FORGOTTEN BOOKS #419: THE PLEASANT GROVE MURDERS By John Holbrook Vance



John Holbrook Vance is better known as Jack Vance, famous Science Fiction writer. But, back in the 1960s, Vance wrote two mysteries featuring Sheriff Joe Bain of bucolic San Rodrigo County in California. I reviewed the first Sheriff Joe Bain mystery, The Fox Valley Murders here. The Pleasant Grove Murders opens with a dead mail carrier. Sheriff Joe Bain investigates the wealthy community and finds plenty of conflicts under the surface of this pleasant neighborhood. If you’re looking for a “Small Town” mystery with a clever twist at the end, The Pleasant Grove Murders delivers. GRADE: A-

20 thoughts on “FORGOTTEN BOOKS #419: THE PLEASANT GROVE MURDERS By John Holbrook Vance

  1. Jerry House

    Good choice, George. If I remember correctly, Anthony Boucher complimented this Joe Bain books for their sense of place, among other things.

    Reply
  2. Jeff Meyerson

    That was a big gap, between FFB #121 and 419! Worth the wait, however. Good choice. I used to see the Vance paperbacks in England, of all places, and picked them up whenever I did. They always sold quickly.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Jeff, I had Good Intentions of reading the other Joe Bain mystery after I read THE FOX VALLEY MURDERS. But somehow other books got in the way of that plan. Fortunately, Patti’s “Small Town Sheriff” theme for today’s FFB motivated me to read THE PLEASANT GROVE MURDERS. Jack Vance was at the top of his game in 1967!

      Reply
  3. maggie mason

    I remember liking at least one of them. I may even have kept the series thru the great book purge. I remember hearing at one time the books were going for $100 each, but not sure if that was a valid price, or just one dealer who had outrageous prices.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Maggie, that $100 price tag might not be so far-fetched. Bobbs-Merrill was a small publisher and their books didn’t get wide distribution. Scarcity create value.

      Reply
      1. Todd Mason

        Bobbs-Merrill wasn’t a small press, though, but a sold publisher of textbooks and technical books that kept dipping a toe into trade fiction publishing in the ’60s and ’70s…they were one of Damon Knight’s primary publishers for a spell in the mid ’70s, for example (and did THE FUTURIANS through their John Day imprint and his 1940s pulp fiction anthologies as B-M releases). But, yeah, when I found a Whole Lot of remaindered copies of THE FUTURIANS in the late ’80s, they were the SF Book Club edition from Doubleday…their market penetration may’ve not been the strongest.

      2. george Post author

        Todd, you’re right about Bobbs-Merrill being primarily a textbook publisher. They had a small SF and mystery book line, but distribution was spotty.

  4. Todd Mason

    Cool. I haven’t yet read any of this series, though I’ve managed to accrue some of his crime fiction (and don’t forget to credit all his fantasy, alongside his science fiction and science fantasy), having been at least potentially a fan since seeing the adaptation of MAN IN A CAGE on the THRILLER tv series as a kid (one of their best and most unusual crime-drama episodes), even before (if not much before) first reading his work (Cugel stories got to me before anything else, including THE DYING EARTH or the big ’60s novellas).

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Todd, MAN IN A CAGE won Jack Vance an Edgar Award for Best Novel of the Year. THE DYING EARTH is one of my favorite books of all time!

      Reply

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