I am not sure I even know what hardboiled is anymore but I
would have to
say that A. A. Fair is not hardboiled. This is really
disguised Rex Stout,
but it is a pretty good imitation. I like this series a lot
for its plots
(which try to present a puzzle in the whodunnit style) while
also using humor.
In my book The Readers Guide to the Private Eye Novel I
listed The Bigger
They Come (#1-1939; also Lame to slaughter) as a classic in
the field
because of the plot. The series is very even, so if you don't
like the
first one, there is no reason to read on.
P.I.E.S. (Private Investigator Entertainment Service)
Catalogs of new and used private eye fiction
Gary Warren Niebuhr, Owner
P. O. Box 341218
Milwaukee, WI 53234
piesbook@execpc.com
<http://www.execpc.com/~piesbook/piescatalog.html>
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