Ralph Lindsey #01 - The Venus Death

According to Allan Hubin's 20th Century Crime & Mystery Writers, Benjamin Benson (1915-1959) was born in Boston, educated at Suffolk University Law School, and served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1945. He earned a Purple Heart, two battle stars, and was seriously wounded and confined to a hospital for three years. While hospitalized, Benson received numerous detective stories to read, which encouraged him to write as a form of therapy. 

Benson's first series character was Inspector Wade Paris, a fictional Detective serving the Massachusetts State Police. The character appeared in Benson's first three novels, Alibi at Dusk (1952), Beware the Pale Horse (1952) and Lily in Her Coffin (1954). But, my first experience with this author is his second character, Trooper Ralph Lindsey. The character debuted  in 1953's The Venus Death, and appeared in at least six further installments. 

Perhaps Benson's therapeutic writing or experience in country living influenced his use of characters in unique settings. Instead of placing his creations in familiar big city locales, Benson chooses the rural small-towns and byways of the rural American Northeast. Like Paris, Lindsey is also employed by the State of Massachusetts as a law enforcer, in this case he's a 23-year old “boot”, meaning a rookie in the State Police.

In the opening pages, Benson introduces Lindsey's brief history in quick one or two-page histories. He is a Korean War veteran, the son of a former State Police Trooper, and he has a routine girl named Ellen. The author invests in Lindsey's father, providing a little backstory on how the man was shot in the back on patrol and now remains paralyzed from the waist down. Because of his career being cut short, Lindsey's father is heavily involved in his son's career. He consistently asks Lindsey about firearms, current cases, his patrol, and is there to prod and poke his son for wearing scuffed shoes or having a shirt unpressed. The old man is a wonderful addition to the story.

While off duty at a bar Lindsey meets a young mysterious girl named Manette. She's new in town, works at the local mill, and desperately wants a man in her life. Lindsey takes her out a couple of times and is surprised one evening when he's called to his superior's office. Manette has been found murdered with a bullet in the brain. The murderer? Lindsey's girlfriend Ellen. Could this be a case of jealous rage?

The Venus Death hooked me from the beginning and really never let up. What's interesting about the setup is that Lindsey is mostly restrained from the murder investigation business. Remember, he's a State Trooper involved in highway crime, stolen cars, that sort of thing. But, his connectivity to both women allows him to team up as an apprentice with the  local detectives, a couple of hard-nosed sleuths named Newpole and Angsman, as well as a State Police Detective-Lieutenant named Granger. There's a lot of pressure placed on Lindsey not only because of the crime but due to his father's legacy – tough shoes to fill. 

Through 211 pages, the investigation digs into Manette's past in Chicago, her former husband, and a couple of seedy gentleman that are in town for what appears to be a big heist. How the police handle the preparation for the bust and work through procedural interviews and evidence examinations was really enjoyable. Comparisons can be made to Hillary Waugh's excellent police procedural series Fred Fellows, complete with the tight-knit mystery aspect and the Northeastern locale of Connecticut, a state where portions of The Venus Death takes place. 

Based on small sample size, this Ralph Lindsey series seems like a winner. Recommended! Get the physical book HERE and the digital ebook HERE.

Uptown Shopping 2

Eric returns to the same store after a successful previous shopping trip, this time picking up more spy fiction, WWII novels, young-adult books, and sharing insights about vintage authors and publishers. Stream below or on the YouTube channel HERE.

Cry, Brother, Cry

Not a lot is known about pulp writer and novelist Jack Karney (1911-?). He worked in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, wrote shorts for magazines like Argosy and Short Stories, and completed at least 11 paperback originals. Most of his literary work concerns juvenile delinquents or boxers struggling with criminality on New York's Lower East Side. In the opening pages of Cry, Brother, Cry, a 1959 Popular Library paperback, there's a note about the author that states Karney was a member of a teenage gang, which is fitting considering that's the subject of the book. 

Two years ago, Joey Koslo was an up-and-coming welterweight boxer. He threw the leather while working his way up to a Final Boss named Ox, a fighter groomed by the Mob to be the next world champ. When Joey refused to take the dive, and beat Ox, the Mob nearly pummeled him to death in an alley. After a lengthy hospital stay, Joey was released and immediately tracked Ox down. After a brutal beating with a cue stick the police arrested Joey for attempted murder. Two years in the pen.

Back home and hoping for a calmer life, Joey attempts to reconnect with his younger brother Duke. But, he realizes a harsh reality when he discovers expensive attire and a pistol in Duke's closet – Duke's involved with the Mob. Joey attempts to persuade Duke, a high school kid, to go clean before it's too late. Joey's positive encouragement helps, but eventually the money is just too darn good to turn down – Duke goes dirty.

Cry, Brother, Cry is saturated in the teen gangster tropes used by mid 20th century crime-fiction authors like Benjamin Appel, Edward S. Aarons, and W.R. Burnett - the cops need informers, the parents urge discipline, and the boys need maturity. But, Karney's writing, while often deadpan grim, brings to the surface a relationship journey for the main character and his prior girlfriend. How they reconnect, long for each other, and battle turbulent forces in their lives is a subplot that nearly surpasses the teen criminality angle. It was such an entertaining part of this violent, touching, and unforgettable novel. Highly recommended. Get it HERE.  

The Bells Are Ringing

We've covered three Jack Karney novels here on Paperback Warrior and we've covered his life and literary work on the podcast. I wanted to experience Karney's short-story writing style, which is steeped in boxing stories and the fighter lifestyle. There's a few scans that float around online and the one I gravitated towards is “The Bells Are Ringing”. It was published in the November 25th, 1947 issue of Short Stories.

The story is presented in a unique and colorful way by weaving the rounds of an exciting boxing bout with the prior events affecting protagonist Rocky Sears before the fight. It is an unusual storytelling method that blends in-ring action, the ticking of the rounds, with a sort of countdown of Rocky's turbulent weeks prior to the opening bell. 

As the story begins, Rocky is in the ring taking hammer blows and shots from the Champ in the Garden. Then the narrative flashes back to the early days of the fight preparation. Readers learn that Rocky's trainer, Pop, is an old-timer on the cusp of retirement. Rocky plans on marrying Pop's daughter Virgie and the two want the old man to live with them once Rocky wins the big money fight. But, there's a wrench stuck in the gears – Rocky's former flame Francine is in town and wants to see him.

The story then fluctuates back and forth between Rocky being pummeled in the ring by the Champ and a broken-heart story concerning Rocky's former lover. It turns out Francine is an actress that left Rocky and New York behind to pursue a film industry in Hollywood. She returned to New York looking for work (read that as Sugar Daddy) after her career fizzled out. She also wants to strike up a relationship with Rocky. She brought along a boy toy though in case things don't work out with Rocky. In a riveting twist, the boy toy has eyes on Virgie. This weird love triangle puts Rocky's match with the Champ in perspective. 

If he wins then Francine will follow the money and want Rocky all for herself, leaving the boy toy to aggressively pursue Virgie, thus affecting Rocky's proposed  marriage and the planned landing spot for the tired old man Pop. 

If he loses, Francine and her boy toy will probably hit the road for action elsewhere, leaving Virgie back with Rocky...and a wedding and house that neither can afford.

Karney can tell a story and “The Bells Are Ringing” was just a remarkable mix of emotions. The comeback from Jack in the ring pairs well with the storytelling aspect of this love triangle and how it develops into a conundrum for all the interested parties. Rocky is a likable character and Pop plays a minor role in terms of dialogue and presence, but in reality is the narrative's most pivotal point. This was a real pleasure to read and deserves a reprint in some fashion. In the meantime you can read the story online HERE or stream below.

Paperback Warrior Podcast - Episode 122

In this double-feature episode, Eric investigates the mysterious life and work of crime-fiction and boxing-story writer Jack Karney, while also spotlighting S.S. Rafferty, a regular contributor to Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazines. The episode also includes a segment on a non-fiction book about MGM Studios, a look at this summer's conventions, and fiction's first colonial continental op. Stream below, listen on any streaming platform, download HERE, or play on YouTube HERE.

Listen to "Episode 122: Jack Karney & S.S. Rafferty" on Spreaker.

East Indiaman #02 - The Tiger & the Thief

With 150 books of historical fiction, including over 25 series titles, author Griff Hosker has certainly discovered a new life after teaching English and Drama for 35 years. I've sampled his Dragon Heart saga and enjoyed it, but I found his newest title, East Indiaman, the most enjoyable of my experiences thus far. I reviewed and praised the series debut, East Indiaman, published in 2024. I was delighted to discover a second installment had released earlier this year.

In the series debut, set in the late 1700s, Bill Smith is a young thief who avoids capture by becoming a stowaway on a ship. Through first-person perspective, Bill tells of his life at sea and his transition from unruly criminal to an admirable shipmate. He eventually finds himself in a type of special-forces commando unit serving the British empire in the East Indies. It's a type of Dirty Dozen force that completes challenging tasks that the official British Army can't perform for fear of community hostilities. Think of a 1700s S.O.B.s.

In this book, The Tiger & the Thief, it is 1799 and Smith is involved in the Siege of Seringapatam (real thing). In the book's opening adventure, Smith alone must break into a fortified compound, meet with an informer and determine the best time for the British forces to siege the place. But, he is quickly captured, interrogated, and must find a way to escape.

After this adventure the book dives into one adventure after another like a video game where Smith hops from checkpoint to checkpoint clicking off tasks. Typically these missions involve transporting various things or people across hundreds of miles of dense uninhabitable foliage or quelling various uprisings that distract the British (and French) forces. There's a bit of peacekeeping involved that made the action sequences less lethal.

Overall, The Tiger & the Thief was okay but it failed to deliver the same enjoyment as the predecessor. The rhythmic formula of jumping from task to task became a boring exercise with few surprises. The predictability and lethargic pace (at 240 pages) bogged this installment down. It is debatable on whether I'll continue on with the series. Lukewarm recommendation. Get it HERE.

52 Weeks 52 Sherlock Holmes Novels

Paul Bishop is a 35-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department. He's authored 15 novels and numerous scripts for TV and feature films. He co-hosted the excellent award-winning podcast Six-Gun Justice alongside fellow scribe Richard Prosch and currently serves as an acquisitions editor for Wolfpack Publishing. 

His newest endeavor is based on his childhood hero and literary influence, the great Sherlock Holmes. Bishop, born in England, came to the U.S. with a copy of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes to accompany him on his voyage. Over the years, Bishop has consistently been passionate about the Sherlockian society, from television show and film fandom to all the various nuances of this character's flavorful pop-culture. To celebrate his love for the eternal sleuth, Bishop has compiled a comprehensive collection of essays and reviews celebrating Sherlock Holmes pastiche fiction, 52 Weeks 52 Sherlock Holmes Novels (Genius Publishing). 

It is said that a staggering 25,000 documented works starring Holmes (written by authors outside of character creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) are in existence. Collecting 52 scholarly essays and expert commentary about these works is a large undertaking, but thankfully Bishop was able to edit and accomplish this task in a fun and desirable way. This book, available in both print (400+ pages) and digital (300+), contains a “coffee table” approach allowing readers and fans to simply dive in and out of these high-quality critiques.  

The book is strategically organized into five separate parts that ultimately begins with Bishop's self-reflective "Introduction" and insightful "A Word About Sherlockian Pastiches". In no particular order, each essay is presented with the cover of the chosen pastiche, the author's name, year published, and the essay's contributor. The template, a thorough fixture throughout, concisely provides the “book facts”, “author facts”, “beyond the facts”, and “fun facts”. 

With over 29 of these essays related to works published in the 2000s, this book won't likely be pigeon-holed as a “bunch of old book talk”, complaints often made from new readers when when discussing a Golden Age of Detective Fiction character or work. Many of these books, stories, comics, manga, and television tie-in novels are contemporary ideas that possess the spirit and culture of this iconic character.  

Separating the parts are introspective Intermissions that focus on things like publishing, collecting, and illustrating Sherlock Holmes. In one of these Intermissions, “An Imperfect Hero: My Life, My Disability, and Sherlock Holmes”, contributor Amy Thomas discusses her permanent disability and how she uses Holmes as a positive coping mechanism. She has authored at least three pastiche novels featuring what she describes as an “...iconoclastic, self-directed character...” 

The book's hardcover edition features an additional set of essays about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original Holmes stories and novels. This edition also includes bonus essays that examine the character in international fiction, the female gender, and an interesting commentary on race relations.

With an unmatched awareness, intimacy, and expertise, Paul Bishop's Sherlockian cyclopedia is a must-own. If you are a fan of crime-fiction, detection, classic literature, and of course, the iconic sleuth himself, then 52 Weeks 52 Sherlock Holmes Novels is the next essential part of your book collection. Get it HERE.