Dead Men Run by Gregg Taylor - Book Report #221

I have been listening to the Black Jack Justice Podcast for at least ten years and I can't get enough of the adventures of Jack and Trixie.  They are such a great team.  The stories are all self-contained and performed to perfection.

That's why I get a thrill whenever I hear:

Once again, Decoder Ring Theatre presents another page from the casebook of that master of mystery, that sultan of sleuthing, Martin Bracknell’s immortal detective: Black Jack Justice ...

I always know that I will be in good hands and that the dialog will crackle.  Gregg Taylor should be a big, big star.  He should be publishing books and be rolling in a big pile of cash because of it.  This blog is my little way of helping him to live that life.

The novel is structured much like the podcasts, with Jack and Trix taking turns at the narration of the story.  Here Jack is suspected of killing a cop and, instead of explaining the circumstances to the police, runs and hides.  Only a guilty man would run.

But Trixie does not believe it.  Both of them work the case on their own, which brings me to the only complaint I have of the book.  Black Jack and Trixie Dixon are a team; the stories work best when they are together.  Some of that great banter was missing and how they help each other to work a case was also gone.

It was still a very entertaining installment in the cannon.  But now that the podcast is suspended, each book becomes much more important as it just might be the last time I get to spend time Jack and Trix.

Taylor is just as talented a novelist as he is a script writer.  He has those voices so well memorized that reading the book is just like listening to a podcast.

To me the Black Jack Justice series is the pinnacle of what old-time detective fiction should be.  I can't get enough of this.

Absolutely recommended.  Help Gregg Taylor and buy the most expensive version of this book.  Make sure he gets as much money as possible so that he can be convinced to continue writing.

Decoder Ring Theatre - https://decoderringtheatre.com/shows/

Gregg Taylor

Book Report #89 - The First Quarry by Max Allan Collins

Book 13 of 52

Page count - 204

Another paperback from Hard Case Crime.

This story was set in December 1970 when Quarry was in his 20's.

Compared to the previous novel this one was a bit more graphic; more sex and more killing.  The dark humor and unique narration style were still there making this book another fantastic read.

This is Quarry's origin story, how he got his start in the killing business.  What seemed like a simple enough job; kill a college professor and burn his manuscript, turned into a comedy of unexpected people walking into the scene and messing up Quarry's plans.

Through all of this Quarry still wants to do right by the people who've wandered into his life.

I loved this story.  I was flipping pages with a smile on my face wondering how he was going to untangle himself from all the complications.

Highly recommended.

Collins' website is HERE.

Book Report #60 - Black Jack Justice by Gregg Taylor

Oh, yea, baby! This is what I'm constantly looking for - vintage detective stories with well realized characters, snappy dialog, sassy dames, fedoras and heavy cars with fenders.

Gegg Taylor has been producing the Black Jack Justice podcasts for years and they have always, always been my very favorite audio drama on the internet.  Now Taylor treats us to the origin story of just how Jack Justice and Trixi Dixon - Girl Detective came to form their partnership.

The story starts off as a get-evidence-for-a-divorce case that quickly brings Trixi and Jack together as they uncover corruption in city hall.

This was just a great book and I can't wait for the next one, which Taylor has announced that he will be writing very soon.

Yay!

Book Report #36 - Branded Woman by Wade Miller

Branded Woman

by

Wade Miller

This is one of my many Hard Case Crime books that I've been collecting for years.  I only dip into them once in a while.  They are such at treat to read that I don't want to rush through them.

This story really showed its age.  There was some pretty stilted dialog and some rather narrow minded views of women.

This is a story of revenge, Cay Morgan is on her way to Mazatlan to kill a man.  She's a thief who got in the way of a rival know as The Trader.  He kidnapped her and branded her forehead with the letter 'T' as a warning to stay out of his business.  For five years she's been trying to track him down.

The story started off pretty nicely, exotic locale, independent, strong female character and sinister people around every corner.  Unfortunately the whole story unraveled at exactly page 152 where she instantly turns into a dish rag and wants to give everything up simply because she's finally found - A MAN!

What?!

No Way!

Boo!

Up to this very moment she'd been smarter and tougher than anybody she'd come across but one roll in the hay and she loses every ounce of credibility!  It took me so completely out of the book that I couldn't enjoy the last 50 pages.  The book had a very satisfying ending but it just didn't matter because I lost all respect for Cay.

To be fair; this was written in 1952 so the stereotypes are not be much of a surprise; it's just that the scene on page 152 went completely against her character that it just blew it for me.

So, okay, here it is (I just have to share this) the last few paragraphs of chapter 21.

SPOILER ALERT!  If you still want to read the book (and you should, it's good) but don't want to know what I'm talking about, do not read beyond this point.

"Look at me," he commanded. She looked at him, and his face was a frightening sinewy mask.  "You've got something else now. Me.  I'm yours and you're mine.  I've taken you over and I've taken over your debts.  I'm not asking you to give up anything.  But from now on, I pay the bills for both of us."

"No, Walt!  Afterward, I can come to you,belong to you truly --"

His hand went out to the table, picked up his long-barreled revolver that lay there.  "This belongs to me.  So do you.  I'll handle you both."  He put the gun back and pulled her slowly to his chest, showing her his brutal strength.  "Do you believe me?"

She felt his mouth master her, felt her resolve melting into his reservoir of male power.  She cried desperately, "I want to believe you!  Oh, how much I want to believe you!".


"I'll show you."  He released her and went to the lanterns on the wall.  His eyes locked with hers, he said, "Now we can put out the lights, like normal people, for normal reasons."  She held out her arms to the darkness, and he found her.

"Beautiful," he said, "Any time -- in the light or in the dark -- you're the most beautiful woman in the world.  And you're mine."


"Yes," she said, "Yes, my darling."

I've needed you always, her trembling form implored him, and even as she clasped him to her she thought joyously, I belong to somebody, at last I belong to somebody!


[wow]

Book Report #30 - Heroes Often Fail

Heroes Often Fail

by

Frank Zafiro

Wow!  

What a difference a second book makes.  

This guy Zafiro, gave us a pretty standard police procedural with his first book Under A Raging Moon.  Heroes Often Fail picks up about six months to a year after the events of the first novel.  Many of the same characters are back with the introduction of some new ones.  

The stakes are higher in this story; the kidnapping of a little girl, right off the street, in broad daylight!  Every parent's nightmare.

I thought I was going to get pretty much the same kind of story as the first novel; a standard and safe account of the men in blue of the River City Police Department.  With this second showing Zafiro shows us that he's not afraid to take us in a darker direction.  I got the feeling that this was his intention all along; get us hooked and then show us just how ugly the world can be.

This is by no means a splatter book, full of senseless violence or depravity (Like the cesspool Patterson plays in.) No, it is suspense in pure form; there are only two criminal acts in the primary plot line and Zafiro never exploits either of these crimes.  They are shocking because they happened but he does not go into any detail at all leaving the reader to his imagination.  Which feels like a nod, from the author to the reader, that he expects you to figure it out yourself.  It's almost as if he won't sink to the level of his antagonists; he's just telling the story to an intelligent person.  

I liked this book a lot.  It was entertaining, with quick chapters that move the story along like a TV show.  It never slowed down in the middle third, like a lot of books do.  What struck me the most was the growth of the author himself.  He could have played it safe and had the story turn out like a TV show, but this is literature, you can get away with so much more; you're not trying to please the advertisers, the book has already been paid for so you can tell the story any way you think is best.  Zafiro took a turn into Noir and Hard Boiled fiction, something I am grateful for.

This is an excellent series so far and I'm looking forward to the third book Beneath A Weeping Sky.