Book Report #81 - Fifty-Two Pickup by Elmore Leonard

Book 5 of 52

Page count - 239

After the adventures of Max Fisher from Ken Bruen and Jason Starr, I just had to pick up a classic Elmore Leonard.

Published in 1974 it still stood fresh and believable 40 years later.  What I love best about Leonard's writing is how delves into the world of the criminals, something I find fascinating. 

Harry Mitchell, owner of a Detroit auto parts manufacturing business, is targeted for some classic blackmail.  His affair with a younger woman was filmed and shown to him along with their demands for money.  But the bad guys have targeted a man who decides to fight back.  Harry knows that if he pays, the bad guys will not just go away.

The book was a fun read.  One of the things I like about reading older books is how they can be a snapshot of the past.  Technology is a fun one; it's easy to forget how important payphones were or how different life was without the Internet.  In the opening scene Harry is shown the movie from a portable screen and home projector.

I was a few chapters in when my wife mentioned the line at the bottom of the cover: "Soon to be a Major Movie!"  An INDb search brought up the 1986 production starring Roy Scheider and Ann-Margret.  I'll have to track it down and watch it.

If anyone is interested in the vintage paperback book itself, leave a comment and I'll contact you for a mailing address.

Elmore Leonard

Book Report #59 - The Spider Strikes by R.T.M Scott

The "original" Radio Archives cover.

Arguably the Number Three character of the pulp era, after The Shadow and Doc Savage.

Richard Wentworth is a rich New York bachelor who, with the help of his trusted servant, Ram Singh and his girlfriend Nita Van Sloan, fights crime with deadly consequences.  He's suspected by the police of being The Spider which adds a fun increase to the suspense of the stories.  Not only are you wondering how he's going to defeate the bad guys but also how he's going to avoid capture by the authorities.

Set in present day 1933, the story kicks off with Wentworth confronting a notorious con man on board a transatlantic ocean liner. The rest of the story is set in Manhattan where you can hear the jazz, see the potted ferns and taste the champagne of a man who has continued to thrive, even in the depts of the Great Depression.

The first two novels were written by Scott before being taken over by Norvell W. Page who then took the character to dizzying places.  I'm looking forward to these supercharged stories.  This first novel of the series was very much a battle of wits from two highly intelligent foes and relies a lot on deception by the use of disguises.

My favourite part of the story was when our two advisaries meet face to face and have a civil discussion on how they will defeate each other.

The story was wonderful.  It was sophisticated, quick-paced, violent and filled with believable characters.  It was definitely worth the 10 cents charged at the time and the $3.00 I paid for the paperback reprint, published in 1969, that I bought from a used bookstore.

My paperback copy

Partway through the book I spent another $3.00 to get the ebook version from a company called Radio Archives.  This version was fantastic; not only did I get the original novel and the original cover art but there was an historical essay about the the Spider stories and the pulp era.  Plus, and this was the real hook for me, the two backup short stories that were published in the original magazine.  This is the kind of stuff that can really add to the experience of reading vintage fiction and is a way of preserving stories that would be lost otherwise.

These guys are doing a fantastic job!  Look for Radio Archives HERE to browse all the titles.

Now for the short story reviews:

Baited Death by Leslie C. White: Holy cow! This was a serious bit of hard, hard boiled storytelling. A cop is killed and his partner takes justice into his own hands to avenge his death. This story alone was worth the purchase price.

Murder Undercover by Norvell Page: Another story about Revenge. Set in Washington, DC, the nephew of an Italian ambassador uncovers the truth behind his uncle's death.

Ford 8

Book Report #57 - 'Til Death by Ed McBain

First published in 1959 this is the 9th book in the 87th Precinct series.

It was a little bit different for a police procedural in that the scene of the crime was an ongoing wedding reception.  Some points in the book did not stand the test of time too well; there were some glaring things that happened that would be unthinkable today.

A murder takes place in a secluded part of the Carella property, while the outdoor wedding reception for his sister and brother-in-law is going on.  In an effort not to ruin the party Detective Carella convinces the local police to process the scene from the neighbors yard, out of sight of the festivities.  Really?  I'm not convinced he'd be able to pull that off, even in 1959.

The brother-in-law is the target of some nasty death threats and Steve Carella convinces two of his colleagues to help provide security for the groom. Suspicion falls to an ex-platoon-mate from the Korean War who blames Tommy Giordano (that's the groom, soon to be brother-in-law) for the death of another platoon member.

But there is more to it than that; somebody else wants Giordano dead and is trying to make it happen at the same time.

There is an unsatisfying dangling plot element, either I missed the connection or it was left unresolved on purpose, but there is a rather stunning blonde accomplice in the story who's motivation is never explained.

The book was okay, certainly not one I'd read again, but it did have good dialog, humor and the story moved along nicely.  I'd have to say that missing this book would do you no harm, unless you are on a mission to read them all.  It's 211 pages, that's the Perma Book 35 cent edition, and won't hurt you to read it.

It is important if you want to read about Steve Carella's important life event.  Okay, I'll tell you; his wife, Teddy, gives birth to their twins!

Book Report #54 - Too Friendly, Too Dead by Brett Halliday

This is part of the Mike Shayne series of books.

I was lucky enough to have an original Dell copy of the book, with a 45 cent cover price.

I love these vintage books; it was a straight-ahead hard boiled PI story about the unlikely murder of a friendly insurance broker. Published in 1963 part of the enjoyment comes from the settings of the times, the attitudes and comparison to today.

I'm always surprised by how much drinking goes on, lots of it before lunch. One particular aspect of life in the early Sixties was air travel; hopping a flight then was as easy as hailing a taxi.

One of my favourite quotes from the book comes near the end when Shayne is bouncing ideas off his reporter friend.

"But, Mike. Why in hell would she want to take out a big policy on her new husband? She's the one with the money. Millions of it."

"Who knows why a woman does anything? Maybe she figures he's worth that to her. Sort of coppering her bet."

There was also a fair bit of womanly fainting in the story. These things you don't see much anymore in popular entertainment.

It was a fun, quick read. I polished it off in two sittings.

You can find out more about the series at The Thrilling Detective website - HERE

The Bearded Lady by Ross MacDonald

This novelette was first published in 1948 and was a fine, plot twist infused story with a missing friend of Lew's, a missing painting and a missing sketch of a bearded woman.

My God, everybody in the story had a part to play in the deaths!  It was fun and cleanly written.

Ross MacDonald

Death by Water by Ross MacDonald

Originally written in 1945 this story did not see print until 2001 in the three-story anthology, edited by Tom Nolan, in the book Strangers in Town.

The story was about a nice old millionaire living in a hotel with his wheel chair bound wife.  He befriends many people in the bar and is thrown out of the pool when he and his newly met friends go for a midnight swim.  The next morning his is found, dead, at the bottom of the pool.

Lew Archer investigates, on behalf of the hotel, to confirm that it was an accident and not something more.  Since there is a sizable inheritance involved it's important to discover the truth.

I liked it, it was a straight-ahead whodunit. Lew Archer starts to show his character here.

Information on Ross MacDonald can be found HERE.

Find the Woman by Ross MacDonald

For a first effort and for its time, the story was pretty good; although the murder itself was a bit far-fetched.

Other than an unlikely MO the characters were well written and the story had any easy flow.  Lew Archer himself did not stand out much in this one.
 

This is the first Lew Archer story that was published in the June 1946 issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine under his real name, Kenneth Millar.

Information on Ross MacDonald can be found HERE.