Murder R.F.D. by Herman Petersen (1942)

This is Doc Miller #2 (of 4). Doc Miller, the country coroner, is the series detective and local Ben Wayne is the narrator.

About the author: Herman Petersen (1893-1973) sold his first story, “ The Seven Gilded Balls, ” to Black Mask in 1922. He worked for Utica (NY) newspapers and was the postmaster for Poolville, New York. All his mysteries were set in this area.  

The Toronto Star, 1957

Bibliography (full length titles):

• 1940 Murder in the Making (Doc Miller #1)
• 1942 Murder R.F.D. (Doc Miller #2)
• 1943 Old Bones (Doc Miller #3)
• 1943 The D.A.'s Daughter (Hank Wilbur)
• 1945 Country Chronicle (autobiography)
• 1948 Night on Castle Hill (serial)
• 1950 The Covered Bridge (historical novel)
• 1950 The Road (romance)
• 1957 The House in the Wilderness (Doc Miller #4, published as a serial)

Correction: The blurb for this title on the inside cover states that Charlie Russell (killed by a bull) was also found to have a bullet in his head. This is incorrect, the character killed by a bullet is someone else: Tom Wykeham.

Major characters:

• Ben Wayne, our narrator
• Marian Wayne
• Willie Wales, son of the Wayne's housekeeper; a simple man who enjoys tracking 
• Louis Telford, a neighbor
• Mrs. Hudson, Telford's housekeeper
• Charlie Russell, killed by Deuel's bull
• "Doc" Miller, county coroner
• Orville Deuel
• Agatha Deuel, his wife
• Cristine Nelson, Agatha Deuel's niece
• Pat Gordon, Deuel's farm hand
• Jimmy Kinney, Deuel's farm hand
• Tom Wykeham, a loner
• Paul Burns, D.A.

Locale: not specified, but likely rural upstate New York

Synopsis: Narrator Ben Wayne and his wife Marian live in Dark House. They hear Orville Deuel's bull has gored a man (Charlie Russell) to death and run off. Wayne and neighbor Louis Telford track down the bull with the help of Willie Wales; and return him to Deuel's farm. Suspicion mounts against farm hand Jimmy Kinney, who had been heard threatening to turn the bull on Russell earlier.

No sooner had this happened, when Tom Wykeham is found dead on his property. Rumors abound of a love affair between him and Agatha Deuel.

Jimmy Kinney and fellow farm hand Pat Gordon have disappeared. In the search for them, Agatha is also found murdered.

Review:  Herman Petersen is a pleasure to read, and I wish he had more titles. He captures the peaceful rural countryside perfectly. He is a master of language, as well. 

Our narrator, Ben Wayne, is cut from the same cloth as Hank Wilbur in The D.A.'s Daughter. We follow his thoughts in detail as he works his way through the mystery of Tom Wykeham's death. Many of the themes are similar to The D.A.'s Daughter.  There is the illicit December-May romance, and the climax of searching underwater for a murder weapon. Observations of nature lead to an important clue when Ben Wayne casually observes the activities of some ants. Simple Willie Wales is a fascinating character, with his Indian-like insights. 

Modern readers may need some help understanding the world of the 1940's with party-line telephones (a shared system where each subscriber has a unique ring signal, and the ability to eavesdrop on others' conversations) and the R.F.D. (Rural Free Delivery) mail system.

You may also enjoy this review by J F Norris on Pretty Sinister Books.