The Million Dollar Legs Matter, by Richard Helms

"The Million Dollar Legs Matter," by Richard Helms, in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, September/October 2026.

This is Helms' thirteenth appearance in this blog.

I have whined here on more than one occasion about pastiches, where an author tries to tell us a new story about some other author's work.  Generally I only like them if they come at the concept from a different angle, not just producing Another Story About The Great Detective, for example.

A quick skim through my blog finds a Sherlock Holmes story that never mentions Sherlock Holmes. Another shows us Holmes through social media. Another follows a certain nameless detective, while a fourth tells us recent news about that P.I.'s agency.  I also enjoyed new adventures of Auguste Dupin and Mr. Moto.  And then there is a weird one that mimics both Doyle and a modern writer.

So that's seven in seventeen years of reviewing.  Not a lot, I would say.

Which brings us to today's adventure.  Back in the fifties there was a popular radio show called Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, about a private eye.  The tales were told as he explained the items on his expense account.

Helms learned that Mr. Dollar was now in the public domain so he wrote what, as far as I know, is the first magazine story about "the man with the action-packed expense account."   Dollar is sent from Chicago to New York to investigate a possible case of insurance fraud. A ballet dancer is mugged and his knees smashed just weeks before his million dollar policy expires.  Clearly this is no mere robbery, but who is responsible?  There are plenty of suspects and the solution is complicated but satisfactory.  

I wouldn't mind reading another of Mr. Dollar's suspenseful, expenseful adventures. 

The Scarlatti Skip, by Richard Helms

"The Scarlatti Skip," by Richard Helms, in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, January/February 2025.

 This is the twelfth story by Helms to reach this blog.

Private eye Eamon Gold does a lot of skip tracing for bail bonders but this assignment is more preventative: Keep an eye on the Fiddle Killer and make sure she doesn't run. So why is Veronica Scarlatti called the Fiddle Killer? 

"'Darren Wojohowski was learning to play,' Doogie said.  'According to the police reports, his progress was slow. His girlfriend Veronica became irritated and emptied her revolver into the violin. Tragically it was tucked under Darren's chin at the time.'"

Some of us may be inclined to sympathize.  But Veronica, an attractive young woman, knows she is looking at "twenty years in a box."  She swears she just wants to spend the last few days in unsupervised peace, but Eamon is being paid to keep her under supervision. 

You will not be surprised to know she makes a run for it.  Things get complicated.  Then they get worse.  A very enjoyable story.