Away

I have to attend to a personal matter and will be away from my blog for 2-3 weeks. I'll be back posting in the near future.

A.W.

Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler

Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler
Pocket Book 212, Copyright 1940

"I like smooth shiny girls, hardboiled and loaded with sin."

My favorite Raymond Chandler novel. And of course there is more here than Philip Marlowe trying to get a lead on where Moose Malloy is hiding out and finding what became of little Velma. I've probably read "Farewell, My Lovely" more times than any other novel. And whenever I pick it up, I discover something in it that amazes me. This time it was Marlowe's interaction with the two main cops in the story. Detective Lieutenant Nulty is a sloppy, lazy, almost unhealthy homicide cop. He doesn't even leave his office in the 77th Street Division and depends on others to provide leads and services for him. Marlowe willingly helps him out, knowing he can use Nulty's name to benefit his investigation whenever an "official" question needs to be asked. For Marlowe, throwing Nulty a bone can do him some good, in the future he may need to cash in a little credit with the Hollywood Police Department.

Randall is the Los Angeles homicide cop assigned to the Lindsay Marriott murder. A professional all the way, he suspects Marlowe is withholding from him and he warns Marlowe to stay out of it. Later, Marlowe sort of goes through the back door looking into the Marriott murder as he discovers there was a connection between Marriott and the drunken Florian hag. The next time Marlowe and Randall meet, their relationship turns more respectful and the exchange of information is mutual. Of course, Marlowe has to first go through taking his "treatment" at Dr. Sonderborg's residence. The last chapter really captures Randall showing a high regard for Marlowe, as they meet and he tells of Velma's final fate.

Chandler also has Marlowe battling his share of corrupt cops. There are the two Bay City ones who sap him and take him to Dr. Sonderberg. And the Bay City police chief is in politically with the racketeer Brunette. But then there is the ex-cop Red Norgaard who takes a great risk to ferry Marlowe to the gambling ship Montecito. He is so mysterious and likable, that Marlowe sees a bit of himself in Red. Chandler must of liked the character also because in the end he gets his job back on the police force.

Good ones or bad ones, when it came to a P.I.'s interaction with cops, no one wrote them better than Raymond Chandler. It's just another magnet the draws you into a Philip Marlowe novel.

"After a little while I felt a little better, but very little. I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun. I put them on and went out of the room."

Raymond Chandler's novels are not just enjoyable to read, they are a privilege to read.

The Four-Chambered Villain by Gary Madderom

The Four-Chambered Villain by Gary Madderom
Curtis Books 07310, Copyright 1971

"The Four-Chambered Villain" is a chilling novel about a cold-blooded assassin. The sophisticated killer is called David Ekberg and he hires out his special talent throughout the international stage. In New York he is contacted by a representative from the Albanian UN delegation, who wants him to brutally eliminate four UN representatives. The Albanian plan is to force the UN to relocate to an African nation. And by showing that New York can't provide a safe haven for them, the UN Secretary General will easily agree to the move.

We follow Ekberg as he plans each assassination, the next one being more horrific than the last. Package bomb explosions, mutilations with a boning knife, and face to face strangulations that include splitting a man's skull open with a hammer -when Ekberg is hired to make these murders appear sick and vicious, he delivers. With the UN and NYC in a panic, his last target is the UN Secretary General and this one takes special planning.

This thriller moves fast and you're not disappointed in any of its 158 pages. In fact, this is one novel that you'll wish was longer, I didn't want it to end. The author amazing describes what makes Ekberg tick and shows that he is more than a glorified hitman. And as a reader you are almost pulling for Eckberg to successfully complete his hits, even if he is in the trade of killing innocent people. Also the eerie, cold, city atmosphere breathes a dark edge to the story. Quite an impressive little novel, that packs a hell of a punch.

Only minor flaw I had with "The Four-Chambered Villain" was near the end and that involved an operation in the hospital. But being that the novel was written in 1971, that scene may not have been that much of a stretch as I had thought. As for the author Gary Madderom, he wrote a couple of more novels, one that I know of is "The Jewels That Got Away." If I ever come across another novel by Madderom, I'll grab it.

"Ekberg calmly continued straggling her. A terrible retching sound somehow traveled up through her stocking-compressed neck and between her lips. Her body relaxed. She rode with death. Her sphincter let go and an instant later her bladder. Eckberg began to breathe through his mouth. He held on a couple of minutes longer and then let go"

Dame in Danger by Thomas B. Dewey

Dame in Danger by Thomas B. Dewey
Signet 1538, Copyright 1947

From 1947 until 1970, Thomas Dewey wrote 16 crime novels featuring the Chicago P.I. simply called Mac. Mac honed his detective skills working for the Chicago PD, until he got fired for shooting his mouth off to the commissioner. Since being a cop was all he knew, he got his private license with help from Lt. Donovan. Donovan is a hard veteran Homicide cop and he took Mac under his wing when Mac was on the force. The two remain close friends and throughout the novels they help one another during Mac's cases. "Dame in Danger" is Signet's seconding printing of Mac's first case. The original hardcover title is "Draw the Curtain Close" and in 1949 the first paperback (Signet 736) was printed with the original title. But I've always preferred this second paperback edition because of the sultry Robert Maguire cover.

They had just leaned over to pick up the corpse of Herman Losche when Donovan and I walked in. He looked even skinner and more moth-eaten dead than he had alive. There was a funny little twist to his lips, as if he'd been trying to figure out which was the bigger sucker, he or his murderer. I guessed it would probably come out even in the end.

The novel opens with Chicago's leading racketeer hiring Mac to keep an eye on his younger wife who may be in danger. Murders start quick in this one, as the racketeers bodyguard is killed delivering a package to Mac and then the cops find the racketeer himself murdered at his estate. The schooled puritan wife, Cynthia Warfield, becomes the prime suspect. Being a compassionate man, Mac believes she had nothing to do with the murder and hides her while he looks into things. A valuable family Bible and a stolen gem are at play here, and along for the ride are some ruthless tough guys and a redheaded bitch. The story gets complex as more murders mount up and a restrained sensual relationship develops between Cynthia and our P.I. As Mac battles through this one, he gets busted up a lot. Early on the hoods smack his face but good and he takes some serious slugs on the noggin all through the story. But he protects Cynthia, and has enough brain matter left to figure out why these murders are happening. And there is a pretty neat ending that takes place on the estate grounds, that is full of action.

I haven't found a Mac novel that I didn't enjoy. You'll find the early Mac stories more hardboiled than later ones. Authors were laying it down heavy on gunplay and rough stuff, during the time "Draw the Curtain Close" was written. Not long after, Thomas Dewey toned it down a bit and developed Mac into a formidable fictional character. The Mac character grew as the novels rolled on. He showed more sympathy and felt even pity for other characters, (good and bad) and with Mac being a more profound character the stories have more depth in the later novels. One of my favorites will always be "You've Got Him Cold." (1958) In the novel, we see Mac confronting his flaws, which causes some conflicts in how he interacts with others. Along with "The Mean Streets," (1954) it may be one of Dewey's most compelling mystery dramas. But don't overlook how the Chicago P.I. got started, his debut appearance is a damn good hard-knuckle detective story.

Thomas Dewey was a talented author who wrote many quality crime novels. But I lean to the Mac P.I. series, it contains his best work.

1st paperback edition of "Draw the Curtain Close"
Signet 736 (1949)

Goldfish by Raymond Chandler

Goldfish by Raymond Chandler
Short Story in "Trouble is My Business"
Pocket Book 2823

"Goldfish" is one of of my favorite Chandler short stories. Originally published in Black Mask in 1936, it featured a P.I. named Carmady. Almost all of Raymond Chandler's short stories were written before he created Marlowe, but these early P.I. characters are essentially the same L.A. dick -Philip Marlowe. You'll likely find Philip Marlowe as the P.I. (not Carmady) in most collections containing this story. That is the case in the four stories in this edition of "Trouble is My Business." (1957)

"I wasn't doing any work that day, just catching up on my foot-dangling." (opening line in "Goldfish")

In "Goldfish," Marlowe gets a tip on the location of the "Leander pearls." A guy by the name of Wally Sype heisted the gems 19 years earlier and he did his time without telling anyone where he stashed them. Sype was paroled and his location is unknown. The insurance company still has a $25,000 reward out on the pearls, so Marlowe looks into it. He finds Sype's old Leavenworth cellmate dead, after being tortured with a hot iron. And then Marlowe ends up meeting the two who performed the sadistic act. One is a shyster lawyer, but the one to watch out for is the cold-blood dame that goes by the name of Carol Donovan. They are also on the trail of the pearls, and after slapping their guns and giving Marlowe a "mickey," the two set out thinking they have the upper hand. But Marlowe unknowingly has the key and that is the word "goldfish."

Creative as hell, with all the wonderful Chandler descriptive elements in it. Murder, complex characters, sarcastic tough guy spilling out memorable dialogue, and a fine ending with Sype's wife trying to pull a fast one on the famous detective. A bonus is you get to meet the heartless Carol Donovan, a memorable character in the story. Hey, you can only keep reading Chandler's brilliant novels for so long. Hit the short stories once in a while, you will be rewarded.

"Red Wind" is also in this paperback. Besides having that marvelously written opening paragraph, (one of the best in any mystery short story) - the ending with Marlowe at the edge of the ocean is one of Chandler's most compassionate and sentimental. And the reference of the hot wind throughout this blackmail/murder story, has its own effect on each character and sets the mood throughout the story. The exchanges between Marlowe and the cop named Copernik are outstanding, with wiseass Marlowe playing the cop for a sucker. "Red Wind" was first published in Dime Detective Magazine in 1938, originally the P.I. was called John Dalmas. A great hardboiled read, one of Chandler's best.

The four "Marlowe" stories in this paperback:
"Trouble is My Business"
"Finger Man"
"Goldfish"
"Red Wind"

These four stories were published by Houghton Mifflin earlier in "The Simple Art of Murder,"(1950) which contained a total of 12 short works. A few years later, Pocket Books put together three paperbacks containing four short stories each from "The Simple Art of Murder." All are Marlowe stories and copies can still be found easily. I enjoy them all, how can you not.

Havana Hit by Mike Barry

Havana Hit by Mike Barry
#5 The Lone Wolf
Berkley Medallion, Copyright 1974

Barry N. Malzberg used the pseudo Mike Barry, for the fourteen Lone Wolf paperback novels he authored. Malzberg always seemed to find work. He wrote volumes of SF short stories that were published in magazines and anthologies. In fact, some are in book collections containing only Melzberg stories and these are very good. I recall three, “The Many Worlds of Barry Melzberg,” “The Best of Barry Metzberg,” and “Malzberg at Large,” as having some amazing SF stories. He also has a good number of novels in his bibliography. Besides SF, Malzberg dabbled in mysteries, adult sleaze paperbacks, and novelizations. In 1973, he started writing the Lone Wolf adventure series, introducing ex-NYPD cop Martin Wulff. From the four page introduction in “Havana Hit,” Wulff quits the force after his girl was killed by a deliberate overdose, and he becomes a one man wrecking crew that uses unrestrained violence to destroy drug kingpins and anyone that gets in his way. Alone, he built up quite a reputation, and now has the drug dealing organizations and the cops after him. Mean and obsessed, each adventure takes him to a new location where he leaves a large body count and extreme mayhem.

"Have you ever seen a seven-year old junkie? Have you ever seen a little girl holding a doll and so strung out on junk that she didn't know her name? Have you ever seen the soft men who peddle the stuff, the soft men in their houses on the bay, far away from all this, laughing at it, shielding themselves from what they've done, taking the money, filling the vein..."

It seems this story continues from where the previous one (#4) ended. Martin Wulff is flying out of Las Vegas on route to NYC with a valise full of heroin worth over a million dollars. Somehow this heroin was removed from the NYPD evidence room and got into the hands of organized drug traffickers. And during his last escapade in Vegas, Wulff went on a killing spree and blew up a hotel casino to get it back. The plane is hijacked and forced to land in Cuba. Taken into custody by a Cuba official named Delgado, Wulff’s valise is seized and he is sent to be executed. Delgado plans to keep the uncut heroin, sell it, and leave Cuba to live it up. But Wulff escapes and sets out to get the valise back. With a little help from a wimpy American helicopter pilot, he kills Delgado along with scores of other people and destroys the headquarters building. But the valise of heroin isn’t there. Delgado turned it over to DiStasio, who is the head of Cuban Intelligence. DiStasio has the same plan as Delgado had, take the heroin and get out of Cuba. Wulff hightails it to DiStasio’s estate and eliminates him to get the valise back. Then the wimpy American helicopter pilot gets enough courage to hold a gun on Wulff and attempt to steal the heroin himself. Of course Wulff outsmarts him and the American pilot ends up with a bullet in the spine and then one in the head. Martin Wulff races to the airport, hijacks a helicopter and off he goes, 90 miles north to the USA.

This one was painful. About a third of the way through, I said “it has to get better.” Halfway through, I realized it wasn’t going to get better. And once I finished it, I said “Thank God its over.” As an action novel, this one is lacking. The few scenes that have the explosions and gunplay are weakly described and there is no thrilling effect. The dialogue between characters tries to be hard, but comes off as tinny. And there are these constant-preaching rants by the character, mostly around how illegal drugs are destroying civilization. The only reason these rants seem to be in the novel is to fill it up to reach 192 pages. You get the impression that the whole idea around the Lone Wolf series was to quickly spit these novels out, and cash in on the popular 70’s genre of these numbered paperbacks featuring a violent crime crusader.

I got as much enjoyment reading this, as I would have listening to a Yoko Ono record album. This is the only Lone Wolf paperback I own, and I’ll probably not seek another. But I will not give up on Barry Malzberg’s SF stories. There are some good ones out there.

As for the scantily-clad maiden on the cover, no such female character is in the story. I hate when they do that.

The New Hand by Richard Deming

The New Hand By Richard Deming
Short Story in Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine, Nov. 1968

I've always admired the work of Richard Deming. You'll get a solid crime mystery by picking up any of his novels, a couple like "Hit and Run" and "Vice Cop" are outstanding. In the 60s he was a ghostwriter for some Ellery Queen novels. (the ones that didn't feature the Ellery Queen character) Numerous authors were ghostwriting these, and I found Deming's were some of the most suspenseful. But its in Deming's short stories, where you will find some of his best work. Compact plots, usually with non-hero characters that are believably human, but must take that fatal step to reach an easier lifestyle. He wrote many and he didn't cheat any publisher or reader. One of these is "The New Hand."

Gladys had a neat little scheme planned. Marry 70 year old ailing farmer Amos Bull and when he kicks off, inherit all his land, clean out his bank account, and collect on the tidy life-insurance policy. One problem, a new doctor hits town and finds out old Amos was misdiagnosed and is expected to be around for quite awhile. A new plan needs to be cooked up and Gladys gets her opportunity when Amos' farm hand quits and he is looking for a replacement. Over the radio she hears that a mad killer has escaped from the nearby asylum and when a man fitting the description comes knocking on the door, she ensures Amos doesn't get hold of the news alerts. Amos unknowingly hires the man and Gladys sets the trap. Using an axe that has the fingerprints of the new farm hand on it, she slaughters Amos in the barn. She lures in the new man and shoots him dead. A perfect crime, call the police and say the new hand killed Amos and was ready the kill her before she shot the crazed man in self-defense. And just as she is ready to make the phone call, the screen door is opened and Gladys faces her fate.
This reads like an episode from one of those Alfred Hitchcock Hour TV shows. It moves fast, is highly suspenseful with a touch of horror, and contains an unexpected ending. I hunt down Richard Deming short stories, he sure knew how to deliver them.

A wonderful shorter work in this issue, is Ed Lacy's "Night Games." Two adventurous Americans travel to a remote sleepy island in the Caribbean to execute a heist. Unknown to them is the island's shrewd police chief, who has the learned instincts of an old city cop. John Lutz provides a violent ending to the haunting murderous story called "King of the Kennel." And thrown in, is a damn good Mike Shayne story, about a vengeance-filled fugitive ready to settle some scores.

The high-caliber mystery stories in this issue:

"Deadly Conscience" by Brett Halliday (Mike Shayne story)
"The New Hand" by Richard Deming
"Wearing the Green" by Jack Ritchie
"The Dismal Flats Murder" by Joseph Payne Brennan
"King of the Kennel" by John Lutz
"Night Games" by Ed Lacy
"The Richest Girl in Town" by Deane and David Heller
"Rent Money" by Hal Ellson
"An Affair of the Heart" by Henry Slesar

Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine ended its run in 1985, and I miss it. For publications we are left with Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. But I've always preferred MSMM over these two, it was more hardboiled, no light crime yarns with humor, and each issue contain many quality stories. (not only just one or two) I always felt it was left to carry the torch after Manhunt stopped in the 60s. Plus you can't beat getting that Mike Shayne novelette every month.