Murder on 81st Street finds Dorian in New York where he bumps into his old friend, Dorothy Parker. Together they become involved in the death of a prominent Nazi sympathiser who was apparently killed in a locked room.

The murderer, it is revealed, is actually a golem – clay creatures from Jewish folklore – that a Jewish professor, Bloom, had created to kill him. Unfortunately, the creature also kills Bloom and Dorian narrowly misses suffering harm at its muddy hands as well.

The story is told in flashback with Parker and Gray explaining what happend to Detective Randall who is investigating the case (with Parker and Gray also being suspects). This allows for a few ‘meta’ scenes where they get ahead of themselves in the story-telling and this helps keep the story pacy and prevents it from becoming a rather staid recount.

Dorothy Parker is a real historical figure – an American poet and writer. Mention is made of her marriage to Alan Campbell, a man of whom she was fully aware was bisexual – which forms a parallel with Dorian’s eclectic tastes in romantic partners and makes their friendship have an air of historical truth to it (even if Dorian is purely fictional). Parker is staunchly anti-fascist in the story and this is also historically accurate and she was the founder of the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League, chair of the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Commitee and vocal advocate for civil rights and liberties.

Golems – or versions of – have appeared previously in this marathon: The Beast of Orlok (where they are alien creations made from aluminium silicate clay and have more autonomy than the one in this story – and indeed the ones from Jewish folklore). There was also a golem like creature in Grand Theft Cosmos (although that was more of a stone statue).

This story forms another stepping stone to the outbreak of World War Two with fascist and Nazi supporters cropping up around the world, stirring up public opinion and generally bringing a sense of dread as to what was on the horizon.