Hugh Pentecost, the pseudonym of Judson Philips (1903-1989), created one of the most memorable of fictional sleuths in the red-bearded artist, John Jericho. The stories combine interesting settings, skillful puzzles, social concerns, and earnest melodrama. Jericho's paintings reflect his anger against social injustice and violence, and his search for Truth; and when the downtrodden, the unfairly accused, and (frequently) a damsel in distress seek his help, he is willing to enter the fray.
Jericho's skills as a detective are his skills as an artist. His painter's eye picks up details that others miss. And the energy he puts on his canvasses is reflected in the physical energy with which he fights for Truth.
The 15 stories in The Battles of Jericho, written between 1964 and 1976, are filled with the social unrest of that turbulent era, tempered with Jericho's (and Pentecost's) belief in individual responsibility. The Battles of Jericho is the 26th in Crippen & Landru's "Lost Classics" series - new collections by great writers of traditional mysteries. Introduction by S.T. Karnick. Afterword by the author's son, Daniel Philips.
