A couple of years back I posted on the pulp detective Jigger Masters, created by author and editor Anthony Rud (1893-1942). This character had an unusual history, having first appeared in The Green Book Magazine in 1918. Green Book was a companion magazine to Red Book and Blue Book, but mainly aimed at women. Then he disappeared for about 15 years to be brought back mainly in Detective Fiction Weekly, often with long stories, some of which were reprinted as books at the time.
Reprinted by Steeger Books as part of the Argosy Library, the first volume reprinted all the stories from The Green Book. In these stories, Jigger is a somewhat mysterious but well-respected detective, but in the first story, he gains a sort-of assistant in portrait painter Bert Hoffman, who serves almost like Dr. Watson, and gets into the action. I wondered what changes we might see when he returned?
Well, as part of the latest set of books in its Argosy Library series, Steeger Books gives us the second volume of the Jigger Masters series: The Rose Bath Riddle: The Complete Cases of Jigger Masters, Vol. 2. It reprints a five-part series that started Sept 9, 1933, and was later reprinted in book form. The story was cover featured, and the artwork was used as the cover of this reprint.
We get a bizarre mystery, though with no hint of the supernatural. As to Jigger, he no longer has Hoffman around. J.C.K. Masters (names behind the initials aren’t revealed) has a Japanese servant, Mitsui, now. He doesn’t get involved with the mystery. Masters does have two assistants, but they aren’t detectives, more errand boys. They are Barnes and Gildersleeve. We’ll learn more about Gildersleeve during the story.
The center of the story is Simon Corlaes. He a chemical genius and very rich — and very hated. As you’ll learn, he, along with his brother and father (both dead), apparently often ripped off ideas from others and then profited from them. His brother committed suicide, but Jigger thinks it was murder.
Things kick off when Corlaes is hosting a large party at his Long Island estate. He finds his valet dead. His head beaten in. Then going to the garage, he finds his chauffeur also dead and his nephew injured. In a panic, he heads out to get Jigger Masters to protect him and figure out who is after him. After getting back, and having the police show up, who aren’t quite up to the task of solving a murder, Corlaes is killed. While taking a “rose bath” or a shower that blasts you with water from all directions, but instead of steam he is hit with ice-cold something and frozen to death in the steam bath.
Masters has a big case on his hand. Failing to protect his client, he needs to figure out who killed Corlaes. And there are plenty of suspicious characters. There is his half-sister, who was hosting the party. His son, who is really adopted. And whose father Corleas had ripped off. And they recently had a falling out. And another man Corlaes ripped off shows up. Corlaes’ lab assistant was another person who was ripped off. And maybe he was in the best position to set up the “rose bath” death trap.
And as things go along, others are killed. The maid of a dancer who was performing at the party is poisoned, and it appears the target was the dancer. The maid was actually her mother. So in some cases, a few suspects are eliminated because they are killed. But other deaths make no sense.
And to make matter worse, the district attorney shows up, upset that Masters (with the approval of the police lieutenant in charge) has barred the press. He wants answers soon. But can Masters (with the help of his associates) prevent any more deaths, figure out who did, and just as importantly why?
Certainly, the number of characters makes this a little complex, and you won’t learn the full story (including the secrets of several characters), until the end. And does Masters pick up a third assistant after this story?
I look forward to the next volume, which should have the next serial, “The Stuffed Men,” maybe also the next short story. This serial was also reprinted in book form at the time.
So if you like a good mystery with a lot of mysterious goings-on and several characters getting it, this is one to check out. I am interested in seeing where this series goes.
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