Friday's Forgotten Books - The Midnight Plumber

British author Maurice Proctor (1906–1973) worked faithfully as a Police Constable in Yorkshire for nineteen years, with part of his time spent on motorcycle patrol. He was also involved in the investigation of the Halifax Slasher in 1938. All during his time on the force, however, he harbored a secret desire to write crime novels and kept his hobby hidden from his colleagues until his first book was due to be published, when he promptly resigned.

Being the first British author to specialize in police procedurals would have been enough to make him stand out in the crowd, but his background led an air of credibility and authority to his works that made them popular. His first series didn't appear until 1951 with two back-to-back titles featuring Chief Inspector Philip Hunter, but he reached his peak with a fourteen-book series begun in 1954 with Hell Is a City and ending with Hideaway in 1968, all featuring Chief Inspector Martineau.

Proctor invented cities and towns for settings, chiefly the city of Granchester, likely a stand-in for Manchester or Liverpool. Granchester is an inland port called the "Metropolis of the North," a police force 1,100 strong with its own forensic experts that believes they can hold their own with Scotland Yard. Martineau's superintendent realizes his man is a born detective better at solving cases than merely supervising others, something Martineau puts to the test most of the time.

The Midnight Plumber is the second outing with Inspector Martineau and puts Martineau and his men, including the normally-stalwart Detective Sergeant Devery, in the position of having to track down a swift and ruthless gang of burglars whose leader is known only as "The Plumber." But the police have a problem finding leads among the usual police informants who don't want to get involved for fear of getting killed for their troubles, something The Plumber has already demonstrated he's more than willing to do. Martineau's substantial skills are put to the test, and his patience, too, as he deals with Devery's affair with a criminal's wife on top of everything else.

Proctor uses his work background to good effect in his novels, weaving in procedural tips and insights (from a 1950s UK point of view), although his methods may seem unusual at times, like going undercover as a gypsy. In his foreword to the Black Dagger reprint, Martin Edwards notes that although this may seem outlandish at first, Proctor is careful to point out in the story that Martineau is taking his cues from the police handbook by Dr. Hans Gross, Criminal Investigation. Proctor also manages to maintain a tight pace even after the identity of The Plumber is revealed by using a technique he'd turn to often, the POV reversal: switching back and forth between criminal in flight and the police, leading to what Martin Edwards called "a splendid, savage irony" in the very last sentence of the novel.

Although this particular novel wasn't made into a movie or TV program, a few of Proctor's novels were, including the first Martineau work, Hell is a City, released in 1960 and starring Stanley Baker, Billie Whitelaw and Donald Pleasence. Interestingly Procter's works are collected and available for inspection at the Howard B. Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University, Massachusetts, as part of the Sam Wanamaker Collection that contains the actor/director's manuscripts, correspondence, and production files.

Comments

[George Kelley]

I read THE MIDNIGHT PLUMBER ages ago. But it may be Procter's best book. Love the cover you provided! I haven't seen that one before.

[Patti Abbott]

Usually I have a chance at having read your choices, but not this one.

[BV Lawson]

I was pleased to find the cover, too, George! Although I'm grateful for the Black Dagger crime series (and my local library for having several of them), I think their covers lacked a bit in the creativity department. The original was definitely better!

[BV Lawson]

I haven't read any of Procter's other books, Patti, so we're almost on an even keel with this one. I'm still curious how his papers and manuscripts wound up in Sam Wanamaker's collection...

[Yvette]

Not only have I not read any, I don't think I've ever heard of Procter. Love that cover though.
And loved reading about him and his work.

[BV Lawson]

I was actually quite surprised he hadn't been featured in FBF before, but there are SO many wonderful authors and books out there through the years, that it gets to be overwhelming trying to catch up.

[Plumbers Brisbane West]

I will read it.

[Plumber in Seattle]

I loved this book. It's really worth a read. Highly recommended.

[Ashley]

Sounds interesting. I have not read that one. Now I will definitely read it.