(hb; 1959)
From the inside cover
“This unusual novel is a study in evil. The surface events center around the death of Elizabeth Lucy, an attractive young woman whose body is found at the base of a penthouse apartment on a Montreal street. Elizabeth is part of a vice ring, described by Henderson of the homicide office as ‘a girl service which is no small time.’ The girls take their orders from Meg Latimer, and Meg takes hers from the top man, Mr. Keerson.
“Below the surface of the story run deeper sub-strata. Considering their profession, why are Elizabeth and hard-bitten Meg filled with a nameless, almost unreasonable fear at the ‘big assignment’ from Keerson? Why does it end in Elizabeth’s death? Is her fall from the penthouse suicide or murder? What is the meaning of the gold locket found on the street below? Why, when Keerson is finally cornered, does he shriek: ‘Stop calling me Keerson! It’s not my name at all’?”
Review
Buell deftly balances characters’ stream-of-consciousness monologue and madness with warm humanity and hardboiled dialogue in this entertaining, tightly written police procedural that alternates between chapters titled “The Present” and “The Past,” culminating in a confrontation that brings the no-nonsense Henderson face-to-face with a bizarre foe.
Everything works in Pyx─while
its set-up is simple, its complex characters, their emotions and actions, and
its varying edit-styles make for an ultimately colorful and touching read.
Worth owning, this.
#
The resulting film was released stateside in October 1973. Harvey Hart directed it, from Robert Schlitt’s screenplay.
Karen Black played Elizabeth Lucy. Christopher Plummer played Dt. Sgt. Jim Henderson. Donald Pilon played Dt. Sgt. Pierre Paquet. Louise Rinfret played Sandra. Terry Haig played Jimmy.
Yvette Brind’Amour played Meg
Latimer. Lee Broker played Herbie Lefram. Robin Gammell played Worther. Jean-Louis
Roux played Keerson.
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