That “Girl”

Well, look at what today’s mail brought my way! It’s a copy of German-born American author Peter Rabe’s 1965 novel, Girl in a Big Brass Bed (Fawcett Gold Medal), one of his three novels featuring resourceful, globe-trotting lawyer Manny DeWitt. This paperback was sent to me by Philadelphia copy editor and blogger Peter Rozovsky, who last week announced on his Facebook page,

I SCREWED UP, AND YOU CAN WIN A BOOK!

I got so excited ordering books for the panel I’ll moderate at Bouchercon that I inadvertently bought one book twice, and now you can benefit. I'll send a copy of the book, Girl in a Big Brass Bed, by Peter Rabe, to the first person who sends me a Facebook private message with mailing address and the correct answer to this question:

Peter Rabe earned a master’s degree and a doctorate in which field?

Good luck.

It didn’t take but a moment’s Web searching to confirm my memory that the fairly prolific Rabe had been awarded a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in psychology from Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Shortly after I dashed off a note to Rozovsky containing that information, he replied, “You won.” So here I am, the proud new owner of what I believe is Rabe’s 24th novel. Although a photo graces the façade, it’s a splendid addition to Killer Covers’ collection of brass bed fronts.

READ MORE: “Bonus FFBs for Wednesday: Manny deWitt Omnibus (Girl in a Big Brass Bed, The Spy Who Was Three Feet Tall, Code Name Gadget)—Peter Rabe,” by Bill Crider (Bill Crider’s Pop Culture Magazine).