Murder in the Gunroom [Paperback]

H. Beam Piper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1993

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 243 pages
• Publisher: Old Earth Books (December 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1882968026
• ISBN-13: 978-1882968022
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,790,461 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Holds up quite well, nearly 50 years later, July 8, 2001

By 

G. Styles (Vienna, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Murder in the Gunroom (Paperback)

Having read almost all of Piper's science fiction and enjoyed it, I was curious about his one mystery novel. I'd seen references to it for years, but never actually saw the book. I finally acquired it several years back, though it sat on my shelf until last week. I had put off reading it, because I was afraid it might disappoint, compared to favorites like "Lord Kalvan", or that it would seem terribly dated. I needn't have worried. The writing was crisp, the characters interesting, and the gun lore fascinating. In short, it has held up as well as many other books from the '50s that are still popular, such as Stout's Nero Wolfe. It's a shame Piper didn't live to publish the sequel or to explore the mystery genre further.

The Old Earth edition included interesting biographical and bibliographical info on Piper, and it was nicely printed on good quality paper.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book, May 28, 2004

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Murder in the Gunroom (Paperback)

Jefferson Davis Rand is a well-know private investigator with a well-known hobby - antique gun collecting. When a grieving widow comes to his office to have him help with the sale of the antique guns from her late husband's collection, Jeff quickly realizes that there's been foul play, and that he needs to get to the bottom of it. Yep, he's quite right, Mr. Fleming was indeed murdered with one of his own handguns, but can Jeff stay alive long enough to figure out who did it?

H. Beam Piper (1904-64) is largely forgotten today, but if he is remembered at all, it is for his wonderful science fiction stories. However, in 1953, Mr. Piper tried his hand at mystery writing, and this is the results of his labor. Overall, I found it to be a good solid mystery, appearing to be of the same generation as Ellery Queen. That is to say, it does show its age, but nonetheless it is a very good exciting mystery.

If you are a fanatical fan of H. Beam Piper (like me!), then you really should try to get this book - with its confident hero, doing what it takes to make things right, it's classic Piper. If you are a mystery fan, then I would recommend this book to you as a great work of 1950s mystery writing in the old style. Either way, it's a great book, one that I highly recommend!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A sci-fi author tries his hand at mystery, July 16, 2007

By 

David Johnson - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Murder in the Gunroom (Hardcover)

This novel is H. Beam Piper's only known mystery work, a fact that readers will regret after reading this compelling crime drama. (Piper is better know for science-fiction novels like Little Fuzzy, Space Viking, and Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen.) In this novel private detective Jefferson Davis Rand is hired to catalog an extensive gun collection after the owner's apparent suicide. (Some chilling real-life foreshadowing here: Piper would eventually kill himself using a firearm from his own collection.) But Rand soon suspects foul play and quickly finds himself at the center of murder investigation.

Besides introducing Rand, a private detective cut from the same cloth as many of those from the most famous of 20th century mystery fiction, this novel also shows off Piper's extensive knowledge of firearms. A product of the era in which it was written this mystery will still be enjoyed by contemporary readers.