The Donovan Stone series by Nelson Bridell

Contributed by Dan Lester on 17/06/10

How To Murder A Millionaire

Dell paperbacks, 1956, cover by Robert McGinnis

First in the Donovan Stone detective series. Stone investigates the murder of an oil tycoon. A forgettable detective novel even by Dell’s standards, lacking either the background detail of Robert Kyle’s Ben Gates series, or the verbal playfulness of David Markson’s early novels. The character is a fairly generic private eye, his only memorable characteristic being his preference for larger women.

The Honey Trap

Dell paperbacks, 1957, cover by James Romano

Stone helps out a politician caught in a difficult situation. A slightly more original storyline compared to the first book, but written in an equally pedestrian style.

Death Has No Honour

Dell Paperback, 1958, cover by Robert McGinnis

This third entry in the series shows a marked improvement over the predecessors. Bridell creates an amusing satire on the hard-boiled style of writing by placing Stone in a battle of wits with a psychotic rival detective, a character inspired by Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer.

Mysteries Of The Heart

Dell paperbacks, 1958, cover by Robert McGinnis

The final entry in the series, this otherwise unremarkable novel is memorable for the fact that, other than the main character’s name, it shares no continuity with the previous novels. Stone has inexplicably moved from his one room New York apartment to a California beach hut, and is now working as a part time schoolteacher. Thematically it differs wildly as well, being a romance rather than a mystery, despite the title. Legend has it that Bridell, who was writing books under several pseudonyms at the time, sent the wrong manuscript to Dell by mistake, and due to a very tight publishing schedule they simply asked the typesetter to change the main character’s name to fit in with the series.