Dorothy Salisbury Davis (1916-2014) was known for her deeply human characters and the sensitivity and compassion with which she portrayed them in her suspense fiction. She was nominated for an Edgar Award six times, served as President of the Mystery Writers of America in 1956, and was named a Grand Master by the MWA in 1985. She was on the initial steering committee of Sisters in Crime when it was formed in 1986 to promote women crime fiction writers.

She wrote two series, one with Mrs. Norris, a Scots housekeeper in New York, and one with former actress Julie Hayes. Lieutenant Marks, a detective in the New York City police force, had two books to himself and he appeared in the Julie Hayes books. Her other 13 full-length novels are stand-alones. She also wrote dozens of short stories.

Crime fiction critic Sarah Weinman profiled Ms. Davis for Mystery Scene in 2014. See her article here: https://mysteryscenemag.com/blog-article/4589-dorothy-salisbury-davis. See the New York Times obituary here: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/08/arts/dorothy-salisbury-davis-suspense-novelist-dies-at-98.html.

The Library of Congress Crime Classics series, which focuses on American mysteries of the 19^th and 20^th centuries, will include A Gentle Murderer by Davis, originally published in 1951, in its 2023 releases. Anticipated publication is March 2023.

Father Duffy is lingering late after confession on a hot Saturday night in St. Timothy’s where he is assistant pastor when one last penitent slides into the confessional. The young man is incoherent with anger and regret but Father Duffy gathers he has killed someone with a hammer. He tries to calm him and convince him to go to the police station, offering to go with him, but the man leaves alone.

Bound by the seal of the confessional the priest can’t say anything but he watches the newspapers anxiously until the article about a call girl beaten to death appears. He begins looking for the young man, based on bits of personal information he dropped during his hysterical ramblings. In the meantime Detective Sergeant Goldsmith begins searching for a murderer based on the evidence found in the dead woman’s apartment. Other chapters deal with the subject of their mutual search and his confused mental processes. Just how confused he is the people around him do not understand.

Beautifully written. Perhaps as much suspense as mystery, as the reader knows who the killer is. The characters are perceptively drawn; characterization was one of Davis’s strong points. While the insight into the killer’s mind was likely innovative for 1950, it occurs often in thrillers written in the 2000s, so it’s hard to imagine the impact of this POV on readers at the time of publication. The dual separate investigations are a nice twist on the traditional procedural. Fans of clerical detectives should make Father Duffy’s acquaintance. He deserves a series of his own.

Footnotes for terms that someone thought might be unfamiliar are scattered throughout. I found them unnecessary and I expect most readers will not need them.