The 'John Smith' spy novels were created by British author Jimmy Sangster (1927-2011) in the late 1960s. Influenced by Ian Fleming's James Bond, Sangster's espionage flair propelled "Private I" to be published in 1967 and later adapted for film. That novel featured British secret agent John Smith's exploits in a China-Russia crossover that was funny, entertaining and engaging. NY Times bestselling authors Lee Goldberg and Joel Goldman reprinted the novel as "The Spy Killer" this year under their Brash Books imprint.
"The Spy Killer" finale left our spy hero in dire circumstances. Thankfully, Sangster revisited the book just a year later, publishing the sequel, "Foreign Exchange," in 1968. It was also treated to a film adaptation, and Brash Books reprinted the novel for a new generation to experience this excellent duo of espionage thrillers.
Without an immediate answer to the events that occurred in the prior book, “Foreign Exchange” begins in similar fashion as it's predecessor – John Smith working as a destitute private investigator in London. In a hilarious sequence of events, Smith agrees to assist Harvey, his office neighbor and talent agent, in a pregnancy blackmail case. A young singer named Anne has accused Harvey of knocking her up, a problem she can solve if Harvey pays her some cash. Harvey claims he didn't have relations with her, only a business relationship. This leads Smith to the club circuit where he eventually locates Anne (who is smokin' hot/isn't pregnant) and attempts to sleep with her many times. Unfortunately, Anne claims Smith just isn't her type. This sequence only absorbs 30-pages but I would have been delighted if it consumed the whole book. But this is a spy thriller, so on with the show.
Smith's financial distress is explained as a reference back to the closing pages of the prior book. With Smith flat broke (and rejected by a sultry sex-pot), it's just a matter of time before he accepts another assignment from his former boss Max, the head of the Secret Service. The Service has a Russian double-agent that they have been utilizing for years to spill false intelligence back to the Russians. For many reasons, this agent is no longer useful and they want Russia to take him off of their hands (in lieu of a public trial and prison). To do this, they want Smith to be a planted spy to be captured and imprisoned in Russia. Then, Max will wheel and deal and trade the double-agent back to Russia in exchange for Smith. For Smith, it is a month vacation in Russia and the promise of a cool $10K for doing the job. But, can Max be trusted? What if Smith is abandoned and condemned to the salt mines?
We covered David Morrell's short story “The Interrogator” (2011) [LINK] and praised it's effective, fascinating interrogation scenes. “Foreign Exchange” is boiling over with that gripping realism, with a lot of the narrative dedicated to interrogation scenes between Smith and his jailer Borensko. There's so much that Sangster builds into this fast-paced narrative. His conversational tone, dense with witty sarcasm and funny quips from Smith, enhances what is a rather dense plot. Thankfully, the author keeps the story moving well enough to allow brisk page turns - unlike, say, a technical espionage thriller that requires exhaustive notes and a deep knowledge of global alliances.
With sexy foreplay and an intriguing plot, “Foreign Exchange” is one of the best kept secrets of the spy genre. Thankfully, Brash Books has unearthed this treasure and is sharing it with the literary world.
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British author Jimmy Sangster (1927-2011) was a successful screenwriter and director, contributing to Hammer Films' classics like “The Curse of Frankenstein” (1957), “Dracula” (1958) and “Lust for a Vampire” (1970). His passion for screenwriting was paralleled by his literary work. Capitalizing on the success of fellow Brit Ian Fleming's 'James Bond' empire, Sangster created the lady spy novel “Touchfeather” and the sequel “Touchfeather Too” in 1968 and 1970. Enjoying the espionage genre, the author wrote two novels featuring former British spy John Smith, “Private I” (1967) and sequel “Foreign Exchange” (1968). New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg has resurrected both novels for his Brash Books imprint, renaming “Private I” as “The Spy Killer.” Both are available with new artwork in digital and print versions.
“The Spy Killer” introduces readers to ex-British spy John Smith, now a lowly private-eye struggling to fulfill financial obligations to his creditors. To his surprise he obtains a paying client in the opening chapter – his ex-wife. She hires Smith to track down her new husband, Dunning, whom she fears may be having an affair with a man named Alworthy. Smith, giddy to receive money while relishing in his ex's misfortune, agrees to tail her husband in hopes of photographing him and a lover.
Smith learns that Dunning is Principal Under-Secretary for Britain's Foreign Office and during a rather clever exercise, stumbles on the whereabouts of a meeting between both Dunning and his suspected lover, Alworthy. Arrriving at the residence with a camera, Smith is greeted by Alworthy as he bursts out of the couple's front door. Thanking Smith for arriving so quickly, the two hastily rush inside where Alworthy shows Smith the bloody dead corpse of Dunning! Alworthy, thinking Smith is a police officer, excuses himself to the kitchen while Smith awaits the police's arrival. Once there, all fingers point to Smith as they surprisingly confirm that there is no Alworthy in the house.
In jail, Smith fears that someone has blackmailed him. Through some backstory segments, we experience Smith's violent past, including the grim slaughter of a household of youths. It's a valued effort on the author's part to transcend the novel from sleuth private-eye into the international spy novel it aspires to be. As the novel moves into espionage, we learn that Smith has stumbled onto a plot by the Chinese to uncover American spies in their red state. Facing criminal charges for murdering Dunning, Smith is forced out of retirement by his notorious boss, Max. Temporarily freeing him, Max instructs Smith to find Alworthy, locate a stolen notebook and return it to Max. If the mission is a failure, Smith will either be killed or face a one-sided murder trial.
Sangster successfully runs the gambit of private-eye, murder mystery and international spy-thriller, creating enough depth and dynamics to propel “The Spy Thriller” into a suspenseful and engaging high-wire act. While utilizing a lot of moving parts, Sangster's spy hero fights and manipulates his enemies into a complex game of cat-and-mouse from London to Paris. Surprisingly, the book's strength lies in the fact that Smith is a very human, very flawed champion. His skill-set, while durable, is offset by his rather humorous clumsiness. Thankfully, this isn't the lovemaking, tuxedo-wearing international hero that saturated the market.
While not as dominant as his contemporaries, Sangster proved he was a master craftsman. “The Spy Thriller” is exceptional. Critics agreed as both "Private I" and "Foreign Exchange" were adapted for film starring Robert Horton (Wagon Train).
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Lawrence Block authored three stand-alone novels between 1969 and 1974 under the pen name of Paul Kavanagh. The third of these books was titled “Not Comin’ Home to You” and has since been re-released in several printings under Block’s own name, including an affordable eBook currently available while supplies last.
The story is loosely based on an actual 1958 murder spree conducted by Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate in Nebraska. Block originally thought his fictionalized version of the events would make a good screenplay, but he abandoned that idea in favor of making it work as a novel first. When the movie “Badlands” was released dramatizing the actual Nebraska murders, the idea of adapting Block’s novel for the screen was scrapped. Fortunately, the paperback lives on.
Before the lyrical title was conceived, Block originally called his crime spree tale “Just a Couple Kids.” The kids in question are Jimmie John Hall and Betty Dienhardt, two restless young people in 1974 America. When we meet Jimmie John, he is hitchhiking through Texas high on speed with nothing but the clothes on his back and no particular destination in mind. Eventually, Jimmie meets up with restless, corruptible, and virginal Betty, and the bad decisions become supercharged as the pair hits the open road together.
The main focus of “Not Comin’ Home to You” is the manipulation and gradual corruption of Betty as the body count rises in the road trip’s wake. There’s plenty of graphic sex between 22 year-old Jimmie John and 15 year-old Betty in scenes whose appropriateness has not aged well with time. However, I won’t waste your time wringing my hands concerning honor of a fictional teen girl. The loss of her innocence - in more ways than one - made for fascinating reading. The reader bears witness as Betty grows numb to the explosions of increasingly violent opportunism displayed by Jimmie John throughout the novel.
Although Block never cites it as an inspiration, it would be hard to believe that he wasn’t familiar with John D. MacDonald’s similar adolescent thrill-kill novel, “The End of Night” from 1960. One’s ability to enjoy either book relies on your willingness to spend time with young sociopaths. This is another book where there’s really no one to root for. You can feel sorry for naive Betty, but she’s no heroine.
Block’s writing and character development are predictably excellent, but this isn’t among his greatest hits. Nevertheless, the paperback is never dull and has plenty of violence. If you’re a fan of couple-on-the-run, juvenile delinquent, bloody pulp fiction, you’ll likely enjoy “Not Comin’ Home to You.”
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William Crawford's first notable work was the infamous 'The Executioner' installment “Sicilian Slaughter”. By 1973, and after 15 successful series entries, Don Pendleton and his publisher Pinnacle had some discord regarding the future of Mack Bolan. Under fire, Pinnacle chose William Crawford (writing as Jim Peterson) as Pendleton's replacement for “Sicilian Slaughter”. The book took some liberties with the character, enraged fans, and thankfully Pendleton and Pinnacle negotiated to have Pendleton continue the series through the 38th installment.
But Pinnacle wasn't finished with Crawford.
Hoping to capitalize on the success of men's vigilante-styled fiction, like Bolan, Pinnacle hooked their cash-wagon to Crawford for a new series called 'Stryker'. Crawford, fresh off the “Sicilian Slaughter”, had just released a western-turd to Zebra entitled “Ranger Kirk” (under the clever pseudonym W.C. Rawford). Pinnacle, feeling confident that Stryker would be profitable, had Crawford write four books in the series - “Stryker”, “Cop Kill”, “Drug Run” and “Deadly Alliance” - between 1973-1975. The series was an utter failure. My research doesn't cite any specific cause for lackluster sales, but my suspicion is that William Crawford's disjointed writing style bewildered fans of men's action-adventure.
My first and only experience with the series is the debut, “Stryker”. The book's back cover has an Editor's Note promising that Styrker is the toughest guy you'll ever read about. It goes on to state, with conviction, that “this is the raw, unpolished realism of the street, where law meets crime and the stronger man (not necessarily the better man) wins.” On the book's front cover, Pinnacle assures readers that this is a revenge story about a brutal cop who's experienced the death of his wife and the blinding of his child by criminals.
It's easy to take the revenge story-line and run with it. The late 60s, 70s and 80s pop-culture was fueled on the revenge headline: “Family Murdered, Man Takes Action!” But Crawford buries the story in endless introductions to a host of characters that have no real purpose. Within the book's first 120-pages, there's so many characters and backstories that the central theme is disoriented. By the 120th page, Stryker's family is still alive and the whole narrative is bogged down by arrangements, criminal infrastructure and a dog-tired necessity to explain everyone in the room. Where's this whole vengeance thing?
The centerpiece, as lost as it is, is two bank robbers working for a mob kingpin named Sam. The two men, while not screwing each other, work a heist and hit list for Sam across the country. After Sam tangles with a bribery charge filed by Stryker's partner Chino, the two hit men are employed to kill both Sam and Chino. Only those two guys get killed off rather nonchalantly (after we read pages and pages of character backstory), and Sam employs another assassin to do the job. Eventually Stryker's family is killed (shamefully I was ecstatic when the moment finally arrived!), but the narrative then settles into a court case instead of the two-fisted, sawed-off shotgun violence I was anticipating.
William Crawford may shine in some other form of literary work. Within the confines of men's action-adventure, he's a dud. I have no intention of reading any more of the Stryker books. I've suffered so you don't have to. “Stryker” should be stricken from the record.
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During his life, Lou Cameron (1924-2010) was one of the most reliably solid authors in the men’s adventure, crime, war, and western genres. His 1977 police fiction paperback “Code Seven” has a cover blurb that promises the book to be “All the crunching excitement of Walking Tall” while the back cover guarantees “a nerve-sizzling suspense novel.” As a fan of Cameron’s writing, crunching excitement, and sizzling nerves, I was excited to dive into this one.
Sean Costello is the new chief of police in the fictional city of Flamingo Beach, Florida, a town of about three square miles. His new job is a chance at redemption for the chief who was recently fired from his police gig in New Jersey - ostensibly due to budget cuts. He’s an honest cop singularly dedicated to keeping his little town safe despite a lack of resources or much staff.
In police parlance, “Code Seven” is a meal break, which is an odd choice for a title. In the paperback, Cameron’s character claims it means “off duty” which, I suppose, is close enough for government work. The relevance of title has something to do with the romance that develops between Costello and a wealthy widow in his new hometown. This story-line seemed rushed and not entirely credible, but that wasn’t the centerpiece of the paperback, anyway. The point is that Costello is so busy putting out small fires that he’s never truly off duty.
For the majority of the book, Costello deals with the normal, everyday headaches, threats, and small mysteries of the job: drunks, a floater, a mouthy runaway, a suicide attempt, a stalker case, etc. The police procedural aspects of the novel seemed realistic enough to me, so either Cameron did some homework or he’s good at faking it. However, I kept hoping that the many disjointed plot threads would eventually form a linear story for the reader to enjoy or a mystery for Costello to solve.
Unfortunately, a main plot never really comes together. Some of the smaller mysteries presented as subplots are solved, and some tie into each other. However, it was an odd novel filled with nothing but subplots - almost as if Cameron wanted to write several different short stories about this interesting cop in a small, coastal town. The author apparently shuffled these stories into one disjointed book rather than selling them individually to the mystery digest magazines? Just a theory.
Cameron’s writing is predictably good, but an odd editorial decision left the book without chapter breaks. There are white-spaces representing scene changes throughout the paperback, but all 219 pages are basically one long chapter. As a reader, this was more irritating than I anticipated it would be.
Despite the myriad of problems with the book, it never failed to hold my attention since many of the subplots were rather interesting. I just wish Cameron’s editors sent him back to the typewriter for a few more rounds of drafts and forced him to develop a compelling main plot. “Code Seven” could have been a great cop novel instead of the mess he left behind.
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Between 1940 and 1964, talented pulp author Frank Gruber (1904-1969) wrote 18 novels starring down-on-his luck 'Johnny Fletcher'. Debuting in 1940, “The French Key” was a success that led to an eponymous film adaptation in 1946. Both NBC and ABC ran Johnny Fletcher mystery stories for the Golden Age of Radio. Beginning in 1964, Gruber signed a paperback deal with Belmont Tower for two more Johnny Fletcher books, “Swing Low, Swing Dead” and “The Corpse Moved Upstairs”. It appears that business arrangement led to a number of reprints of the Fletcher books for a new generation of fans. The misleading cover art paints Johnny Fletcher as a gun-toting detective instead of the bumbling, comical conman that Gruber intended.
My first experience with the series is the 1964 novel “Swing Low, Swing Dead”. While researching, I discovered that there are three fixtures with nearly every Fletcher novel. First, Fletcher's muscular sidekick Sam Cragg is featured in a bulk of the narrative and is just as important to the story as Fletcher. Two, the imprudent duo are always destitute, leading to charity from series character and hotel manager Mr. Peabody. For small favors, he allows them residence in New York's 45th Street Hotel. Lastly, the two always stumble into a mystery! That's really par for the course. Gruber takes some liberties and asks his readers to suspend their beliefs for the sake of a good story.
Discovering a craps game on the hotel's upper floor, both Fletcher and Cragg join the fun. In a fortunate streak of luck, Cragg bets borrowed money against a rock singer named Willie Waller. The musician, out of funds, bets a song manuscript against Cragg, promising it's worth hundreds of thousands. Quickly after losing the game and manuscript to Cragg, he dies from cyanide poisoning.
The bulk of the novel's 154-pages is Fletcher and Cragg determining the validity of the song and it's value. After cleared by the police of any suspicion, it's the duo's job to sell the song for the promised value. Once they stumble on a music producer and his client, a chart-topping musician named Al Donnely, they realize that either Willie's song was plagiarized or Willie ripped off the melody from Donnely. The answer Fletcher and Cragg are both seeking could be worth a small treasure due to the tune's rise to the top of the charts.
While all of this is fairly interesting from a music fan's standpoint, the idea of who killed Willie is the emphasis of this Fletcher mystery. With both Cragg and Fletcher seeking the true songwriter, they must contend with a shady record business and a scar-faced goon who might have his own motives for wanting the songwriter's identity. Again, despite Belmont's action-packed artwork...this is a lighthearted yarn - not the violent espionage or violent crime-noir story depicted on the cover.
Gruber's comedic approach connects Fletcher and Cragg to an Abbott and Costello sort of gag. The two are always counting pennies, shortchanging bartenders and begging Mr. Peabody for just one more buck. Their sole moneymaking endeavor is a snake-medicine bit with Cragg breaking chains and Fletcher selling a bogus book on how to gain super-strength in a few short weeks. “You can break chains too for a measly $2.90...no change back”. It's an entertaining short read that showcases Gruber's storytelling strength in the pulp fiction formula.
Through his characters, Gruber criticizes rock music as something that's immature and dumbed down for a new audience while praising the jazz era when music was...music. I think Gruber was probably comparing the mid-60s literary work of his new peers to the pulp fiction that paid the bills in his recent past. Regardless, Johnny Fletcher is elementary and a fun read if you keep your expectations minimal.
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In this episode, we discuss Frank Gruber's 1964 crime-mystery "Swing Low, Swing Dead" and Lou Cameron's police fiction novel "Code Seven" from 1977. Tom talks about his book shopping in San Antonio, Texas and offers listeners a tutorial on how to affordably acquire paperbacks. Stream it below or through any popular streaming service. Direct downloads: Link
Listen to "Episode 08: Buying Affordable Paperbacks" on Spreaker.
