Meet Me at the Morgue
Cover Artist: Clark HulingsBy: MacDonald, John Ross pseudonym of Kenneth Millar
Publisher: Pocket Books, Inc. (1020)
Place of Publication:New York, NY
Catalog #: Kelley Box 333: PS3525 .I486 M43 1954
Contributor: K. Majewski
General
Era: 1950sAuthor as on Cover: John Ross MacDonald
Publication:1954
Original Date: 1953
Setting: urban and inner city
Plot Summary
Howard Cross, head of the Los Angeles probation department, sees little Jamie Johnson at nine o'clock in the morning with Fred Miner, a man on probation under his watch. A ransom letter is delivered to Jamie's parents at nine-thirty. Fred and Jamie have disappeared. Could Fred, who is considered by all to be dependable, kind, and fatherly toward Jamie, have snapped? Cross discovers extortion, murder and love as he scours the L.A. underground in search of Jamie and the truth about Miner.Major Characters
Howard Cross "Howie," adult male, 37 years old, six feet tall, 180 pounds, light on his feet, head of probation departmentAmy Miner adult female, middle-aged, "under a cheap, print house-dress, her body was long and angular," straight brown hair with strands of gray, high cheekbones, knuckles red and cracked from housework, housewife
Ann Devon adult female, 24 years old, "a mouse blonde with a recent degree in psychology and large untapped reserves of girlish fervor," blue eyes, "makes a pleasant silhouette," assistant probation officer
Fred Miner adult male, "a heavily built man in his thirties, very broad in the shoulders. He has a stiff back. It was broken in the war. He wears old khaki uniforms most of the time. He has rather a large head with heavy features, big jaw and a thick nose, sandy hair cut short, gray eyes. Deep bass voice. Midwestern accent. Fred likes to use Navy slang. Driver.
Helen Johnson adult female, middle-aged, red hair, attractive, "fair bold brow," green eyes, lieutenant in the nursing corps, head of the orthopedic wards in the Navy Hospital in San Diego, retired for marriage to Abel Johnson
Larry Seifel adult male, 20s, "tall and young and broadshouldered in a double-breasted gabardine suit." "Except that his eyes were a shade too sharp and bright in his tanned face, his square crew-cut a shade too consciously youthful, Larry Seifel was a very presentable young man." Lawyer.
Abel Johnson adult male, elderly, sickly, quickly aging professional, real estate agent
Jamie Johnson child, male, 4 years old, red hair, precocious, son of Abel and Helen Johnson
Kerry Snow adult male, late 20s, five feet, nine inches tall, wavy blondish hair, "nice clean-cut features if it wasn't for the sneaky look," well-built, talks like a sailor, hula-girl tattoo on left forearm, Navy photographer, swindler
Arthur Lemp "Art," adult male, middle-aged, large, bald, wears a dark, reddish-brown toupee, has a slight limp, ex-cop
Molly Fawn adolescent female, late teens, dyed blonde hair, five feet, four inches tall, 125 pounds, purple eyes, light skin, aspiring actress
Sam Dressen adult male, middle-aged, tired-out but generally dependable, sheriff's identification officer