F as in FLIGHT

by Lawrence Treat (Lawrence Arthur Goldstein) '24. Morrow, 1948Pp. 248. $2.50.

Since we are told on page 7 that Norma Drooschen "had killed her husband," the mystery of Fas in Flight is not whodunit but why, how culpably, and what will the cops do to her. They catch her so soon and interrogate her so constantly that Norma's "flight" is not physical but mental evasion. She denies guilt, makes damaging admissions, and involves herself in an extraordinary bedraggled cobweb of broken feeble fibs. The detectives Lieutenant Bill Decker and Jub Freeman (and the readers of the book) are puzzled to decide whether the lady is a pistol-packin' tramp, an artist in crime, a schizophrenic on the skids, or just a poor silly fool. But the problem has fascinating features and is considerably more complex than rude language may suggest. Various lively characters mix in; Jub Freeman does a nice job of laboratory work; and, from start to finish, Fas in Flight is an entertaining mystery novel, though not, I think, as good as some former Treats.