John Adam - Samurai

British author Christopher Wood (1935-2015) is best known for his erotic novel and film series titled Confessions. James Bond fans may recall that Wood authored two film novelizations in the series, The Spy Who Loved Me (with Richard Maibaum) and Moonraker. Wood has always had a penchant to incorporate Asian settings into his novels, like Seven Nights in Japan and Taiwan. My first experience with the author is the first of two historical men's action-adventure paperbacks starring John Adam.

John Adam – Samurai (1971) is set in the year 1600 and stars John Adam, a 20-year old guy running from the law in Plymouth, England. Like a lot of these international, historical-adventure novels, Adam ends up on a ship under the flag of the East India Company. After stops in India and Java, Adam and his shipmates are overtaken by pirates and is sunk just off the coast of Japan. Adam is the only survivor.

After a few chapters that serve as an introduction to this era of Japan, Adam befriends a Samurai warrior named Kushoni. Adam learns that his ship, which was carrying muskets, was attacked by pirates that were hired by Kushoni's master. These muskets were going to be used to defend Kushoni's people from an aggressively barbaric neighboring clan. But, the pirates double-crossed Kushoni's people and now what's left of the muskets are now in the hands of the evil neighbors. You following all of this? It's really simple – Kushoni and Adam are good guys and represent good people. Everyone else can go to Hell.

The rest of the book plays out with Kushoni showing Adam a thing or two about swords. Adam also screws a lot of Japanese bath servants in graphic sex scenes while simultaneously falling in love, sort of, with a Japanese woman named Somi. But, there's a ton of action as Kushoni beheads, pierces, spears, disembowels, and savagely guts endless hordes of bad guys. There are also some torture sequences that were a little hard to...um...digest. 

Overall, this book was just bonkers, but not in a bad way. I would probably never read it again, but would consider reading the book's sequel, John Adam in Eden. It's just that Wood is such a quirky writer with some of the oddest descriptions considering this really should be a sweeping, historical novel with a little class. Instead, you have things like “quieter than a church fart” and endless religious orgies. It was just so bizarre, but like a good car wreck, I couldn't wrestle my eyes off the pages. Your mileage may vary, but this isn't a terrible way to waste a half-day. 

Buy a copy of this book HERE.

Satan is a Woman/13 French Street

Stark House Press just released a reprint from Gil Brewer compiling his first two original novels — both from 1951 - Satan is a Woman and 13 French Street. The volume also features an informative introduction from David Rachels.

Satan is a Woman from 1951 was Brewer’s first original novel and the beginning of his publishing relationship with the Fawcett Gold Medal imprint. The narrator is Larry, the manager of a tavern on the coast in St. Petersburg, Florida. 

Larry’s a legit businessman, but his brother Tad is not. Tad recently killed two dudes in Tampa, and now the cops are looking for him. Tad is hiding out with Larry, and Larry is forced to lie to protect his brother — a problem he never invited. As Tad’s legal jeopardy worsens, it becomes clear that Larry needs to come up with money — a lot of it — for an attorney to save his big brother.

One afternoon a knockout blonde walks into Larry’s sleepy tavern. Her name is Joan Turner, and she’s a New Yorker who just rented a cabin next door to Larry’s bungalow. Everything about this initial interaction gives Larry the green light to make a move. Of course, you realize there must be a catch. After all, this is a Gil Brewer novel and you may have noticed the title…

Joan’s true colors come out gradually and watching Larry compromise his own ethics little by little was fascinating to read. There are some great plot twists that I won’t spoil for you here. Suffice it to say that this is a top-notch femme fatale noir story among the best Brewer had to offer.

Brewer’s second 1951 paperback, 13 French Street, was also his most popular book. The paperback sold over a million copies and sustained multiple printings from Fawcett Gold Medal in the U.S. and foreign publishers abroad. The short novel’s reputation as a sex-drenched story of lust and betrayal drew me in, and the pages just kept turning.

Our narrator is Alex Bland, and he’s on vacation visiting his old war-buddy, Verne. Upon arriving at Vern’s house at 13 French Street in a fictional southern town, he is greeted at the door by Verne’s impossibly sexy and flirtatious wife Petra, a dame who just oozes promiscuity. Although Alex has never met Petra before, they know each other from letters (paper emails) they’ve exchanged over the past five years. You see, Verne isn’t much of a letter writer, so he had his sexy wife write the letters to keep in touch with his best pal. (Note to dudes with sexy wives: Bad idea.)

Things are awkward for Alex from the moment he arrives. Verne has aged poorly and does a bad job feigning enthusiasm regarding Alex’s visit. Petra can’t help but make bedroom eyes at Alex every time their gazes lock. A pretty chambermaid confides in Alex that he’d be well-served to keep his bedroom door locked at night.

Things escalate exponentially when Verne leaves town on business, leaving Alex to his “vacation” at the house with Petra. Verne’s elderly witch of a mother lives in the house, and she keeps a close eye on Petra while her son is gone. However, that doesn’t stop Petra from trying to seduce Alex every time the old lady’s back is turned. If you enjoy your vintage paperbacks filled with sexual tension, this one is definitely for you.

Eventually, the old lady’s chaperoning becomes more and more troublesome, and you can imagine where that goes. It takes about halfway through the paperback before 13 French Street becomes a full-fledged crime noir novel where bad ideas beget further moral slippage. It’s also compelling as hell, and the pages keep flying by - making it abundantly clear why this book was such a sensation nearly 70 years ago.

To be sure, there is some retrograde treatment of women in this book that wouldn’t fly today, but 1951 was a very different world. While I still think that The Vengeful Virgin was Brewer’s top masterpiece, 13 French Street isn’t far behind. It remains a lusty noir classic with a femme fatale you won’t forget. Recommended. 

Buy a copy of this book HERE. 

Blood Red Sun

Stephen Mertz cut his teeth writing hard-nosed action-adventure fiction set in Don Pendleton's Mack Bolan literary universe. In the 1980s, while penning some of the very best Executioner novels, Mertz expanded the scope of his writing by elevating genre fiction into a much broader scale. That successful experiment was Blood Red Sun, a novel first published in 1989 by independent publisher Diamond Books, a company funded by The Destroyer author Warren Murphy. The book was later reprinted by Crossroad Press in 2012, and is now available in a sleek, revised new edition from Wolfpack Publishing.

Unlike many WWII military-fiction novels, Blood Red Sun is unique in its premise and timeline. The narrative takes place in September, 1945, after Japan's formal surrender to the Allied forces following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The book's protagonist is savvy Sergeant John Ballard, a thirty-five year-old fighting man who has spent the majority of the war engaged in combat in the Pacific Theater. What's left of his unit is ultimately just two men, Tex Hanklin and Wilbur Mischkie, both of which play important roles in Ballard's next assignment – preventing the assassination of U.S. General Douglas MacArthur.

In the book, Japan's surrender leads to a fragmented state of affairs for the country's military leadership. Within the ranks of the upper echelon, conspirators exist to prevent Japan's formal surrender to MacArthur. These conspirators refuse to accept defeat and feel that Japan's Emperor, Hirohito, is doing an injustice and disservice to the proud Japanese people. The schemers, all defined as opposing forces of Hirohito, are secretly building their own alliances to counter each other. It's essentially a den of snakes that also involves a proud Japanese flying Ace named Baron Tamura. The Baron's portion of the narrative involves his niece Keiko, a twenty-four year-old woman sympathetic to the Allied force initiative. Keiko also plays a prominent role as a potential love interest for Ballard. 

As a fan of Stephen Mertz's pulpy writing style, and his masterful grip on men's action-adventure writing, I was savoring the opportunity to read Blood Red Sun. Mertz draws on his prior experiences and strengths to create the story. As a fan of his M.I.A. Hunter series, I could see some similarities. 

The characters Ballard, Hanklin, and Mischkie reminded me of M.I.A. Hunter trio of Stone, Wiley, and Loughlin. Like a great M.I.A. Hunter novel, the same type of setup presents itself here when Ballard's team enters the Japanese jungle to retrieve a military leader. They rely on a small band of Filipino guerrillas to help them with the mission. This same sort of scenario was often used as Stone's team entered Asian jungles with an assist from Laos, Cambodian, or “South Vietnamese” guerrillas. Mertz even introduces ninjas into the story, an element that M.I.A. Hunter co-writer Joe Lansdale seemed to fixate on, shown in the series' fourth installment, Mountain Massacre. Additionally, the characteristics of Tex Hanklin was similar to Stone's Texan teammate Hog Wiley. 

These similarities to other Mertz creations doesn't make Blood Red Sun unoriginal or any less enjoyable. Quite the contrary. In fact, it illustrates how Mertz is cohesive and continuous, using his strengths and experiences as a genre storyteller to broaden the narrative. In fact, this is Mertz's most ambitious novel as it incorporates a lot of fine details surrounding WWII, the political landscape of Japan and the U.S. during that era, and famous, historical figures that are featured as characters in the story. Mertz takes some liberty with these characters, but left me feeling as though what he presented in terms of command, dialogue, and behavior, was probably art imitating real life.

In terms of action-adventure, Blood Red Sun has it all. The white-knuckled scenes of Ballard storming a landing strip with all guns blazin' was ripped right out of the pages of a vibrant Men's Action-Adventure Magazine. Mertz's descriptions of walls descending in bullet-hail, prison breaks, Kamikaze dives, ninja attacks and jungle warfare are balanced well with the political, backroom brawling conducted by various Japanese and American military leaders. 

Mertz's novels like Blood Red Sun are positioned on a grander international scale like The Castro Directive (Cuba) and The Korean Intercept (Asia), but still possess the men's action-adventure tropes that make the books way more enjoyable than a bestselling Tom Clancy ghostwritten tech-thriller. Mertz's literary mojo is authentic, extremely enjoyable, and saturated with human emotion that easily conveys to his readers. Blood Red Sun is a scorching red-hot read and I highly recommend it. 

Buy a copy of this book HERE.

The Fifth Grave

The legend of Jonathan Latimer’s 1941 novel The Fifth Grave is likely more famous than the book itself. Here are the facts:

In 1940, Chicago journalist and crime fiction author Jonathan Latimer (1906-1985) wrote a hardboiled novel called The Fifth Grave with lots of sex and violence. It’s about a hard-drinking private eye seeking to rescue a woman from a bizarre religious cult. Because of the era, no one cared about the boozing or considerable violence, but the sex (tame by today’s standards) made U.S. publishers nervous. As such, they declined to make the book available to American readers.

British publishers were more forward-leaning and released the novel in 1941 under the title Solomon’s Vineyard, and it became a minor literary hit. In 1950, a censored version retitled The Fifth Grave (the author’s preferred title) was released for U.S. audiences with the juicy and scandalous stuff about the narrator’s sex drive (he’s drawn to female butts) removed. When cheap paperbacks became the rage, U.K.’s Great Pan books reprinted the original version - along with other Latimer books - to the further delight of British readers. Meanwhile, the uncensored version of Solomon’s Vineyard never received a U.S. printing until 1983.

In all fairness, it’s more likely that the novel merely slipped through the cracks rather than continued censorship by shadowy puppet masters. The publishing world can, at times, have short memories and resurrecting a novel that had been a hit in England four decades earlier just wasn’t anyone’s priority. It’s fun to say that The Fifth Grave was “banned in the U.S. for 42 years,” but the truth is more benign. It wasn’t until 1983 before it occurred to a wise reprint house to release the unexpurgated original manuscript.

Several different versions of the book have been published over the years. The new edition from Black Gat Books is the definitive, uncensored version reprinted under the author’s preferred title.

The Review:

Karl Craven is The Fifth Grave’s narrator, and he’s a private detective cut from the same cloth as Dashiell Hammett’s Sam Spade or the Continental Op. Think of this generation of fictional characters as Hardboiled 1.0 before Mickey Spillane redefined the genre.

As the novel opens, Craven arrives by train into the fictional town of Paulton from his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri during the sweltering summer heat. On his way to the hotel, he notices a distant set of buildings around a temple surrounded by green fields and grapevines. He’s told that the compound belongs to a religious colony known as Solomon’s Vineyard populated by a thousand crazies awaiting the resurrection of their dead founder, an alleged prophet named Solomon.

Craven was summoned to Paulton by his business partner, Oke Johnson, who was in town working a case. When Craven arrives at Oke’s rooming house, he’s greeted by the local police advising him that his partner has been murdered. Oke was trying to recover a missing girl from the nearby religious cult, and he died without leaving behind any notes or reports. As such, Craven needs to recreate the entire investigation himself, snatch the dame, and get away safely while solving Oke’s murder in the process.

What follows is quite a journey of sex, violence, and corruption. Paulton is a town under the control of a gangster named Pug with the police serving as his toadies. There’s a possible relationship between the local mob and the cult that may provide Craven the leverage he needs to rescue the girl living at the Vineyard. The adventure finds Craven descending into a series of real binds without an obvious path to success. Also, if you like a violent fight scene, the one at the end is total aces.

I have a general bias against crime fiction of the 1940s, but The Fifth Grave is the exception. This book is awesome - even if it owes quite a bit to Dashiell Hammett’s Red Harvest. Craven is such a badass main character (he even reads Black Mask Magazine in his hotel) that I wanted to spend more time with the guy. Unfortunately, the author never developed Craven into a series character, but Latimer wrote several unrelated novels throughout his career. I look forward to exploring Latimer’s body of work more fully. The Fifth Grave is a close-to-perfect novel. Highest recommendation. 

Buy a copy of this book HERE.

The Brigade

Before the words “defund the police” became a hot media slogan, author John Shirley experimented with the idea for his hard-hitting crime-fiction novel The Brigade. Those of you unfamiliar with Shirley may remember that we have reviewed his installments of the post-apocalyptic series Traveler, written under the pseudonym D.B. Drumm, and his vigilante series The Specialist, written under the name John Cutter. The Brigade was Shirley's fifth career novel, originally published in 1981 by Avon and a year later in the UK by Sphere. It exists now in ebook format.

The sleepy fictional town of Salton, Oregon, population of 42,000, lies about 40 miles east of the scenic coast. The town's chief industry is paper milling. But, the two characteristics that make this town notable is its militant “people's police” called The Brigade and an active serial killer dubbed The Saturday Night Killer. How these two defining elements interact with each other in an ultraconservative town is the main focus of Shirley's propulsive crime novel.

The town voted to defund the police, dismantle the force, and save tax dollars by introducing a volunteer group of citizens, The Brigade. The town's former police constable and mayor lead this brigade of armed citizens, but as time goes on, the group begins a radical departure from upstanding people for the people to a militant mob that seeks a police state type of tyranny for the town. Hitchhikers are brutalized, petty thieves are executed, and citizens are required to carry “hall passes” that allow them freedom on the town's streets and sidewalks. Most of this is done discreetly, in a way that doesn't seem so oppressive on the surface. 

A young guy named Tony, a janitor, and his girlfriend Sonja, stumble upon a plot formed by The Brigade to quiet the serial murders committed by this Saturday Night Killer. The murderer, responsible for 13 savage slaughters, kills an outside reporter. To cover up the death, The Brigade throw the reporter over an embankment to disguise the fact that she was knifed by the serial killer. They don't want news agencies and outsiders to question The Brigade's efficiency to keep the town safe. But, without detectives who can stop the serial killer? Tony and Sonja realize that the killer is actually a member of The Brigade.

John Shirley's 258-page paperback is quite good, but is loose around the edges due to poor editing. Tony's side-story of finding a friend becomes too convoluted for its own good, and there are some messy plot points that are presented both in the present and the past. There is also an irrelevant side-story about a guy trapped in a well. I found myself skipping some of this, but overall the story was superb and tackled a relevantly hot topic that emerged just a few years ago. How does a small town function without police? Under Shirley's watch...not very good. 

If you love crime-fiction laced with savage deaths, graphic sex, and a unique political position, then The Brigade is a must. Recommended! 

Buy a copy of this book HERE.

Out of the Night

Author Patrick Whalen is a former Army paratrooper and social worker. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Whalen authored four classic horror paperbacks for Pocket Books - Monastery (1988), Out of the Night (1990), Night Thirst (1991), and Death Walker (1992). Thankfully, these out-of-print books were resurrected by Cemetery Dance and now exist as affordable ebooks. My first experience with the books is Out of the Night.

The book begins by introducing all of the key players that will play a prominent role in this supernatural narrative. First is Sheriff Henry Sutton, a capable hero that is a former Chicago police officer. The small town of Ravina, California placed their trust in Sutton to keep their streets safe and it is a vow that Sutton doesn't take lightly. Second is a man named Cable, who just happened to stop off in Ravina during the city's worst week ever. He's a newly divorced archaeologist on his way to meet a longtime friend and industry associate named Larchmont. Rounding out the cast of characters is the town doctor, an Air Force coroner, and several of Sutton's deputies.

So, what does Ravina have to offer this diverse group of people? Zombies. Demons. Unholy minions from Hell. Oh, and twin little people that run the town's graveyard and are responsible for bringing an ancient order of Old Gods into our universe for death and total destruction, likeStranger Things. 

Out of the Night was a mesmerizing, barbaric reading experience that left me cringing after every blood-soaked page. Whalen's writing smoothly enveloped the chapters with an addictive, plot-propulsive story that incorporated Middle Eastern mythology, small-town Americanism, the heavy burden of responsibility, and the more intimate details of love and love lost. It was a wonderful blend of various storylines, mixed with a fantastic selection of characters, that made this such a treat to read. But, it isn't for the weak. The graphic violence, gore, and stark supernatural terror required a somewhat strong stomach. But, if you enjoy other authors of Whalen's era, like Dean R. Koontz, Dan Simmons, John Saul (he’s way more tame), and Rick Hautala, then Out of the Night has to be your next read.

Buy a copy of this book HERE

Killer Blizzard

Before pursuing a career in journalism and public relations, Dan Jorgensen studied creative writing at Colorado State University, where he wrote his first book, Killer Blizzard. The novel was published by Major Books in 1976 and lives today as a Kindle Unlimited selection.

The paperback opens with a violent prison break with a pair of inmates escaping into the wintery night. It’s a good evening for an escape because police and emergency services are otherwise occupied while buckling down for the arrival of a blizzard — a Killer Blizzard, in fact!

We also meet a lovely young couple named Rollie and Jean, who live in a farmhouse. Rollie is a highway patrolman, and Jean’s job is being pregnant. As luck would have it, shortly after Rollie leaves for his Killer Blizzard patrol, the half-frozen, escaped inmates stumble into the farmhouse demanding refuge from pregnant Jean.

Meanwhile, Patrolman Rollie is dealing with a series of blizzard-related emergencies on the roads while his wife is forcibly hosting the two hoods. The paperback nicely balances the weather-disaster genre with a criminals-on-the-run noir as the chapters toggle back and forth quite well.

The author was clearly influenced by Fawcett Gold Medal paperback original novels of the 1950s and 1960s. His writing is straightforward and uncomplicated with no-frills linear plotting. There’s just enough character development to understand everyone’s motivations, but it never slows down the action.

The novel builds to an exciting climax that is quite satisfying to read, and it went in directions I wasn’t necessarily expecting. All-in-all, this was a pretty good read. Don’t spend a fortune acquiring it, but if you are seeking a vintage paperback to enjoy with your Kindle Unlimited subscription, you’re sure to enjoy Killer Blizzard. 

Buy a copy of this book HERE.

The Dark Hour

In the beginning of K.J. Young's The Dark Hour, set in the 1970s, a young guy named Mark is attempting to secure a brand new job. He finds himself interviewing for a home health aide position at a deteriorating mansion in the bad section of town. The job seems simple enough, pays well, and mostly consists of assisting the primary caregiver, a young woman named Lisa, take are of two elderly siblings named Roy and Alma. She'll clip the toenails and trim the ear hair, he can just do the easy stuff.

Like a terrifying prophetic warning, Lisa advises Mark that she feels that something isn't quite right about Roy and Alma. She claims there are weird photographs on the mansion's unused upper floors. Seconding the sentiment is a hippy sketchy neighbor that warns Mark to stay away. But, Mark slowly becomes entranced by Roy and Alma's past lives as magicians, and quickly becomes infatuated with the idea of wealth. Roy and Alma have a tremendous amount of money, own a pricey sports car, and seem to take a liking to Mark as if he is a family member.

Mark notices that Roy and Alma belong to a weird society that seems incapable of aging. When Lisa flings herself off the top of the mansion, the narrative escalates to introduce Mark's girlfriend Michelle, and her new role as Roy and Alma's friend and health aide. Is she leapfrogging Mark to capture a possible inheritance?

The Dark Hour is an average thriller that uses old-school gothic horror tropes to propel the narrative. The central mystery is easy to figure out, and Mark and Michelle's involuntary participation in their “eternal youth” is an overused literary plot that dates back centuries. But, Young's writing is enthralling enough and has a unique twist that makes the chief protagonist unlikable until the end. This concept challenges the reader's allegiance to the character and makes for an interesting presentation. Overall, if you like this sort of modern goth (like Darcy Coates), then The Dark Hour should be a pleasant experience. 

Buy a copy of this book HERE.

Black Eye

According to publisher Bold Venture Press, Tony Masero was born in London, attended art school, and trained as a graphic designer. He eventually began illustrating book covers for the major publishing houses and agencies. Masero has created artwork for Dr. Who, Edge the Loner, Indiana Jones, and countless fanzines and paperbacks. Along with illustrating, Masero also writes men's action-adventure, crime-fiction, and western novels. My first experience with his literary work is Black Eye, published by Bold Venture Press in 2020.

In first-person perspective, Phil Black explains to the reader that he does favors for people. He served in WW2's Pacific Theater, and now hangs around San Francisco reading the paper, smoking, and gazing out the window. He has an old Marine buddy that camps out at the local bar, a guy nicknamed Gunny, that can quickly get the word from the street, the city's gossip, and the ins and outs of localized crime. So, it's no surprise when a beautiful woman named Linda crosses Black's path. 

Linda's husband served with Black in the war. Now, he's gone missing, she's filed a missing persons report with the police, and she wants Black to look into it. Semper-Fi and all of that. Black agrees to the opportunity and begins his search by scouring the man's boxing history, specifically finding his corner-man. With Gunny's help, Black weaves in and out of clues and amateur gumshoe tropes to learn that the man's disappearance connects to a heist made during the war.

On Iwo Jima, some of Black's unit were involved in heisting some treasures through an undercover operation. Later, the Chinese became involved, mostly with a Syndicate attempting to recover a sacred tablet. The book's first half is a violent, pulpy romp as Black attempts to locate the tablet and its owner while combating the nefarious individuals out to stop him. Surprisingly, the book's second half is sort of a different story that places the hero and Gunny in Argentina working with the FBI. This second half is more of a prison breakout as an espionage-styled adventure. 

Masero pays homage to plenty of mid-20th century crime-noir and men's action-adventure, but mostly his entertaining story is like something exploding right out of the pages of Black Mask. By placing the story in the late 1940s/early 1950s, his emphasis on style and pulpy characteristics really stands out. The violence wasn't over-the-top, but still offered enough brutality to keep the pages flying by. 

In some ways Masero's writing style, complete with the genre tropes we all love, reminds me of author Will Murray (Doc Savage). While not necessarily original, it still compliments the genre and offers fans exactly what they want – story and style. Black Eye has it all in spades and I highly recommend it. 

Buy a copy of this book HERE.

Pulp Champagne - The Short Fiction of Lorenz Heller

Lorenz Heller (1910-1965) was an awesome crime-fiction author under a variety of different pseudonyms who was largely forgotten until Stark House Press began reprinting his novels under his actual name. The publisher has released a 13-story compilation of Heller’s short stories spanning from 1947 to 1955 from the pulps and digests.

The compilation has a smart introduction by pulp scholar Bill Kelly, who explains that Heller’s gimmick, if it can be called that, is deep and thorough characterizations nestled into the salacious, pulpy plots. His characters are well-drawn and three-dimensional rather than archetypes or stereotypes that exist solely to push a plot forward. I’ve made this point in my previous reviews of Heller’s novels, and I wanted to see if this literary trick could be sustained in the four stories I sampled from the collection.

“I’ll See You Dead”

This story originally appeared in Detective Tales from May 1947. The narrator is Al Crane, a newly-promoted police detective who is also a family man with a reputation for honesty. One night at a bar, Crane receives a tip that a local torch singer had recently been tossed in the river to die by goons working for a local mobster. As a cop with a sense of duty, Crane is compelled to act.

It’s a pretty good short story with a specific “solution” typical of a lot of pre-Manhunt 1940s crime stories still bound to the conventions of mystery fiction. Heller’s writing is solid as his narrator adopts the hardboiled voice we’ve seen elsewhere from Robert Leslie Bellem and Carroll John Daly.

This was a good story, but I want to see what Heller could do after 1950 when hardboiled crime-fiction got great.

“Forger’s Fate”

This one was from Dime Detective’s April 1951 issue, and it’s organized as a verbatim transcript of a statement provided to the District Attorney’s Office by a Florida man named Wesley Smith. He’s a salesman peddling a check-writing machine designed to thwart forgers. As part of his sales pitch, Smith practices a trick called “muscle forgery” to show how easy it is to copy another’s handwriting perfectly.

After showing off his talent in a bar, Smith is strong-armed into a situation where he is pressured to use his forgery skills to cover up a murder. This is a great story largely because Smith is such a foppish blowhard of a character. Don’t skip this one. It’s a really fun read and a surprisingly violent action story.

“Don’t Ever Forget!”

March 1953’s Detective Story Magazine brings us this gem. Our narrator is recently-retired Police Chief McMahon, who is grabbing a meal and some coffee with his replacement in their dumpy Florida backwater town. A reporter approaches McMahon wanting to do a story on the former chief, who declines the offer.

Later, McMahon learns that the reporter asking around about him isn’t a reporter at all. What’s his agenda? McMahon’s badge-less investigation is solid and the ending is satisfying in this neatly-packaged short story.

“Living Bait”

This one originally appeared in the May 1955 issue of Justice! (a decent Manhunt knockoff). It takes place on a Florida chartered fishing boat with a couple catching tarpons, a local fish. The guy is a wealthy blowhard and his girl is a real dish. The boat captain is telling the story, and his first mate is a colorful, lively character.

A fight erupts and one of the characters falls overboard - presumably dead in the choppy sea. Was it murder or is something else going on? This story was a complete delight and showcased Heller’s superior characterizations.

Paperback Warrior Assessment:

As expected, Pulp Champagne is a terrific collection by an author worth remembering. I will say that if you are looking for very hardboiled crime short stories, any of the Manhunt anthologies from Stark House are superior volumes. Fortunately, we live in a world where you can own them all, so you probably should. 

Buy a copy of this book HERE.

Duke Rhoades #01 - Finding Anne Farley (aka Ring My Love With Diamonds)

I was thumbing through some old hardcovers and stumbled on Best Detective Stories of the Year – 1978. It was edited by Edward D. Hoch and published by E.P. Dutton. The first author I flipped to was John D. MacDonald. The entry is called “Finding Anne Farley”, a novelette that first appeared in 1977 as a serial in the Chicago Sun-Times and other newspapers via the publication's Field Newspaper Syndicate. 

There are a number of interesting aspects to “Finding Anne Farley”. First, and foremost, is that this was the debut of MacDonald's short-lived insurance-investigator Duke Rhoades. The character's first name is derived from his described physical appearance as being similar to actor John Wayne. The character appeared in two additional stories, “Friend of the Family” (1978) and “Eyewitness” (1979). Second, “Finding Anne Farley” was a unique five-week concept that allowed readers to mail responses on how the story will end. The lucky winners received a monetary prize payout. Lastly, the syndicated run of the story allowed newspapers to run the story under an alternate title of “Ring My Love With Diamonds”. 

As readers are introduced to Rhoades, he has just accepted his most recent job of retrieving stolen diamonds. The owner of an Atlanta jewelry store filed an insurance claim that 32 pieces of jewelry were stolen from his store. The thief, and possible accomplices, reproduced and systematically replaced these stolen diamonds with fakes. After a lengthy criminal investigation, and repeated calls and letters, the store was paid out for the missing diamonds. The conclusion is that an employee named Anne Farley was behind the theft. She took the money and ran, seemingly disappearing into parts unknown. If Rhoades can get a lead on her whereabouts, he may be able to locate the diamonds and put the insurance company back to even.

This five-week serial amounts to about 30 hardcover pages, a suitable length for MacDonald's “search and rescue” narrative to propel through the peaks and valleys of the investigation. Rhoades is a likable hero, complete with the gumshoe characteristics and tender-heart that makes for an honest and capable protagonist. The ending was a little stereotypical of a cozy whodunit, but getting there was fun. You can read this story for free HERE.

My source for this review was Steve Scott's excellent blog The Trap of Solid Gold. He has a detailed, and more analytical look at this story and character HERE. I also snagged the accompanying artwork there as well. 

Death Ends the Scene

“Death Ends the Scene” is a 1948 Dan Turner Hollywood Detective mystery novella originally from Hollywood Detective Magazine that is available today as part of the compilation, Homicide Hunch from The Pulp Fiction Book Store.

The setup for this one is really cool. A letter is delivered to Private Eye Dan Turner containing $500 cash and some very specific instructions. The client is about to kill himself, and he wants Turner to come to the suicide scene, take the gun and stash it - creating the misimpression that the death was a murder. This will allow the client’s widow to enjoy a double-indemnity clause in the insurance policy, whereas a suicide would pay out nothing.

The scheming suicider is a famous director who had fallen out of favor with the industry and hit the skids. On his way to the bottom, the director married a gold-digging bitch who stands to benefit from his double-indemnity scam. Can Turner get to him before he offs himself? Is there money to be made here without getting sideways with an insurance company?

Turner immediately learns that this unusual client is in serious debt to a gambling racketeer named Benny the Greaseball (subtle touch, Mr. Bellem). The mystery unfolds delightfully from there with plenty of hardboiled patter and outstanding fight scenes.

These Dan Turner stories are cheap and plentiful — they are also a ton of fun to read. “Death Ends the Scene” is no exception. This novella is such a compelling joy. It’s literary candy, but you won’t regret the couple hours you spend devouring this story. 

Buy your illustrated copy of the book, which includes this story, HERE.

The Short Night

Leonard S. Zinberg (1911-1968) was best known for his work under the pseudonym Ed Lacy, but he also employed other pen names, including Russell Turner for a 1957 noir paperback called The Short Night. The novel has been reprinted by Cutting Edge Books for modern audiences.

Our narrator is a former first-baseman and current baseball scout for the Brooklyn Dodgers based in Vero Beach, Florida named Lester “Red” Dolsan. As the novel opens, he’s just arrived in Manhattan two years after the suicide of his wife. Dolsan is good with money and has a pad in NYC that he hardly ever uses because he’s always on the road - mostly in Puerto Rico recruiting promising Latino shortstops.

Before email and voicemail, people wrote letters on paper or used phone answering services to take messages — also on paper. Going through the messages and letters awaiting him in New York, Dolsan learns that a woman he knew briefly from his past named Peggy was trying desperately to reach him. The flashback of their meet-cute is pretty great, so I won’t spoil it here.

When Dolsan tries to find Peggy, she has largely disappeared. Some amateur gumshoe work starts to fill in the blanks about why she was looking for him months ago. His need to locate Peggy is serious, and the more he searches, the deeper he finds himself enmeshed in the mystery of her disappearance.

Lacy (he’ll always be Ed Lacy to me) is an awesome writer, and his dialogue is among the best of that era. Dolsan is a tough, hardboiled knight-errant with a heart of gold. You’ll really enjoy spending time with this character. In fact, all the characters are vividly-drawn and endlessly-interesting. I’m baffled why this mini-masterpiece was published by a back-bench paperback house using one of the author’s disposable pseudonyms. This book is really something special.

The novel’s central mystery (“What happened to Peggy?”) has a delightfully-clever solution that I couldn’t see coming. Dolsan’s reaction to the dilemma once he solves the mystery also made for some fine reading. Do your best to avoid plot details, and you’ll be delighted throughout this wonderful treat of a paperback. Highest recommendation. 

The Daring Daylight Raid on Germany's Mile-High Fortress

When I was a kid, a film my father seemed to always have on was The Devil's Brigade. It was originally released in 1968, but played consistently on cable television in the 1980s. The movie starred William Holden, Cliff Robertson, and Andrew Prine as rugged Canadian-American commandos ascending a “mile-high” fortress occupied by the Nazis during WW2. 

Surprisingly, I was thumbing through the December, 1960 issue of Male and stumbled on a story titled, “The Daring Daylight Raid on Germany's Mile-High Fortress”. The title connected me to the movie, and after diving into the story, I realized it was the same real-life account of “the devil's brigade”, complete with artwork by the legendary Gil Cohen (The Executioner). The author is Martin Luray, a name that I'm not familiar with.

Luray's story is more like a traditional MAM informative piece detailing the true story of Major General Robert Tryon Frederick and his leadership of the hybrid Canadian-American military force known as 1st Special Service Force. The team was comprised of 2,400 men culled from prior-military professions like loggers, forest rangers, woodsmen, game wardens, and prospectors. The recruitment for the U.S. volunteers took place in the American Southwest and on the Pacific Coast. 

At 3,000 feet high, Monte La Difensa (known as Hill 960) was a strong-point in the defensive German line strung across the high peaks of Italy. To train for the extraordinary climb and fight, the 1st Special Service Force trained in Helena, Montana, Camp Bradford, Virginia, and Forth Ethan Allen in Vermont. 

In December 1943 and January 1944, the 1st Special Service Force conducted a series of operations at Monte la Difensa, Monte la Remetanea, Monte Sammucro (Hill 720) and Monte Vischiataro. The 1st Special Service Force attacked and captured the enemy forces at the impregnable Monte la Difensa. 

This informative piece authored by Luray inserts various quotes from infantrymen and leaders, including Major General Frederick. While not a stirring, action-adventure narrative, the short story provided an education on this chapter of American-Canadian history while provoking me to read more high-adventure literature. 

A Most Contagious Game

Samuel Grafton (1907-1997) was a publishing success with his syndicated newspaper column “I'd Rather Be Right”, which ran from 1939-1948 in over 120 newspapers. The Brooklyn native grew up in Philadelphia, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, served as an editorial-page editor for the New York Post, and contributed to national magazines in the 1980s. The only fictional novel that Grafton wrote, based on my research, was A Most Contagious Game. It was published in hardcover by Doubleday in 1955, then in paperback format by Pocket Books a year later with cover art by Tom Dunn.

Dan is a newspaper reporter in Philadelphia when he is offered the assignment of a lifetime. His editor offers him $5,000 in cash to relocate to New York City and submerge himself into the underworld. His undercover role will produce provocative, sensational news stories that readers desire. Dan breaks up with his girlfriend and moves to the Big Apple.

On a train, Dan meets up with a low-level theologian that offers up some valuable insight on life, plus a room at a seedy motel where Dan can gain firsthand experience with crime. Unfortunately, Dan gets robbed of his $5,000 and is left fending for survival as a homeless, inexperienced wreck on the city streets. He ends up meeting a prostitute, which leads to a promising world of sex and various small-time criminal activities. Eventually, Dan meets the pimp and gets into a bigger racket of collecting bets and the various moving and shaking of crooks circumventing backroom craps games. Dan's journey into criminality leads to a face-to-face showdown with the two guys that robbed him.

A Most Contagious Game is just an average crime-noir novel that uses the theme of rags to riches to explore the rise from upstanding citizen to notorious crime-boss. Grafton offers up some brilliant social commentary on human struggles and the idea of God and religion. I thought these were the real highlights of the book, with the crime-fiction element playing second fiddle. If you want a better, more thrilling crime-noir novel centered around craps games and illegal gambling, try Clark Howard's masterpiece The Arm. But, a lukewarm recommendation still exists for A Most Contagious Game. 

Buy a copy of this book HERE.

Night Time Is Murder Time

The November, 1945 issue of New Detective Magazine featured short stories by David Crewe, Cyril Plunkett, Rex Whitechurch, and Ken Lewis among others. The story that I immediately flipped to was the lead novelette story, “Night Time is Murder Time”, a “man on the run” tale penned by legendary crime-fiction author Bruno Fischer.

Ray was medically discharged from the military after harrowing combat in WW2. After his recovery, he returns to his small hometown and moves in with his father. One night, Ray receives a call from a guy warning him that a female friend is in danger. Ray drives his father's car onto a rural route and gets halfway to his destination when the fuses in the car blow, pitching him and the vehicle into darkness. When he strikes a match, Ray discovers a dead body in the backseat.

Behaving in the most irrational method, Ray fails to warn the police (or his father who happens to be a judge). Like most of these mid-20^th century crime-noir stories, Ray disposes of the body and car. He then makes a run for it to clear his name and find the real killer that set him up as the fall guy. The story weaves in and out of Ray's quest for justice while foiling the police. There's a few suspects thrown in to keep the reader guessing, and a nice touching side-story with Ray confiding in his father.

Bruno Fischer isn't capable of writing a bad story, and while this is certainly an overused plot-device, the author still packs a punch with a straight-laced whodunit. For a brisk 20-minute read, “Night Time is Murder Time” is recommended.

Beneath Cruel Waters

Horror and crime-fiction author Jon Bassoff continues to impress me with his literary work. As a modern writer, he is certainly in the top echelons for innovative, moving storytelling that captures the dark and dreary landscape of rural America. His books produce a poverty-ridden moodiness that reminds me of Joe R. Lansdale or Elmore Leonard, but with the hazy overtones of bleak horror. His newest novel, at the time of this writing, is Beneath Cruel Waters. It was published by Blackstone in 2022 and exists in audio, digital, and physical formats.

The book is presented in rotating timelines that incorporate present day events with those in the past. In the present, Holt Davidson has returned to his small Colorado hometown after discovering his mother took her own life. After rummaging through his mother's belongings, he finds a bizarre photo of a dead man. Why did his mother have this photo? What is the significance?

In the past, the author presents Davidson's childhood, mostly focusing on his mother's life. She is a single mom struggling to make ends meet. After meeting a former felon, she begins a dating routine that escalates into a frightful fatal-attraction scenario. Davidson's uncle arrives and begins to strike up a reunion with the family, catering to Davidson's sister. These past events, as trivial as they may seem, have a large impact on what Davidson is experiencing in present day.

As Davidson journeys into the past, attempting to make sense of his fuzzy memories, he learns a great deal about his tumultuous childhood, his mother's suicide, and horrifying events that forced his sister into a mental hospital. All of these events circumvent the dead man photo, a mysterious love letter, a gun, and an illegal abortionist. How they all tie into each other is the mystery, thrill, and entertainment of Bassoff's riveting novel.

Beneath Cruel Waters was nothing short of amazing. The characters, the plot development, the core mystery, and the presentation was masterfully woven to create the ultimate page-turner. As an intimate glimpse into the lives of small-town America, no one can do it any better than Jon Bassoff. If you love gripping novels that demand to be devoured in one sitting, look no further than Beneath Cruel Waters. Highest recommendation. 

Buy a copy of this book HERE.

Heller #01 - The Oil Rig

Author Frank Roderus (1942-2016) was a newspaper writer and author that penned over 300 novels, most of which were westerns. He earned two prestigious Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America and also earned a Colorado Press Association award for best news story. In 1984, Roderus began writing a crime-fiction series starring Colorado rancher Carl Heller. There were seven installments in the series, all published by Bantam. In a 2013 interview with Tom Rizzo, Roderus explained that writing westerns allowed him tax advantages on his horses. By having Heller ride a motorcycle, Roderus was also able to gain a tax advantage on his own motorcycles. Brilliant idea.

Carl Heller was fortunate enough to inherit several thousand mountain acres in the high-country from his great grandfather. Instead of running a beef operation on steroids, antibiotics, and modern efficiencies, Heller uses the old-fashioned method of allowing the herd to run free, culling them once a year. He's not wealthy, and admits to barely keeping up the tax payments on the enormous property, but he manages an average lifestyle. He's a law-school dropout that is described as a playboy that enjoys riding the mountains on his horse, Kawasaki motorcycle, or race-car styled BMW. He has a lukewarm relationship with a local gal in town, a school teacher named Donna. He's in excellent shape, works out each day, and serves as a paperback version of the modern cowboy. That's the origin tale of Carl Heller.

While riding the rapids with a group of friends, Heller learns that a small group of farmers have been hoodwinked by big city shysters. The proposal by Mineral Consortium is that gold has been discovered in ecological surveys on the farmers' land. If the farmers will agree to allow Mineral Consortium to lease property, they will provide the farmers an excellent 30% royalty for all “metals” retrieved. When Heller becomes involved, he discovers that the contracts excluded minerals. The Mineral Consortium used this loophole to establish oil rigs on these leases to pull millions of gallons of oil royalty free. Their defense to the one-sided contract is that gold does exist on the property, but it's nothing more than the small grains found in seawater. They are happy to provide 30% for this small amount of gold retrieval.

Heller explains that there is a distinct difference between law and justice. To establish the character's validity, Heller confesses to Donna that he tracked down and killed a rapist that escaped a court of law. The reader gets the idea that maybe Heller has performed this sort of vigilantism more than once. Like Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder, Heller explains that he does favors for people. So, Heller's motivation is peaked when he discusses the dilemma facing the farmers. Additionally, there is an incentive of a monetary percentage payout if the leases produce money for the farmers instead of the Mineral Consortium. 

The book's first half was a real slow burn as Heller discusses legal avenues to explore. Included is a swindle Heller concocts to lead the Mineral Consortium into believing real gold does exist. To perform the trick, Heller establishes an identity of working for a mining company to construct a large mill. The evidence is convincing enough that the company wants to renegotiate the deal with the farmers. All of this consumes the book's first half, which in itself would be an average story. However, the second half makes all of the difference.

In the second half, Roderus fuels the fire with an action-packed, suspenseful narrative with Heller facing the bad guys around an oil rig at night. This was just an incredible page-turner as Heller was forced to rely on his wits to outsmart the armed gunmen. It's a violent smash-up that includes everything I love about 1970s and 1980s men's action-adventure novels. This closing second-half was well worth the price of admission.

Frank Roderus is a unique author that uses traditional western storytelling to plot modern crime-fiction. Often, he writes like a tough guy cowboy, so much that the wording is odd. For example, something like 3AM is pronounced “three ayem”. Heller's moral compass, good-guy characteristics, and the ability to be a strong, reliable protagonist kicks off the series in a promising way. This is the meat and potatoes of Roderus storytelling and The Oil Rig is recommended if you like that sort of thing. I do, so I'll be reading more. 

You can buy a copy of this book HERE.

The Mark of Satan's Claw

Fred Ottenheimer was a writer and artist employed by various humor cartoons and strips in the mid-20th century. Along with working for Charlton Comics and Magazine Enterprises, Ottenheimer's most notable work was in the pages of Warren Publishing in the 1970s. Often listed as Fred Ott, he wrote for Vampirella, Creepy, and Eerie. My first experience with the writer is his story “The Mark of Satan's Claw”, which was the lead in Creepy's January 1972 issue. The story is beautifully illustrated by Spanish artist Jaime Brocal Remohi. 

In the story's opener, a journalist named Jonathan Howard has just arrived to the foggy village of Llangwell, Scotland. After meeting with a local innkeeper, Howard accepts a room while explaining to readers the reason for his arrival in this sleepy town. Howard is a true-crime writer and wants to delve into the recent string of child murders in Llangwell. The innkeeper warns Howard to stray from the town's business and attempts to convince him that there are no murders.

Howard meets with Llangwell's Chief Constable and learns more about the murdered children. The lawman explains that the murders have been taking place for years under the direction of a local cult of Satan worshipers. He then shows Howard the cult's symbol, which has been burned into his own chest. He explains he escaped the cult and volunteers to take Howard out to the moors to show him where the dead children turn up.

In a memorable panel, the police find a dead boy on the swampy rocks. Howard becomes shocked by the reality of dead children. But, a whisper from the darkness invites Howard back to a rural cottage where a man explains more about the history of the Satanic cult and provides instructions on a secret book that may hold more answers.

The combination of Remohi's gloomy pencils and Ott's dour narrative was enthralling. This is a rare monster story that blends a child serial-killer element with a fantasy outline. I was surprised with the story's twist and found the ending suitable, but not altogether satisfying. “The Mark of Satan's Claw” was just scary enough to be recommended, but the time-frame and artistic style – both in the writing and presentation – is truly the main star. I enjoyed it, and you can read it for free below:

One by One

Freida McFadden is a New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher's Weekly bestselling author of psychological suspense thrillers. With curious titles like Want to Know a Secret?, Do You Remember?, Do Not Disturb, and The Housemaid's Secret, it was just a matter of time before one of her novels showed up in my library app. My first McFadden novel is One by One, originally published in 2020. It's not to be confused with Ruth Ware's 2020 book of the same name. There's apparently more than one One by One.

The book is presented mostly in the present tense by main character Claire, but there are intervals written in third-person from someone simply titled “Anonymous” recapping their own childhood. This was a pleasant distraction from the rather one-dimensional locale of lush forest and dense trees. These accounts from Claire and “Anonymous” were destined to collide by the book's end, but the mystery is how the two characters are related and the inevitable word journey.

Claire (teacher) and her husband Noah (physicist) are in the slumber of a failing marriage, so the two decide to embark on a short vacation to a cozy inn nestled in the northern Colorado wilderness. They are accompanied by Claire's best friend Lindsey (can't remember!) and her new boyfriend Warner (surgeon), as well as Noah's best friend Jack (handyman) and his wife Michelle (attorney). It's a diverse group made up of various professions that may or may not play a hand in the book's plot.

Like most outings in the forest, car trouble and lack of cell phone coverage invite murder and mayhem. As Jack attempts to lead the group through the forest, hoping to find the inn, they immediately become lost, cold, and hungry with water diminishing. The first member of the group dies from poisoning, then another from an apparent animal attack. One disappears completely. Three members are left when they locate a small cabin full of supplies. But, the cabin's owner is dead. What in the actual Hell is happening here?

I've watched plenty of VHS horror, and read my fair share of Paperbacks from Hell, so the premise of One by One wasn't that original. Thankfully, McFadden focuses on character development to build her plot and enhance the story. She has a unique way of telling a great story through dialogue and character interaction. It isn't what's on page, but what's hidden from the reader that is so important. McFadden doesn't provide enough clues to really hone in on the murderer, but she kept me guessing until the very end.

If you enjoy the “weeding out the weak” survival novels, or just a “who's the murderer within our ranks” story, then One by One is an easy recommendation. I devoured it in one sitting and not only discovered a great book, but a fantastic author. At the time of this writing, I'm on the waiting list for her newest novel, Ward D, which promises more mystery, murder, and...terrible cell phone service.

Buy a copy of this book HERE.