Stories I’m Reading: H. C, BAILEY “The Superfluous Clues.”

H. C, BAILEY “The Superfluous Clues.” Reggie Fortune. First published (?) in Mr. Fortune’s Practice (Methuen, UK, hardcover, 1923), as “The Young Doctor.” Reprinted in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, March 1954. H. C. Bailey is an author I sampled long ago – perhaps 50 or 60 years long past – and decided at the time that his work was not for me. I no longer remember why, but I held to the vow until I postedan old fanzine review of Call Mr. Fortune, and the short discussion of the merits of Mt. Bailey’s approach to writing detective fiction that followed brought back to mind the prior difficulties I had found in his work. So when, by pure coincidence I came across this tale from his followup collection of Mt. Fortune stories, I said to myself, “This can’t be a coincidence. There must be higher hand at work here. I must read this story.” And so I have. Some thoughts. A young doctor has been tried, convicted and jailed for robbing another resident of the same building where he resides.…