Gore Vidal wrote at least three mystery novels under the pseudonym Edgar Box in the early 1950's starring Peter Cutler Sargeant II, a public relations man whose clients get him into some peculiar situations. As you might expect from Vidal, the books are all well written, witty and include some savage social commentary on the times.
In Death In The Fifth Position, Peter Sargeant is hired by the Grand Saint Petersburg Ballet company to handle their public relations during their New York season. Of particular concern to the company is the publicity surrounding their new ballet and the accusations that the choreographer, Jed Wilbur, is a member of the Communist Party. When the principal ballerina in the new ballet crashes to the stage floor and is killed, allegations of murder lead to more bad publicity. Grade: A.
In Death Before Bedtime, Peter Sargeant is no sooner hired by conservative U.S. Senator Lee Rhodes to handle his publicity, when the Senator is blown up on the eve of his announcement of his run for his party's nomination for President. Sargeant must determine whether this is a political assassination, or a more intimate murder for personal reasons, which abound among the varied members of the Senator's household. Grade: A.
In Death Likes It Hot, Sargeant travels to the far reaches of Long Island to handle the publicity for a lavish party to be held by a socially ambitious dowager. When her niece, wife of a popular painter, is drowned in full view of most of the house party, allegations of murder soon surface. Grade: A.
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