber and murderer of a policeman. It closes with Reed’s return to the Death House on a similar assignment. Between these events is a circuitous trail beset with excitement and adventure, involving among others—Jackson Toliver, a noted criminal lawyer who plays his first and last game of solitaire with a mysterious deck of cards; Edna Toliver, his neglected and neurotic wife; Franklin Toliver and William Smedley, junior members of the law firm; Lucy Curtis, an attractive blonde secretary, adept in the art of “two-timing”; Ruby, the widow and former gun moll of the late Dan Hillyard; Dick Lucas, Hillyard’s former partner in crime and a fugitive from justice. Death Plays Solitaire provides adventures and problems perfectly adapted to Rufus Reed’s impetuous nature and Asaph’s Clume’s analytical mind. The story moves along at a breath-taking pace, with never a letdown between first page and last, but its plausibility, lifelike characters, and delightful humor make it something more than a mere thriller.