Fletcher Flora was yet another pulp writer of the fifties. "Leave Her to Hell" appears to be a title bequeathed by a publisher. It's a rather odd private eye story that involves a fascination with the wealthy class, piano-playing virtuosity, a hoodlum running a club, and various soap operas about these upper classes. It feels like a slow jazz.

I enjoyed this one, but I certainly see how some could find the pace a bit languid. In some ways, it's not as sharp or as focused a story as it could be. It has all the classic hardboiled elements and a strange mystery. It however lacks a certain compellingness, has a certain awkwardness between characters, and ties up a bit too neatly in the end. It would in any event have made an interesting series. ( )