The Azure Hand

'The really great criminal - even the man who allows himself an occasional breach of the lawa on a grand scale, takes to it like dram drinking - for the stimulus it gives to his system, or merely to add to the interest of life.' The Azure Hand was first published posthumously in 1917 but was possibly written a decade earlier. It has long been out of print and near impossible to find. This new, centenary edition reveals it to be (for its time) a very modern take on fictional detection. Breaking awsay from the Sherlock Holmes school of detective fiction and presaging not just the Golden Age but much later crime writing, The Azure Hand evidences Crockett's storytelling skill, in particular as regards dialogue, with nice touches of wit. Crockett's skill in character creation is mateched in his tight plotting. Taken in context The Azure Hand can clearly be seen as forward looking and experimental.… (more)