Frank Gruber (1904-1969) authored 18 crime-fiction novels starring the clumsy and destitute New Yorker Johnny Fletcher. Along with writing 300 short-stories, Gruber also brought the world over 30 westerns written under his own name and pseudonyms like John K. Vedder and Charles K. Boston. Looking for a solid western this week, I sought out another of Gruber's frontier westerns, Bugles West. It was originally published in 1954 and has been reprinted numerous times, most notably by Bantam in 1982 with a cover painting by Lou Feck (known for his men's magazine artwork in Argosy and Adventure).
Tom Logan and Jim Dressen grew up as friends in Michigan. While serving as officers in the Union Army during the American Civil War, the two were captured by the Confederacy. They were placed in Andersonville, a notorious prisoner-of-war camp in Georgia. While there, the two collaborated with 28-other prisoners to escape. The prisoners were quickly caught and most were executed. It was Logan's belief that Dressen was a traitor and he was directly responsible for the soldiers' deaths. After the war, Dressen rose in the ranks to Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Logan became an accessory in bank robbery, and at one point rode with the famed James-Younger gang consisting of the outlaws Jesse James and Cole Younger.
The book opens with a furious gunfight in Montana as a stagecoach is assaulted by the Sioux. Logan, who's on his way to Fort Abraham Lincoln to enlist, comes to the aid of the coach and helps repel the Sioux. This opening scene is a whirlwind of action that Gruber would later re-imagine in his 1967 novel This Gun is Still. When the Army arrives, Logan learns that one of the passengers is a beautiful woman named Alice. After a few early sparks, the two strike up a bond and follow each other to the fort. But once Logan arrives, he learns that Alice's sister is married to....Jim Dressen!
Gruber injects a plethora of story ideas into this short, 120-page western novel. American history buffs can probably gather that Logan and Dressen are both serving in the area that hosted Andrew Custer's Last Stand, otherwise known as the Battle of the Little Bighorn. In fact, through the book's exciting middle pages the events leading to the epic confrontation between Native Americans and the U.S. Army is brought to life through Andrew's younger brother Thomas and his efforts to arrest a tribal chief named Rain-in-the-Face.
Logan's efforts to avoid his involvement in the James-Younger gang led to his enlistment in the U.S. Army. But once there, the narrative explores his meeting with Dressen and the fallout – Dressen attempting to kill Logan to silence their history and Logan appealing to ranking officers to trial Dressen for treason. There's a number of subplots involving Logan's confrontation with another officer as well as his romantic attraction to Alice. Gruber envelopes the narrative with sympathetic nods to the Native American struggles and their resistance to the “enemy” U.S. troops while showcasing Captian Thomas Custer as an arrogant, bumbling senior officer.
Bugles West is a rip-roaring tour de force. Frank Gruber, while tragically underrated, remains as one of history's best western storytellers. I can't say enough good things about his action-oriented writing style and the literary legacy he created. Bugles West is highly recommended.
Buy a copy of this book HERE
Charles Williams was a phenomenal crime-noir author who often set his stories in rural small towns. Many of his books included a tramp or a statuesque beauty who wreaks havoc on the male protagonist's moral compass. Like his contemporary John D. MacDonald, Williams also wrote a handful of men's action-adventure novels with nautical themes.
Scorpion Reef (aka Gulf Coast Girl), The Sailcloth Shroud, And the Deep Blue Sea were all hits with crime-noir enthusiasts and the author's fans. One of Williams' most respected works is the 1963 suspenseful sea-thriller Dead Calm. The novel was adapted for cinema in 1989 and featured Nicole Kidman and Sam Neil. However, some readers may not realize that Dead Calm is actually a sequel to Williams' 1960 novel Aground, so I’m beginning at the beginning.
The author introduces readers to WW2 veteran John Ingram. Through flashbacks we learn that John's wife tragically died in an auto accident and that his former business, a port harbor, was destroyed in a fire that also killed his business partner. Now, John works as a boat broker, a profession that has him inspecting boats and assessing their value to lower the cost for his perspective clients. In the book's opening chapters, readers learn that John has been hired by a man named Hollister who wants to purchase a boat for business purposes. After surveying a schooner called The Dragoon in Key West, John calls Hollister and reports that the yacht is in great condition and ready for purchase. John then returns to Miami where he is met by the police.
Unbeknownst to him, John was tricked into participating in stealing The Dragoon from its port. The owner reports that the inspection routine was really just a way to scout the boat for his accomplices. On the night of John's departure, the boat was stolen by three men including Hollister. The whole purchasing routine was really just a ploy to find a suitable yacht worth stealing. John was conned.
After talking with the boat’s owner, a widow named Rae, the two team up to try and locate the missing yacht. Rae wants her property returned and John, feeling partly responsible for the crime, agrees to assist. The police find a dinghy containing Hollister's watch and clothes, yet there's no sign of the Dragoon. Hiring a pilot, Rae and John eventually locate the yacht on a sandy knoll. During high tide, an inexperienced operator ran the boat into a sandy knoll where it remained aground. But once John and Rae board the Dragoon, they discover why the ship was stolen.
Like Williams' rural crime-novels, Aground features a likable male protagonist who finds himself in an extreme situation. While Rae could be viewed as the suitable replacement for the author's obligatory sexy seductress, she's presented as a more intelligent, brave addition to the story's twists and turns instead of a cunning swamp nymph. As a nautical adventure tale, Williams doesn't quite do the genre justice. Aground seems to be a high-seas clash as the prey attempts to outwit the predator, but the narrative is more effective as a variant on the home-invasion sub-genre of suspense-thrillers. I can't reveal too many details, but John and Rae are forced to fight criminals in a very confined location. It's this edgy, tightrope anxiety that makes Aground so entertaining.
By keeping your expectations geared towards the survival/invasion prose, this book should provide plenty of entertainment. The novel is available as an affordable e-book by Mysterious Press and you can purchase a copy HERE
At the very beginning of his career, Lawrence Block was barely making a living writing surprisingly readable paperbacks for sleaze paperback publishing houses. His 1958 meal ticket was originally published by Nightstand Books with the title $20 Lust under the pseudonym Andrew Shaw. Later, Nightstand recycled the novel as Cinderella Sims, a title that stuck for a handful of reprints under Block’s own name. The book remains available today as a reprint title released on Block’s own publishing imprint for his historical oddities.
Former police reporter Ted Linsdsay is a recovering drunk from Louisville, Kentucky whose wife left him for another man and died in a car accident soon thereafter. Ted left his old life behind and moved to New York City in search of a new start, a reset. He lands a job slinging hash on the graveyard shift of an all-night diner and falls into a predictable, if dull, pattern of life. All that changes one day when Ted sees a stacked babe living in the apartment house across the street. He is immediately smitten and stalks her to learn that her name is Cinderella “Cindy” Sims.
It takes awhile for much of anything to happen in this paperback. Fortunately, Ted is an interesting enough character and Block is a talented enough writer that reading the novel’s first third wasn’t too much of a chore. Once things get rolling, you have an honest-to -goodness crime story to read and enjoy. Without spoiling too much, it involves a crew of con artists, a casino gambling scam, and a satchel full of cash. With those ingredients and Lawrence Block driving the narrative, you’re in good hands.
It really was a different world back in 1958, and some of the scenes in Cinderella Sims really drive that home. Marital rape and unprovoked violence against women are shrugged off and the plot never pauses to consider what just occurred. In another scene, the narrator describes the gays of Greenwich Village in terms that we don’t use today in polite company. I actually like these elements of vintage fiction, not because of some anti-PC crusade, but because they place a work of fiction in a particular time an underscore how far we’ve traveled in the culture today. It’s also interesting to consider what societal norms we exhibit today that will be seen as jaw-dropping and inappropriate 60 years from now.
Because Cinderella Sims is a Nightstand Book, the promise of several erotic sex scenes are fulfilled, but it’s nothing terribly graphic. This is a sexy femme fatale crime novel rather than a porno book with a crime story pretext. If you read enough of these, you can tell the difference. There’s also a compelling plot and lots of bone-crunching violence as the paperback veers toward its satisfying conclusion.
In short, there’s nothing not to like about Cinderella Sims. It’s an outstanding little crime novel with a boatload of titillation and thrilling action. Lawrence Block was smart to rescue this one from obscurity and make it available today. It’s a real winner.
Buy a copy of this book HERE
Lewis B. Patten authored nearly 100 western novels during his four-decades of literary work. Using the pseudonyms of Lee Leighton and Joseph Wayne, Patten collaborated with his contemporary in Wayne D. Overholser for a handful of westerns. His 1968 novel, Death of a Gunfighter, was adapted into a film starring Richard Widmark. Six of his novels were published in 1963 including The Ruthless Range, a book originally published by Berkley that has been reprinted numerous times since.
The novel introduces readers to Jase Mellor, a fictional famed gunslinger. In his youth, Mellor's fast-draw prowess allowed him to kill a notorious outlaw. But since that fateful day, Mellor has found himself challenged by gunfighters throughout the southwestern U.S. Over the course of many bitter, blood-drenched years, Mellor has attempted to flee into obscurity, a tactic that cost him his marriage with Edie.
As The Ruthless Range opens, Mellor is provoked into a gunfight with a loud-mouthed, arrogant man at a bar. After fatally shooting him, Mellor leaves town only to find ten men in pursuit. The author's opening chapters have Mellor facing these men from some high rocks. After being wounded in the battle, Mellor awakens to find that he is being cared for by a man named Sandoval, owner of the sprawling Grandee Range. Over the course of many days, Sandoval informs Mellor that the land's dry conditions have forced nearby ranchers to illegally push steer onto his land. After heated skirmishes, Sandoval fears for his life and knows that he's outnumbered. Can Mellor help?
Patten weaves a number of story-lines together to create a pretty formulaic western yarn. There are thousands of range-war stories within western fiction and The Ruthless Range is just another one. Although it's a fairly standard story, the author injects two love interests for Mellor – one is his former wife Edie and the other is Sandoval's wife. There's also a small mystery to uncover, but experienced readers should be able to figure it out long before the hero does.
At 120-pages, The Ruthless Range is a short, enjoyable western tale but nothing special or particularly innovative. Jase Mellor is immediately likable and readers will find plenty of reason to rally behind this tragic hero. Just control your expectations if you are looking for something remarkable or outstanding. The Ruthless Range is just pretty good, and sometimes that’s enough.
Buy a copy of this book HERE
Episode 38 of the Paperback Warrior Podcast presents a feature on the life and work of post-apocalyptic fiction author Jan Stacy including a review of the first installment in his Doomsday Warrior series. We also discuss some recent purchases as well as a review of the Harry Whittington classic, A Night for Screaming. Please check us out on any podcast app, streaming below or direct download HERE
Listen to "Episode 38 - Jan Stacy and the End of the World" on Spreaker.
New Yorker Jay Bennett (1912-2009) primarily made a living writing scripts for radio serial adventures starring Bulldog Drummond and early television programs such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents. As an author, many of his mystery books were geared toward a juvenile audience - a niche that won him back-to-back Edgar awards in 1974 and 1975. He only wrote three books geared toward adults, including the 1963 Fawcett Crest paperback, Murder Money. The short novel has been reprinted by Wildside Press as an ebook and paperback.
Eddie Doran is a washed-up boxer, over-the-hill at age 35. After fighting for 20 years, Eddie’s career is over with nothing to show for it. He wanders the streets of the city depressed in a manner reminiscent of the losers populating the fictional world of author Davis Goodis from the same era. A confrontation and mix-up between Eddie and a stranger attempting to enter a taxicab at the same time finds Eddie in possession of the stranger’s briefcase. Inside the case? $100,000 cash.
The problem with finding $100,000 cash is that the owners often want the money back, and sometimes those owners aren’t honorable fellows. Eddie knows this and enlists his boxing manager Al to help him get away with the dough in exchange for half the loot. Nervous about staying in New York, the pair hop on a plane to Miami accompanied by Al’s alluring girlfriend, Laura.
Eddie is scared to death, and Laura ads some spice to the plot by repeatedly trying to seduce Eddie behind Al’s back. That’s not a good recipe for a larcenous partnership. Meanwhile, another woman from Eddie’s past resurfaces into his life while he’s laying low in Miami. Coincidence? The action and twists progress at a nice pace until the bloody climax in the Florida Keys where the truth is laid bare and the cash finds a home.
Murder Money is a simple novel drawing on a plot template that’s been done dozens of times. Despite the tired set-up, the book really works because Bennett was a solid author who understood pacing, raw emotions and narrative tension. “Murder Money” (awful title, by the way) is a sexy, violent and twisty ride. Recommended.
Buy a copy of this book HERE
Maine native and US Army veteran Ovid Demaris (1919-1998) dedicated a majority of his literary work to non-fiction accounts of Mafia operations. Between 1957 and 1988, Demaris also authored a number of crime-fiction novels, two of which were adapted to film - Hoods Take Over as the film Gang War and Candyleg as Machine Gun McCain. Based on the author's research on organized crime, it's no surprise to find The Enforcer in his published works, a mob-themed crime-noir originally released by Fawcett Gold Medal in 1960 and now available as an affordable reprint through Cutting Edge.
Bender is a ruthless mob enforcer living in a bright and cheery apartment complex in Hollywood. When he's not breaking the legs of debtors and traitors, Bender spends his time with a stripper named Nicki while also lusting over a nearby resident named Eileen. However, the police are on to Bender and have him under investigation for a neighborhood double-homicide. To finalize their case, the police ask Detective Mark Condon to go undercover as a resident at the apartment complex. While it's never really explained what Condon is hoping to discover, readers will forget the story-line due to the narrative's abundant sleaze and sexy oscillation. The apartment complex’s pool is like the porn palace of Los Angeles. Resembling a dirty episode of “Friends”, roommates spend 127-pages attempting to get laid. There's also the sex-starved whacko who observes from afar with one hand on his...windowsill.
The Enforcer was my first experience with author Ovid Demaris and by all rights should be the last. I'm a sucker for punishment and unfortunately bought a four-pack of his vintage novels on Ebay. But just to be fair, Demaris may have intended this to be a smutty romance novel and Fawcett just dressed it up to resemble a vengeful crime-fiction offering. Even the book's title may have been something entirely different. We'll never know. But that doesn't dismiss the notion that Demaris is a good author. His fragmented, multilayered narrative has way too many shallow characters. The author spends multiple pages on poolside antics and immature jokes that hinder the pace. Nothing is remarkable, and Demaris doesn't have a story to tell. It's just a random amount of nonsense about young hotheads stripping, dancing and boning.
It goes without saying, but I'll state for the record that The Enforcer has joined the Hall of Shame. Avoid this one like a scorching case of California Clap.
Buy a copy of this book HERE
