Four Frightened Women by George Harmon Coxe

 In 1943, Dell began publishing a series of paperback novels, mainly mysteries, which would come to be called the map backs because of the map on the back cover. The first four book in the series had no map on the back. The fifth book in the series was the first book to have a map on the back, and that book was Four Frightened Women by George Harmon Coxe. Strictly speaking this book is the first map back. Later, the fourth book, The American Gun Mystery  by Ellery Queen, would be reissued with a map on the back.

Photographer and amateur detective Kent Murdock has accepted a new assignment  which will take him into the world of entertainment. He has agreed to make photographs of movie and radio comedian Ted Bernard and goes to Bernard's home where he meets several people who are either being supported by Bernard or who are keeping track of Bernard.  His adopted son, Lloyd Bernard, seems to do nothing except run up gambling debts. There is Bernard's old vaudeville partner, Bert Remington, who now writes Bernard's jokes. Private detective Jack Fenner is there for some reason which is not clear, and  neither is the presence of George Craik who plays a jazz piano and wears a shoulder holster..

Since women are mentioned in the title, I should include a naming of them. There is Bernard's ex-wife, movie star Irene Alexander who is staying in the guest house. Linda Vincent is Ted's niece and she is apparently in love with Jerry Gordon who is a member of a wealthy west coast family. Helen Sanderson is an attractive movie actress, and Pauline Norman is a dancer at a local club, and a girl friend of Lloyd.

All of these have dinner together in the evening and then gather around the pool. They seem to drink constantly. There is enough alcohol flowing in the initial scenes of this book to make the reader wonder how any of them could do anything at all. Kent Murdock has agreed to do photographs of Irene, and after dinner he goes to the guest house, and, of course, they have a few drinks. He takes the photographs, leaves, returns to his room, has a few more drinks and goes to sleep. He wakes up in the guest house, has no idea how he got there, finds Irene dead, strangled, on the floor, and makes a very hurried exit back to his room.

The body is finally discovered and the local police are called in. The police, of course, interview everybody. Kent meanwhile sneaks through everybody's rooms and discovers a key piece of evidence which he smuggles out and takes to a medical examiner in Boston. Kent is the prime suspect in this murder, yet the police seem to give him a lot of freedom. As the story progresses, Kent Murdock becomes good friends with the detective, Jack Fenner,  until by the end of the book they are almost partners.

The plot thickens and another murder occurs Murdock and Fenner find the murderer and uncover other crimes which had been going on in the book. I found the book to be interesting and readable. Kent Murdock is likeable and good looking. He is OK in a fight, but can be beaten up. He is not especially good with a gun, but Fenner is. There are some descriptions of the many steps Murdock takes to develops a picture which will make you very happy that you can take one with your phone.

This book is the fourth book in the Kent Murdock series of  23 books in all. The front cover of this map back edition, at least, was done by Gerald Gregg. Coxe published 63 novels and had several series with different heroes. Wikipedia tells me the books with Flashgun Casey are the most popular.  Amazon has a number of Coxe books available in Kindle format. If you want a book which has a detective with a different occupation you will find the Kent Murdock series interesting.