The Woman is Mine

Harry Whittington preferred to sell his novels to Fawcett Gold Medal because the paperback imprint paid more and sold more units than rival publishers. As a result, his best works were published with the telltale yellow spines, including his 1954 thriller, The Woman is Mine.

Minnesotan Jeff Patterson is on vacation alone on a Florida beach unwinding after an Army stint in Korea. The single woman in the next cabana has been catching his eye. His first attempt to chat her up lands with a thud. The woman actually seemed terrified and guarded. Later that night, she attempts suicide only to be saved by Jeff. What gives with this girl?

Back at Jeff’s cabana, he doesn’t get much information from her other than her name is Paula and someone is out to get her. Just as she lets her guard down and decides to share her story with Jeff, men with a warrant arrive to take her away. The man at the door explains that he’s a psychiatrist, and the girl’s name is really Mrs. Joyce Glisdale. He explains that she’s a delusional paranoiac requiring sedation and a forcible return to the psychiatric facility from which she escaped. Before Jeff can discern the truth, the men are gone with Paula/Joyce in custody.

This is one of the best setups, I can recall for a 1950s suspense thriller. Someone isn’t telling the truth here. Is she really a lunatic named Joyce or a scared victim named Paula being kidnapped by weird dudes? For his part, Jeff is smitten and sets out to find out the truth about Paula/Joyce and the mysterious sanitarium where they are holding her. The more he snoops around, the fishier the shrink’s story seems.

Jeff’s amateur sleuthing is a total pleasure to follow. Every step closer to the truth opens a new door that begs several other questions. The novel recalled the popular movies by Alfred Hitchcock, and the suspicious and guarded sanitarium reminded me of Dennis Lehane’s Shutter Island. All of this leads to a revelatory conclusion that ties up the mysteries in a creative and satisfying manner.

The Woman is Mine is one of the finest Harry Whittington novels I’ve read and I’m baffled why the literary arms race to reprint Whittington’s greatest hits has left this paperback behind. With a bit of searching and know-how, used copies from 1954 are available from online sellers of vintage paperbacks. This one is worth the effort and expense. Recommended. 

Buy a copy of this book HERE

Do Evil in Return

Margaret Ellis Millar (born Margaret Ellis Sturm, 1915-1994) was a mystery writer originally from Ontario, Canada. In 1938, Margaret married Kenneth Millar, the author who used the pseudonym Ross Macdonald to create and write the bestselling Lew Archer character. Margaret Millar authored over 25 novels, including series titles like Paul Pry, Inspector Sands and Tom Aragon. My first experience with Millar is her 1950 Dell paperback Do Evil in Return. In 2006, Stark House Press reprinted the book as a double along with the author's 1957 novel An Air That Kills.

Charlotte Keating is a private-practicing physician who lives and works in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. One evening before close she receives a young woman named Violet. Desperate for help, Violet tells Charlotte that she is a married woman from Oregon who had an affair with a married man and is now four months pregnant. The purpose of her visit is to request Charlotte to perform an abortion. Charlotte rejects and explains that the term of pregnancy is too advanced while reminding Violet that abortions are illegal. Charlotte learns that Violet rents a one-bedroom apartment in town. While offering to bring her there, Violet runs away. 

Afterwards, readers learn about Charlotte's emotional problems. She has an extended relationship with a married man named Lewis. Her mental barriers are thick with a sense of insecurity, self-doubt and vulnerability. She wants Lewis to divorce his spouse or just have the internal fortitude to end their own long affair. With all of these underlining conditions, Charlotte somehow feels as if she has failed Violet.

On the other side of the city, Charlotte speaks with one of Violet's neighbors and has the impression that they are not pleasant people. After her visit, Charlotte shockingly learns that Violet’s body has washed ashore and all signs point to a suicidal drowning as the cause of death. 

Charlotte's brief participation in the young lady's life has now become rather dangerous and complex. Violet’s violent uncle and conniving husband break into Charlotte’s house and attempt to extort her for money. She refuses and things quickly become grim when a skeptical police detective starts asking questions about Charlotte's role in Violet's suicide. When Violet's husband and uncle are discovered with bullet holes in the head, Charlotte finds herself in a whirling nightmare.

Millar's plot was structured as a suspenseful mystery with a handful of characters who might have turned out to be a killer. I liked the author's inclusion of extramarital affairs and the way these characters viewed themselves and their marriages. Except for Charlotte, nearly all the characters were married and had difficult relationships. Millar’s unmarried characters "survive" the ordeal. It seems to me that Millar's suggestion is that two people can find independent happiness. 

While Millar is considered a mystery writer, I also like to think of Do Evil in Return as a stylish crime-noir. It has some detective procedural elements, the concept of an average citizen thrust into extreme circumstances and the alarming idea that an innocent person could find themselves guilty of a crime they didn't commit. These are all genre tropes that adapt uniformly to most of these crime novels of the mid-20th century. As a short read, I found it to be an entertaining experience. 

Note: There is an informative biography HERE that discusses Millar’s fascinating life, influences and her superb writing style. 

Buy a copy of this book HERE

James Rhodes #01 - Black Cop

Joseph Gober Nazel (1944-2006) was a Vietnam War veteran and a successful writer for Los Angeles African-American publications such as The Wave, The Sentinel and Players. He is also the author of over 60 literary works, including men's action-adventure paperback titles such as Iceman and My Name is Black. Using the pseudonym Dom Gober, Nazel authored four books starring an L.A. police officer named James Rhodes - Black Cop (1974), Doomsday Squad (1975), Killer Cop (1975) and Killing Ground (1976). All were published by Holloway House, an African-American publishing house. 

In Black Cop, the series debut, readers are introduced to Vietnam War vet James Rhodes as he’s working a bust for the LAPD’s narcotics division. He despises his white partner Tucker and often reminds readers that the black race has been in chains for hundreds of years. He's disgusted with crime, racism, the city and the police. This bust is another way for Rhodes to channel his aggressive energy to improve the community and its residents. But, getting drugs off the street isn’t easy. 

The plot is an easy giveaway when Tucker stops at a pay phone before the bust. He divulges information to drug smugglers in exchange for money. As Tucker and Rhodes arrive at the scene, they are caught in a violent ambush. Tucker is a spectator as Rhodes participates in the shooting.

After meeting with the chief to express his concerns about the division and its leaks, Rhodes takes on an infiltration role. In accordance with the chief's instructions, Rhodes will go on sick leave secretly assuming the identity of an average citizen. Its purpose is to investigate drug trafficking to find out who sells and purchases information. 

Nazel’s narrative has Rhodes busting heads in bars and housing communities as he seeks out a dealer named Wilson. Rhodes lines up with a gang run by a violent felon called Blackjack. He also falls in love with a woman whom Wilson coveted for years.

Black Cop isn’t great and pales in comparison to an Ed McBain police procedural or something raw like Super Cop Joe Blaze. Rhodes is a tough guy with martial arts skills and intelligence, but he isn’t that interesting. I found the bad guys more intriguing. That doesn't mean Nazel's novel is boring. It is loaded with excessive violence and mayhem mixed with pure male testosterone. At the end of the day that still doesn’t make a good story. At some point I may visit the sequels, but I’m in no hurry. 

Buy a copy of this book HERE

Lt. Clancy #02 - Mute Witness

Mute Witness by Robert L. Fish (writing as Robert L. Pike) was adapted into the movie Bullitt starring Steve McQueen with significant deviations from the book’s original vision. The paperback’s sequel, The Quarry, is an exciting manhunt mystery from 1964 that remains in print today from Mysterious Press.

As the novel opens, NYPD’s 52nd Precinct Detective Lieutenant Clancy (no first name is ever provided) is informed that a recent four-man prison break from Sing-Sing includes Lenny Cervera, a hit-and-run car thief killer who vowed revenge when Lt. Clancy put him away three years ago. It’s Clancy’s job to catch Cervera before the escapee kills Clancy, the prosecutor and the sentencing judge, all things he vowed to do in court following his conviction.

Clancy commandeers a small army of police officers to help to find the fugitive and protect the presumptive vendetta targets. Coincidentally, the threatened prosecutor and the judge are both running against one another in a municipal judicial election, and neither are excited about being assigned 24/7 police protection. Clancy also dispatches surveillance teams to watch the houses of Cevera’s girlfriend and mother on the assumption that the escapee will be seeking help while out on the streets.

As the manhunt intensifies, a mystery develops: Why would a small-time punk like Cervera, serving a five-to-ten year sentence, risk a violent prison escape three years into his stretch? After all, he’d have a shot before the parole board soon enough, right? The mystery intensifies as the shots fly and the bodies pile up.

The Quarry is an excellent police procedural along the same lines as Ed McBain’s popular 87th Precinct series. Fish is a terrific writer who knows how to keep the pace moving with a sense of real urgency. He keeps the readers in the third-person head of Lt. Clancy, a fine protagonist, for the paperback’s duration. Although, the novel is a sequel to Mute Witness (or Bullitt, if you will), the two books stand alone nicely and can be read in any order with no supplemental materials needed.

Overall, it’s easy to like The Quarry, but readers should understand that this is a mystery novel (as advertised), not a violent adventure book. If you enjoy a good police procedural fugitive story with some clever twists, this one’s for you. Recommended. 

Buy a copy of this book HERE

The Circular Staircase

I recently became fascinated with the American mystery writer Mary Roberts Rinehart. She wrote several novels and short stories between 1908 and 1952. Much of it has been reprinted dozens of times over the years. In the 1960s and 1970s, Dell reprinted her novels to appeal to the flourishing Gothic market. These books traditionally featured women escaping large mansions or walking down dark corridors and stairs. Such is the case with Rinehart's very first novel, The Circular Staircase. It was originally published over the course of five issues of All-Story beginning in November 1907. It was then reprinted as a book by Bobbs-Merrill in 1908. It was reprinted and commercialized like a Gothic paperback by Dell in 1968.

Rachel Innes is a wealthy spinster who has raised her orphaned niece, 24-yr old Gertrude, and her nephew, 20-yr old Halsey. After hiring a team of contractors to renovate her home, Rachel decides to rent a big manor called Summerside for the trio to spend their summer vacation. Arriving early, Rachel and her servant Liddy decide to spend the night at home until Gertrude and Halsey arrive the following day. The duo experience what appears to be a supernatural haunting with loud foot stomps down the house's long and winding staircase. In addition, a man appeared to be outside in the shadows of the stable. The explanation for all of this comes from the butler who cautions the duo by explaining that things have happened inside that are not natural.

Later, Gertrude and Halsey arrive home with a friend and head off to the local country club. That night, the house is awoken by the noise of a gunshot. Stumbling into the card room, Rachel discovers the corpse of Paul Armstrong, the homeowner's son. By the time the detectives get here, there's every indication that Halsey is the prime suspect in Armstrong's murder.

Rinehart's story is written in what was then thought to be an innovative style. In the first pages of the book, Rachel tells readers what happened to her and her family in Sunnyside. She does this in a method that introduces the "If I had only known then." This technique becomes a staple in mystery fiction with the protagonist cautioning readers about the events that happened and the things that he or she could have done to avoid it. This is like an NFL fan commenting Monday morning on his team's defeat the day before. It is made in a way that presents itself as a regret or a misfortune, but that sets up the central mystery of the book.

The Circular Staircase features a fascinating narrative that unfolds into 10 or 12 small mysteries that are all connected. Rachel's experience at Sunnyside is a harrowing journey, ripe with two murders, a local bank robbery, a mysterious orphaned child and a number of seeming unexplained occurrences within the house. A large hole appears in an upstairs wall, an unknown person (or entity) is discovered escaping through a laundry chute and various members of the family find themselves physically and mentally assaulted. Sometimes I found the plot really complicated and dense, but it wasn't enough to make it an unpleasant reading experience. Instead, I enjoyed the overwhelming mystery and was excited to discover how the author weaved it all together. 

Rinehart's novel was successfully adapted into the 1920 stage play The Bat. It ran 878 performances in New York before launching in Europe. It was filmed on three occasions: 1926, 1930 and 1959. Against Rinehart's wishes, a film company reprinted The Circular Staircase under the title of The Bat. In 1926, Rinehart allowed a novelization of The Bat in her name but ghostwritten by Stephen Vincent Benet. 

If you like the cozy mystery thrillers of the early twentieth century, The Circular Staircase is a must-read. Rinehart was a master of her craft and used a lot of the same techniques, atmosphere and locales write a number of other novels including 1925's The Red Lamp. You owe it to yourself to read a few of her books.

Buy a copy of this book HERE

Deathlands #06 - Pony Soldiers

Laurence James wrote a number of successful western titles like Crow, Apache and Gunslinger in the 1970s and 1980s. His violent narration provided a raw and gravelly texture to the monomyth threads of western vengeance. From that aspect, I was curious to read the author's combination of post-apocalyptic and western genres with Deathlands' sixth installment Pony Soldiers, originally published by Gold Eagle in May of 1988. 

In the last installment of the series, Homeward Bound, the original tale of Ryan Cawdor was revealed, including the final details of that story arc. After the action stopped in Virginia, the band returned to the northeast to enter the New York redoubt. Like prior novels, the heroes battle mutants before making a jump through the gate and return to a familiar place - the Alaskan redoubt featured in the series second entry Red Holocaust. In these opening chapters, Jak is hurt by a mutant animal.

Instead of staying in the Alaska location, the group choose to pursue another adventure and re-entered the redoubt. This time, they emerge in a hot, dusty desert somewhere in what was originally the southwest United States. After seeing corpses of 1800's U.S. Cavalry soldiers, Doc becomes concerned that the group has somehow made a leap back through time to the late nineteenth century. Thankfully, we realize that isn't the case. Instead, the heroes fall into a familiar scenario - warlike factions fighting for territory, supplies and superiority.

In a rather clever twist, the heroes, including the dying Jak, face off against "Pony Soldiers" led by a blonde haired maniac that may or may not be the historically famous General George C. Custer. During a firefight, Cawdor and the group are assisted by a tribe of Apache warriors led by Cuchillo Oro. Cawdor discovers that the Pony Soldiers could be involved with an old enemy, Cort Strasser. Together, the Apache warriors and the Cawdor group combine their forces to destroy the deranged and often sadistic Pony Soldiers.

As I mentioned earlier, James has a lot of fun with this book and turns it into a violent western novel similar to the titles he was writing in the 1970s. Macabre torture devices, dissection, crucifixions and the usual assortment of barbaric crimes used throughout this novel are all staples of his 1970s style of writing. In fact, fellow British author Terry Harknett’s hero Edge is quoted as a legend in the region. In addition, the name Cuchillo Oro may be familiar to fans of the Apache series from James. In this series, which began in 1974, Cuchillo Oro is the hero's name, an Apache warrior who carries a shiny golden dagger. The Cuchillo Oro in this episode of Deathlands is not the same hero as the Apache series, however the names suggest that the two are related.

Pony Soldiers advance the overall storyline and provides a number of action-packed sequences that capture the same essence and quality the series typically possesses. There's a new character that joins the group at the end of the novel and an establishment that Cort Strasser may appear as a main villain again. Overall, another solid entry into the series and further proof that Laurence James really turned the corner with Homeward Bound. This was an enjoyable reading experience.

Buy a copy of this book HERE

Sam Watchman #02 - The Threepersons Hunt

Brian Garfield (1939-2018) wrote westerns throughout the 1960's. Beginning in the early 1970s, the author began writing crime-fiction, highlighted by Death Wish in 1972, I loved his 1972 thriller Relentless, featuring Sam Watchman, an Arizona state police officer. Luckily, Garfield revisited the character with his 1974 novel The Threepersons Hunt. I purchased the Fawcett Gold Medal paperback edition hoping for the same reading pleasure as Relentless.

Watchman is a Navajo and has been working as a State Trooper for a decade. He has a strong track record but has not been promoted. His curiosity is peaked when his direct supervisor offers him a special assignment. A prisoner named Joe Threepersons escaped from prison and is suspected of returning to his Apache Reserve. The agreement is that Watchman will be assigned a temporary detective role that can potentially shift to a full-time role if he can successfully retrieve the prisoner. Simple, right? The problem is that Watchman and Threepersons come from two different Indian tribes. Historically, Navajo and Apache do not mix well. As such, the work may become very dangerous for Watchman.

Threepersons originally went to prison for a murder he happily confessed to. His wife and young son profited financially from his captivity by receiving substantial sums of money. These funds were used to invest in a business and the child's future expenditures at college. Did Threepersons take the fall so his family could become financially independent? Before Threepersons escaped from prison, he learned that his wife and son were killed in a car accident. Watchman's pursuit of Threepersons evolves into an elaborate murder investigation.

The placement of Sam Watchman in this big investigation is different from the high-action formula of Relentless. I love both books, but I think Watchman is more in his element with the procedural style story. There are many shootings and action to satisfy the readers, but I really enjoyed the complex mystery. Central to the story is a legal battle between the Indians and a large cattle ranch belonging to a businessman with close ties to Threepersons. Garfield's characters reflect greed, deadly intent, sexual desire, poverty and revenge. There are plenty of characters, but that's not enough to make the plot dense or confusing. 

In some respects, Watchman is like Craig Johnson's Longmire character. Both are astute with a penchant for solving issues with logic and proof. Still, the two are capable of holding their own when it comes to the inevitable struggle. I also compare Watchman with the Dakota character of Gilbert Ralston. It could be the rural rocky areas or the interaction among the Native American tribes. I wanted Garfield to follow up on a third novel starring Sam Watchman. I think there was so much potential with that character. Regardless, The Three Persons Hunt is a real pleasure to read. Highly recommended.

Buy a copy of this book HERE