Archived Mystery Review by William F. Deeck: JAMES CORBETT – Vampire of the Skies.

REVIEWED BY WILLIAM F. DEECK: JAMES CORBETT – Vampire of the Skies. Herbert Jenkins, UK, hardcover, 1932. Ramble House, US, softcover, 2014. Reviewing a James Corbett novel is a challenging task, the reviewer says modestly. The temptation is to quote the entire novel, getting the ordeal over with by causing no pain at least to the reviewer, since no one is likely to believe what is to be said about the novel. As Corbett himself put it in another and even worse — or better, depending on your point of view — novel: ‘”The whole thing is so fantastic as to appear incredulous.” But in recognition of our esteemed editor’s sensibilities, the temptation to reprint the book will be resisted. This is the fourth James Corbett novel that this reviewer has read. The first, THE MERRIVALE MYSTERY, was recommended to Bill Pronzini as an “alternative classic,” and Mr. Pronzini agreed that it fit that category. The second was THE MONSTER OF DAGENHAM HALL, which is essentially THE MERRIVALE MYSTERY…