Lawrence G. Blochman wrote mysteries from the 1930s through 1950s, including 1954’s Recipe for Homicide, above. He also penned many short stories, articles and scripts. Recipe is notable for two reasons: it was the first time his pathologist/sleuth Dr. David Webster Coffee appeared in a novel; and it turned a critical eye on American business. The scene is a canning factory, and the heroes and villains are suits, workers, communists, and more. Blochman fans generally tend to think of him as more intellectual than the average pulp author, and based on one book, we can’t disagree. Recipe is scientific detection, and plenty detailed enough for readers who like that sort of thing. We aren’t entirely sure that Blochman’s final assessment about capitalism is warranted (he might have reached a different conclusion had he looked at American business practices in say, the Dominican Republic or Vietnam), but for 1954, this is nuanced stuff. Recipe for Homicide is still widely available, so you can decide for yourselves.
