Slated to appear in a collection of stories about New York called Landmark Series, which never made it to print, this terrific little Woolrich gem from 1935 is a very fun pulp read. It works as both a detective story, a mystery, and a short story of suspense. Woolrich gave Red Liberty a facelift in the 1950s and retitled it The Corpse in the Statue of Liberty, but Red Liberty, published in July 1935 in Dime Detective, remains a very enjoyable short pulp story.

Second-grade Detective Denton’s nagging wife, Katie, thinks he’s a lowbrow. She further believes it’s preventing him from moving up faster in the ranks, and suggests he spend some time appreciating statues, of all things. To appease her he hops the ferry to the biggest statue he can think of, the Statue of Liberty. On the way up he meets a wheezing fat man who has sat down for a breather. Denton has a bonding moment with the man when he discovers the man’s pretty, petite wife — or the woman Denton saw him talking to and assumes is his wife — is always pushing him to do such things. The moment becomes important when the delicate young woman arrives at the top with Denton, but the fat man does not. Turns out he doesn’t arrive at the bottom either — not even by the quick but deadly scenic route. When Denton finds the fat man’s hat, he knows in his gut something is terribly wrong.

What follows is a fast-flowing and fun-to-read mystery as the second-grade detective, unsure of himself and his abilities at first, slowly comes into his own trying to discover what happened to the man. The pretty girl is indignant, claiming she was accosted by the fat man on the ferry and didn’t even know him; worse, she might be telling the truth. When Denton finally discovers what happened to the fat man, the story really takes wing, as the detective decides to figure it out before the Feds become involved.

It’s a nifty little gem, with a very 1930s New York tone. Denton begins calling the elevator operator Suicide Johnny, because the young man would be almost grateful for a jumper, just to relieve his boredom. Murder’s even better, though. What’s that strange thing the alleged wife wrote at the top of the Statue of Liberty? Can Denton figure it all out and make the collar before the Feds become involved? If he does, will it give him the confidence he needs?

Overall a very nifty pulp detective story, as fun to read today as it must have been between the covers of Dime Detective in 1935. In tone and pacing Red Liberty is sort of a cross between Woolrich’s Mystery in Room 913, and Death Sits in the Dentist’s Chair. Definitely one that any true Woolrich fan won’t want to miss. ( )