Jim Hanvey, detective

"Jim Hanvey, detective" by Octavus Roy Cohen is a collection of detective stories written in the early 20th century. It follows Jim Hanvey, a hulking, deceptively placid sleuth whose patient observation and quiet traps undo clever schemes by crooks and insiders alike. Expect twisty, character-driven capers that weigh nerve against conscience. The opening of the collection presents Fish Eyes, where chief paying teller Cliff Wallace and his fiancée Phyllis Robinson lift $100,000 from a bank, stash it in a safety-deposit box, and rely on routine and secrecy to dodge suspicion while two formal investigators blame a miscount. The mere presence of the slow-blinking Jim Hanvey rattles Cliff until, after weeks of strain, he returns the cash under a promise of immunity—only to find Hanvey hadn’t been after him at all. The next story, Homespun Silk, introduces suave thief Arthur Sherwood and Hanvey’s reconstruction of a New Orleans jewel heist involving social climber Mrs. Haley; without proof, Hanvey plays a longer game, baiting Sherwood with paste replicas to push him to his vault, then narrowing the search by time-window bank logs. As Sherwood schemes to sell the gems back to Mrs. Haley, Hanvey alerts her banks and begins shadowing her—the point at which the provided text breaks off.

Jim Hanvey, detective, by Octavus Roy Cohen. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #78848.