November Joe: Detective of the Woods by Hesketh Prichard

 

“What are you looking for?” said he.

“The tracks of the murderer.”

“You won't find them. He didn't make none.”

I pointed out the spot where the ground was torn.

“The lumberman that found him --spiked boots,” said November.

“How do you know he was not the murderer?”

“He didn't get here till Lyon had been dead for hours. Compare his tracks with Lyon’s… much fresher. No, Mr. Sport, that cock won’t fight.”

Let’s say you are a Sherlock Holmes fan and wished it was less urban, less Victorian saturated. Instead, you desired that same deductive prowess taken to the woods where good scoutcraft provided the crux for the powers of observation.

Well, if that’s the case, you’re in luck. This 1913 volume of linked short stories follows half-breed Canadian guide, Joe November though a series of crimes where good scoutcraft is at the fore.

The author knows of what he speaks having been a big game hunter and avid woodsman himself. He authored two non-fiction books on scoutcraft Through Trackless Labrador and Hunting-Camps in Wood and Wilderness. He brings that real life knowledge to bear on these stories.

The scoutcraft is sound but are the stories?

If one’s tolerance is high for the Rube Goldberg plotting of Doyle and like puzzle authors who self-admit that all lives or dies on the basis of how well the skein of tangled yarn holds, then you may find enjoyment here.

The stories are serviceable, but that is coming from a reader who finds convoluted dénouements a bit tiring after more than one.

Not a bad read but consider the caveats offered.