Sinners and Shrouds

Published in 1955, Sinners and Shrouds was Jonathan Latimer's first crime novel after a twenty-year hiatus (during which time he focused on screenplays), and it's an excellent one. The story begins when the book's protagonist (Sam Clay, a flawed but honorable newspaper reporter) wakes up one morning with a powerful hangover and a dead woman in his bed. Clay's subsequent elusion of the authorities while he tracks down the real murderer becomes a sort of comic caper with crafty action scenes, witty dialogue, and a solid resolution. I wound up buying three more of Latimer's book after reading this one which in a way is the highest form of praise.