Created by Roger Torrey
Pseudonyms include Sam Drake, Samuel Drake, John Ryan, R.D. Torrey
(1901-46)
Another one-shot private eye from the pen of pulpster Roger Torrey, TERRANCE McGOWAN first popped up in the longish novella “Please Locate Murder” in the February 1944 issue of Super-Detective. It was the cover story, in fact.
Formerly a cop, McGowan is supposedly the best dick in New York City, and it’s that rep that lands him a very peculiar case via a telegram from Texas: to locate a man, with only a name to go on. No description, no other info, nothing else —just his name. Arnold Quires.
The case eventually takes him to Richfield, Texas, and to Mexico, far from his office and his flighty, pudgy secretary, Miss Higginbotham, who adds some comic relief, and may be actually smarter than her boss, who’s actually a little less hard-boiled than most of Torrey’s other eyes.
And unlike much of Torrey’s work, “Please Locate Murder” was actually reprinted. It popped up as a 76-pages chapbook in 2006, retitled The Quires Matter: A McGowan For Hire Mystery.
And you’ve just gotta love the blurb:
“From the pages of Super Detective comes a McGowan for Hire Mystery From the pen of Roger Torrey author of 42 Days for Murder, and mysteries for Black Mask, Private Detective, Detective Story, Dime Detective, and similar magazines comes another hard-boiled tale of mystery and deceit.”
I love how they bill it as a “McGowan for Hire” mystery, as though there were plenty more to come, just waiting to burst into daylight after sixty or so years. But as far as I know, Please Locate Murder/The Quires Matter was McGowan’s only appearance.
SHORT FICTION
- “Please Locate Murder” (February 1944, Super-Detective; aka “The Quires Matter”) | Kindle it!
FURTHER INVESTIGATION
- The Eyes of Roger Torrey
A Preliminary List
Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.
