Danger in Paradise

Stark House Press continues to reprint the literary work of A.S. Fleischman. The talented Navy veteran, magician, and author began writing genre paperbacks in 1948, a career that led into his more prominent role as a children's storyteller. Among his westerns, movie novelizations, and crime-fiction, the genre that most feel was Fleischman's strong suit was exotic adventure. Novels like Shanghai Flame, Counterspy Express, Malay Woman, and Blood Alley are set in and around Asian locations. In 2018, Stark House reprinted Fleischman's Malay Woman and Danger in Paradise as a two-in-one with an introduction by David Laurence Wilson. Having read, reviewed, and enjoyed Malay Woman, I was excited to read 1953's Danger in Paradise to experience more of the author's thrilling exotic adventures.

Jefferson Cape is a Montana native that works as an international geologist in the Far East. After a long voyage across the Java Sea with a crazy Australian captain, Cape is happy for a day stop in Buleleng, Indonesia. The temperature is red hot, the beer is hotter, and the mosquitoes are like a thick drapery of disease and despair. But, Cape is on dry land, at a bar, enjoying these tiny moments when a beautiful woman approaches him for an unusual request.

The woman explains that she has a very tiny package that she needs to export out of Buleleng. It's a business card with Russian wording on the back. She explains that this has to do with terrorists in the country and arms trading. She wants him to carry it back to the states and deliver it to the CIA. Unfortunately Cape agrees and his entire world comes crashing down. The woman seemingly disappears and Cape finds himself stranded and on the run from a Chinese gunman, a powerful businessman, and terrorists as his ship sails away. His only ally is a sexy, mysterious woman, but she somehow knows the lady from the bar and is connected to this whole deadly fiasco. 

Danger in Paradise wasn't as entertaining as I had hoped. I felt that Fleischman had too many ideas and couldn't really flesh them out in a uniform way. In fact, in the first couple of pages, Cape looks at the woman in the bar and says, “Okay, I'll bite.” I felt like this was Fleischman after writing a couple of the early pages for a plot he hadn't quite constructed yet. He's reminding himself that he has this American man in a bar meeting a mysterious woman. Where can he take this rudimentary idea? Unfortunately, he takes it too far.

At 160 pages, the narrative is saturated in chase sequences that left me bewildered about which characters were after each other. I wanted the story to be explained quickly so I could enjoy the twists and turns, but once it was unveiled, I needed some story elements concealed to keep it interesting. Gunrunning, terrorists, exotic locales and shady ladies should be an easy story to tell. But, Danger in Paradise drowns in the details and becomes a convoluted chore. Of course, Fleischman can write his tail off, but the end result left me exhausted. Get the book HERE.

House of Dark Illusions

There are over 30 gothic novels authored by Caroline Farr between the mid-1960s and 1970s. Most of these books were originally published in Australia by Horwitz Publications and then reprinted in the US by Signet with vivid, traditional painted covers of beautiful women fleeing from gloomy mansions and castles. Depending on who you ask, the Caroline Farr name is a pseudonym for a revolving door of authors. The most consistent author associated with the Farr name is Richard Wilkes-Hunter, a New South Wales native that also authored books under pseudonyms like Alex Crane and Tod Conrad. 

Another name associated with the Caroline Farr novels is that of Allan Geoffrey Yates, the popular author that became a household name by writing crime-fiction as Carter Brown. My sources close to the Yates estate confirm that he did author some Farr novels, but the titles are unknown. There is also another Australian author closely associated with the Farr name, Lee Pattinson. According to papers held by the National Library of Australia, Pattinson was employed as a writer with Horwitz and authored romance novels under names like Teri Lester, Noni Arden, Kerry Mitchell, and Caroline Farr. 

The conclusion is that Caroline Farr was a house name used by at least three different authors that were published by Horwitz. Most recently, I gained a couple of these Signet reprints of Farr novels and I decided to try one out – House of Dark Illusions. It was originally published in 1973 and begins with a familiar gothic genre trope, a young woman learning of her inheritance. 

In the opening pages of House of Dark Illusions, young Megan has just experienced the loss of her father. She's a student at Boston College and lives in an apartment on Boston's North Shore. With her father's death, Megan fears she won't have enough financial support to remain in college. Thankfully, Megan receives a letter from her Aunt Lissi with a tantalizing offer. Lissi invites Megan to the family's coastal mansion in Nova Scotia, Canada. 

In the backstory, readers learn that Megan's mother is a descendant from a wealthy Canadian family. Unfortunately, she died when Megan was very young. The family never liked Megan's father so he left the family behind and raised Megan as a struggling single father in Boston. Megan debates returning to her childhood home, but feels that enough time has passed and it's important that she visit the only remaining family left, Aunt Lissie.

When Megan arrives at the spacious shoreline estate, she learns that her mother possessed telekinetic powers – the ability to move inanimate objects with her mind. Lissie feels that Megan has the same talents as well, but needs help discovering them. Lissie insists on having a séance so that Megan can harness her own hidden energy and possibly connect psychically with her dead mother. Additionally, the séance will include two distant cousins, a medium, and two doctors. But, when the séance begins, Megan begins seeing visions of an Indian prince being murdered in a palace. How does any of this connect to the story? 

At 140 pages of large font, House of Dark Illusions reads more like a short story. There isn't really enough time to delve too far into these characters to properly introduce them. I felt the narrative was missing huge chunks of importance or simply shortened to meet a publishing deadline. The entire story does play out, including answers to Megan's questions about her family and inheritance, but it feels like a rushed job. The book's finale left something to be desired, but possessed a fitting conclusion to the average plot. Whoever crafted the book used foggy roads, the misty coastline, and the cavernous house as atmospheric plot enhancers, but even the spook factor wasn't enough to save the book. I'd recommend passing on this unless you really love the artwork of these old books and must possess everything. Otherwise, just move on to much better books.

Brad Dolan #01 - Back Country

William Fuller worked on freighters and farms, served as a newspaper reporter, and was an infantryman during WWII. It was during the early 1940s through the 1950s that Fuller's short stories were purchased by the likes of Sky Aces, Adventure, and Argosy. Like Steve Fisher, Fuller found success in the slick magazines like Collier's, McCall's and even Esquire. With the onset of paperback publishing, Fuller began writing full-length novels in the 1950s, beginning with 1954's Back Country. It was an enormous success for Dell and Fuller. 

The novel, the first of six to star a vagabond hero named Brad Dolan, sold a half-million copies. Long out of print, Stark House Press has resurrected Back Country as part of their Black Gat Book imprint. The reprint features a comprehensive and insightful look at the series by esteemed scholar and author Bill Pronzini. As a fan of Fuller's Brad Dolan character and his only stand-alone novel, The Pace That Kills, I was excited to learn that Back Country was being reintroduced to modern readers.

Brad Dolan served in both WW2 and Korea, an experience that led to harsh imprisonment in a German camp as a prisoner-of-war. Banged up after the wars, Dolan is driving across inland Florida en route to the southern beaches of Miami. Along the way, his car gives out and he becomes stranded in a small, fictional Florida town called Cartersville. It is one of those map dots that features a war monument, a dusty park or two, the obligatory noisy railroad, and old men playing shuffleboard until they die. Dolan reminds readers and himself, “This is the Florida the tourists never see. This is small town anywhere.”

In a sweltering bar, Dolan downs a cold brew and offers to buy a woman a drink. After a minor scuffle, Dolan is hit with a sap. He then finds himself crawling through a Japanese jungle and raking fire across huts. He then wakes up and realizes he's still in the one-horse town, only he now sees it on the wrong side of iron bars. The Cartersville police then beat him up and he spends days in a daze. Eventually, the one horse that owns the town shows up – Mr. Rand Ringo. 

Ringo reviews Dolan's past and realizes his operation could benefit from his talents. He pays Dolan a wad of cash, provides lodging, and tells him to just hang around until he needs him. The hanging around part just so happens to involve Ringo's wife in Dolan's new bed. If that isn't enough grief, Dolan befriends Ringo's sexy twenty-something daughter. But, eventually the rubber hits the road and Dolan is asked to bounce on an African-American named Sam Foster. Ringo lets Foster run some illegal gambling in the black section of town, but all the games are rigged. Sam has been tinkering with the scam and trying to earn an honest living. After Dolan talks with Sam, he realizes Ringo is a toxic influence on Cartersville. It's a criminal infestation that has to stop.

Fuller's novel is a product of the times and is filled with a lot of racist comments and attitudes. But, as Pronzini points out in the introduction, Dolan and the author aren't endorsing racism or that attitude.  Dolan's nemesis...Cartersville's nemesis...is the racist law-enforcement controlled and created by Ringo. In the book's furious finale, Dolan and Sam are forced into the street to face a mob of angry white people Hellbent on a hanging. Dolan's wits, determination, and cool factor win the day, but it's a memorable fight. 

Back Country's first half is cloudy with a lot of dialogue about God, the purpose of life and social philosophy. These conversations place Dolan on an intellectual plane that ran counter to what my beliefs and expectations were of the book. But, the price of admission is well worth it. The novel's second half is a whirlwind of emotion and violence, saturated in Fuller's scrappy storytelling. It isn't pretty, but it doesn't have to be. Back Country isn't a main street crime-noir. It lives up to its name. Back Country is a crossroads of dastardly villains, despicable authority, and a lot of lyin' and cheatin' no good son of a guns. Thankfully, Brad Dolan is back in the house.

Steve Bentley #03 - The House on Q Street

Many fans point to the Steve Bentley series as the best representation of E. Howard Hunt's literary work. Hunt, a former CIA operative and convicted Watergate conspirator, authored over 70 novels using a variety of pseudonyms. The Steve Bentley series was written under the name Robert Dietrich between 1957 through 1962, with one additional novel penned in 1999. I've previously read the first two installments and thoroughly enjoyed them. The books were originally published by Dell and have recently been reprinted by Cutting Edge Books. Savoring the series, it's been 20 months since I've visited the character. Continuing in series order, I'm picking up with the third installment, 1959's The House on Q Street. 

Steve Bentley is a Korean War veteran that was once employed by the U.S. Treasury Department to break up black market rings internationally. Now, he is employed as a busy tax accountant surrounded by the I-495 beltway in Washington, D.C. In The House on Q Street, Bentley is referred by a friend to Major General Walter Ferrand Ballou, U.S.M.C. Retired. The desired meeting is for Bentley to possibly replace Ballou's recently deceased accountant. But, when the two meet face to face, it's a rather unusual discussion. 

Ballou's family is immensely wealthy based on old Washington money. Ballou is quite the war hero, fighting in WW2's Pacific Theater and earning his fruit salad the hard way. In a cavalier approach, Ballou never cashed his paychecks because he felt it was his duty to serve America. Ballou retired and then served as Chief of State Police before later declining a bid for governor. Bentley, respecting Ballou, asks how he can assist the retired general. Without stating the obvious, Ballou needs Bentley to hide a $100,000 payout to a blackmailer by creating a corporation and providing various write-offs and losses. The secrecy is to protect both his son and daughter from noticing the withdraw from their eventual lucrative trust. 

By creating the corporation, Bentley learns that Ballou's daughter Francie is a drop-dead knockout that's divorced and flirty. Her brother Winston is a screw-up that dabbles in horse racing and slowly whittles away his trust funds. Upon a return visit to Ballou's house, Bentley tackles an intruder and then notifies the police. The next day, Bentley learns that a former state police officer that Ballou had previously fired had been shot to death. What's interesting is that the dead man's wife shows up to bail out Ballou's intruder from jail. How are these connected? When Bentley discovers that this same woman was married to a doctor eight years earlier, he finds out that the man was murdered as well. Two husbands. Two murders. The link turns out to be way more than Bentley bargained for.

There is a lot to unpack in The House on Q Street, but it's never too convoluted for its own good. I read the novel in nearly one sitting and absolutely loved the pace and the influx of clues as each chapter scurried by. Hunt sometimes floundered in the “literary hack” echelon of crime-noir and espionage writers. But, with these Steve Bentley thrillers, he absolutely nails it every time. Bentley's probing into the murders leads to a missing gun, a mysterious nurse, the General's secrets, and a high-level criminal in Baltimore. Of course, the hero still has time for the Scotch and Ballou's hot daughter.

The House on Q Street is another D.C. thriller, complete with a twisty mystery and compelling characters. Steve Bentley remains a competent paperback hero that rubs shoulders with politicians while also digging into their darkened past to expose hidden truths. The combination of romance, intrigue, violence, and scandal makes it an absolute pleasure to read. Get a copy of the book HERE.

Whip of Desire

March Hastings was one of a number of pseudonyms used by author Sally Singer (b. 1930). The New York native specialized in erotic fiction and wrote over 20 novels between 1958 to 1976. These vintage paperbacks have become collector's items and often fetch prices over $100. Thankfully, Cutting Edge has been reprinting Singer's work as affordable paperbacks and ebooks. I read her 1961 lesbian novel The Outcasts and found it enjoyable enough to warrant a revisit of the author's work. I chose the Cutting Edge reprint of Whip of Desire. It was originally published by Midwood in 1962.

The book stars Fred Boyer, a 28 year old man originally from Alaska. He now lives in New York, plays the piano and has a pregnant wife named Mindy. In the opening chapter, Fred is at an employment agency hoping to find work. He's provided instructions to a theater ran by a gorgeous woman named Eve. Instantly, Fred and Eve connect and in a matter of days they establish a business that's funded by Eve's wealthy father. Fred will compose and perform music and Eve will put together a stage act. 

Later, readers learn that Eve's father crashed the family plane years ago, an accident that killed Eve's sister and injured her. Eve feels she is somehow responsible for her sister's death and harms herself frequently – pain as her penance for surviving. As Fred soon realizes, Eve craves rough sex and demands to be dominated. Eventually, Fred's heated desires for Eve erupts in a frenzy of pleasure and pain. He's liberated from the financial stress of being a husband and an expectant father by forcefully taking Eve. She pleasurably gains the abuse she feels she deserves while he is freed from life's cumbersome shackles by becoming her lover. But, Fred learns there is another man in Eve's life, a man so abusive that he leaves Eve broken, bloody, and nearly dead.

As an intriguing romance novel of the 1960s, Whip of Desire introduces some surprising elements. Both Fred and Eve were dynamic characters and the story was serviceable enough. I think Singer is a terrific writer, but she really finds her element in the sex scenes. Her descriptions are never graphic, but really convey the emotions and physical collision between these lovers. Mindy's mistrust in Fred, Eve's backstory, the business venture, and Eve's domineering “other man” made for a propulsive, fully developed story that I found entertaining. 

If you enjoy heated, erotic mid-20th century romance novels, then Whip of Desire will surely be a real pleasure to read. Recommended. Buy a copy HERE.

Target of Terror

Gerry Powell was a popular pulp and paperback artist that created covers for the likes of Signet, Fawcett Gold Medal, Dell, and Pyramid. It was striking cover art that led me to one of his paperback covers at a local used bookstore. The novel is Target for Terror, authored by S.A. Martinez and published by Major Books in 1976. I could find nothing online that identified the author, so that information remains a mystery. But, the contents of this old paperback are what truly matters. Intrigued by the book's premise, I dove in.

Mark and his wife Claire live in an older, three-level house on the shoreline cliffs of Malibu, California. Mark is a writer, Claire is an actress, and their marriage is falling apart. Through an employment agency, Claire has hired a new house cleaner named Leyla. While she's in New York, she notifies Mark that Leyla should be arriving in the coming days. Mark, despondent over his recent writing failures, droops around the house and spends time talking to his chatty, snooty friend Jamie.

In the opening chapters, young Leyla hitchhikes to Mark's house and arrives on a rainy, stormy night two days ahead of schedule. Readers will immediately realize that something is amiss with Leyla. She is paranoid someone is following her and she's carrying a small canvas bag and a tambourine. To his surprise, Mark finds Leyla on his doorstep in the middle of the night and ushers her inside. Anyone who has read a Gil Brewer novel knows where this is headed. 

Lonely and horny, Mark chases Leyla around the mansion hoping to get laid. Leyla just wants shelter from the night and the ability to hide from whatever deep and dark past is chasing her. After Mark becomes physical, Leyla runs up the stairs to escape. Backing away from her attacker, Leyla falls from the crumbling balcony and dies. 

The book's first 50 pages is Mark's hurried efforts to clean the crime scene – dispose of her clothes, conceal his scratch marks, eliminate her presence from the house. Thinking that her body would wash up on a northern shore, he is shocked to find her body below his house the next morning. The book's narrative then focuses on his efforts to relocate the corpse somewhere else. But, Target of Terror isn't just a tale of murder. Mark finds that he is now the target of whoever was hunting Leyla. They think he killed Leyla to obtain the valuable thing they want. When detectives, Claire, and Jamie become involved, the whole narrative twists and turns into a cat and mouse chase over Leyla's secret treasure.

You have to realize, this novel was published by Major Books. They were a lowly 1970s publisher with terrible editing and equally terrible books. Due to the publisher, Target for Terror reads like a play or a rough draft. The dialogue isn't natural, the pacing is a little off, and the characters are mostly one-dimensional. The main villain is stereotypical and there's very little backstory that suggests Mark is capable of rape and murder. But, despite the abysmal editing job, I can say I enjoyed the book. Martinez's writing is serviceable enough and I had the foresight to realize the finished product would be a hack job. In the hands of a capable editor, the book would have been a real treat. Unfortunately, what's left here is just another average paperback collecting dust bunnies in a basement zoo.

A Taste for Sin

Gil Brewer (1922-1983) was a prolific author of paperback original crime novels in the mid-20th century before his life was consumed with alcohol and personal demons. He was at the top of his game in 1961 when he wrote A Taste for Sin, a novel that’s been reprinted by Stark House Press. 

Our narrator is Jim Phalen, an employee at the Happytime Liquor Store.  As the novel opens, he’s been invited to the house of a horny local housewife for some afternoon delight. Her name is Felice, and her unwitting husband works at the local bank. She’s a conniving and kinky bitch — more on that later. 

Phalen is not a good and honorable person either. He rents a room in a dilapidated lodge with a toilet that barely functions, and he can barely afford those spartan accommodations on his meager salary. He recounts his brutally-violent past, and, man, it’s something else. Brace yourself for some insane violence throughout this book. Anyway, it’s clear that Phalen’s intention is to somehow leverage the rich, married lady he’s banging to change the direction of his life.

Meanwhile, Phalen is dealing with the fallout of a petty crime he committed that spun out of control. He needs to be deceptively clever to avoid getting caught. Felice learns about Phalen’s money troubles and pressures him into a scheme to rip off the bank and kill her husband. 

What we have here is a femme fatale heist novel and a rather excellent one at that. A Taste for Sin showcases some of the best actual prose writing I’ve ever read from Brewer. The sex scenes are more graphic than usual for 1961, and the action scenes are a genuine bloodbath. I’ve always cited The Vengeful Virgin and 13 French Street as Brewer’s masterworks, but A Taste For Sin is the new top-of-the-heap. Highest recommendation.