Philip Macdonald (1900-1980) was a British writer of more than 30 novels, dozens of short stories, and radio, television, and film scripts, nearly all of them in the crime fiction genre. He wrote under his name and as Oliver Fleming, Anthony Lawless, Martin Porlock, and W. J. Stuart. He relocated to Los Angeles in the early 1930s where he became deeply involved with Hollywood and the movie industry.
Macdonald won Edgar Awards in 1953 and 1956 for short stories and was nominated for Best Novel in 1960. Complete bibliographies vary from website to website but the one on Wikipedia is extensive. Wikipedia also says he trained horses for the Army and raised Great Danes.
X v. Rex was one of Macdonald’s early stand-alones. The novel was published under the name Martin Porlock by Collins Crime Club, 1933. It was serialized in U.S. newspapers, and later in 1940 it was released as Mystery of the Dead Police by Philip Macdonald.
A serial killer is on the loose in London. As usual, the killer is looking for a specific type of victim, but not women this time. Here the target is the ordinary constable walking his beat. Interestingly, the killer varies his approach to the victim and the weapon each time, cunningly using the city sewers on one occasion and the ordinary advertising sandwich board on another. Scotland Yard is unable to develop any viable leads to the homicidal maniac and society is becoming more worried and more vocal. Government leaders are increasingly called to task on the floor of the House of Commons, and each issue of the newspapers outdoes the previous ones in hysterical claims.
Against this backdrop of widespread panic, Nicholas Revel, a beautifully turned out gentleman with social aplomb, accidentally makes the acquaintance of Jane, daughter of the Scotland Yard Commissioner, the day after her fiancé is arrested as the serial killer. He exploits the connection and skillfully worms his way into the confidence of the Commissioner who is beside himself with the inability to identify the killer and protect his personnel.
It soon becomes obvious that Revel is not who he pretends to be. Was he the killer? If not, why is he so interested in collaring the assassin? He is an enigma, when anyone has time to think about it, only no one does except a suspicious police inspector. The chapters formed from sections of the killer’s diary could well have been written by him, adding to the reader’s perplexity.
As other reviewers have noted, the real differentiating element of this story compared to other serial killer tales is the emphasis on the impact of the killings on society at large.
Unlike other early 1930s crime fiction, the pace is consistent and the narrative convincing. No mid-story lag here and no delving into overwhelming detail. This book was adapted for film and released as The Mystery of Mr. X in 1934.
For readers of Golden Age crime fiction as well as fans of serial killer tales.