The Case of the Vanishing Beauty by Richard Prather was published in 1950, and is the first of his many Shell Scott mysteries. I've read many of them, and was delighted to find this one that I hadn't already had the chance to enjoy!
Georgia Martin comes to Scott's office, to hire him to find her missing sister, Tracy. When he reluctantly agrees to her terms, she then asks him to accompany her to a nightclub Scott wouldn't have expected her to visit, to provide protection.
They get to watch the main draw for the club, the knife-throwing act of Miguel Mercado. Scott then has a slight altercation with Mercado, and he meets and dislikes the owner of the club, Maggie Remorse.
After leaving the club, they are followed by someone, who opens fire on them. Scott returns fire, and the other vehicle takes off, but it is too late for Georgia Martin, who manages to say, "I killed Nardo", before she dies. After discovering Nardo is the leader of a cult and still alive, Scott decides to continue his investigation to find the missing sister. While investigating he discovers what the link is between the nightclub and the cult, and is drawn into a lot of danger.
The story is exciting, violent, humorous and very enjoyable. I would recommend this if you can keep in mind that it was written in the 1950s and is not what is today called politically correct. It was Prather's first published detective novel, and while quite enjoyable, his later novels were even better.
This book fulfills requirement #4. Leave It to the Professional category of the Vintage Mystery Challenge 2013
read February 15-18, 2013
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