The Talking Sparrow Murders

by Darwin Teilhet

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Summary

“No true mystery fan can afford to pass this story by. It is one of the best in a season that has brought us more than a few that are really worth while.”—Isaac Anderson, The New York Times

“Help! I am caught!” said the sparrow, who was undoubtedly not a Nazi, unlike many others in 1934 Germany. William Tatson is no Nazi either. He is an American engineer in the country oversee a project in the newly established third German Reich.
Tatson’s string of problems begin when a dazed man stumbles toward him with a claim of a speaking sparrow. The Deutsch Doktor Dolittle soon collapses and dies leaving Tatson subjected to police questioning. The Heidelberg police find Herr “Tat-zohn’s” story of the talking sparrow claim incredible. Their dissatisfaction with Tatson’s answers lead them to demand his continued presence in the country, thus jeopardizing his plan to return to the U.S. for a deadline-dependent job. Naturally, Tatson decides to discover for himself the truth about the murdered man, but the truth winds through a dangerous maze of secrets, Nazi officials, and a mysterious yet beautiful lounge singer.

The Teilhets were very early critics of the Nazi regime, and this book reflects their views. They use a number of phrases in the novel that would become connected to Nazi acts and policies, a coincidence, no doubt, but an eerie one.

“His novel is first-rate in its own class. It has the good writing editors cry for in mysteries nowadays, and enough fast action to suit any one. It also has some really excellent clues. … His novel could well serve as a model of its kind.”—Robert van Gelder, The New York Times

“Grand atmosphere, buckets of plot, wicked Nazi villains, and good love story admirably mixed. Verdict: Kolossal!”—The Saturday Review of Literature

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