Johnny Liddell #04 - Bullet Proof

Parallel to crime-fiction staples like Mike Shayne and Shell Scott, Johnny Liddell was a no-nonsense private-eye operating under the bright lights of The Big Apple. The series was authored by Frank Kane and consisted of 29 novels over a 20-year period between 1947 and 1967. Arguably, the series most defining moments are in the early 1950s era, so I decided to explore fan recommendations and try Bullet Proof, originally published in 1951 by Dell.

The novel begins with Liddell receiving a phone call from a woman named Jean Merritt. She wants a second opinion on her father's death by suicide. Fearing that he was murdered, Merritt requests to meet Liddell on a lone cross-street at 10:30 PM to discuss pertinent facts about the case. Only Merritt doesn't show, instead she is replaced by a black Cadillac filled with hardmen. In an explosive opening chapter, Liddell dives for cover as Tommy guns eradicate a phone booth and nearby store. During the firefight, Liddell is able to kill one shooter but the man's identity leads to a number of questions and an intense interrogation inside the police precinct.

Learning that Merritt wired a $500 retainer for his services, Liddell is determined to learn what happened to the woman and her father. With the help of a wise medical examiner and a tenacious reporter named Muggsy (a series mainstay similar to Mike Shayne's Lucy Hammilton), Liddell delves into the Merritt family's history and their early ties to organized crime. When Liddell gets too close to the truth, he becomes a running target for a number of assassins. With riveting gunfights in the streets and hotel corridors, the aptly titled “Bullet Proof” delivers the goods in grand fashion.

While I enjoyed the 1947 Liddell debut, About Face (aka Fatal Foursome), I found it to be mired in mystery mud with very little action. Kane takes a cue from Mickey Spillane's red-hot character of that era, Mike Hammer, and adds a prevalent edginess to this book. There's even a scene with Liddell punching a beautiful prostitute in a hotel suite. The author uses the familiar genre tropes – hazy cigarette smoke, copious amounts of alcohol – to provide a seedy, darkly lit nightlife for the hero to operate. The atmosphere, engaging investigation and intense action sequences contribute to what is essentially the best Liddell novel I've read. Bullet Proof excels on all levels.

Buy a copy of this book HERE

High Hell

Author Steve Frazee (1909-1992) began selling his stories to the western and adventure pulps in the late 1940s. After a successful run of frontier storytelling, Frazee would later serve as president of the prestigious Western Writers of America. Using his experience as a heavy construction and mine worker, Frazee would often include elements of the mining industry into his writing style. Novels like Ghost Mine and Hidden Gold exhibit those characteristics while offering high adventures in Northwestern America. However, one of his most successful mining-adventure works was the novel High Cage, originally published by MacMillan in 1957. The theatrical adaptation, titled High Hell, was released by Paramount in 1958. Crest Books, an imprint of Fawcett Gold Medal, reprinted the novel as High Hell to coincide with the film.

The book is presented in first-person by Craig Rhodes, an experienced miner and heavy machinery operator. Craig is hired by an investor to run a mining expedition in the frozen Canadian Rockies. To assist with the drilling, Craig hires four experienced miners – his brother Danny, Luke, Frank, and Charley. But much to Craig's surprise, he ends up with one unexpected guest. It's this character reveal that sets the tone for “High Hell”.

These five rugged men ascend the snowy slopes and begin setting up the mining operation that will run through the winter. I won't spoil it for you, but there's an ordeal that ends up placing a woman named Lenore in the mining camp as the sixth laborer. As the snow begins to fall, the men understand that there is no descent until the Spring thaw. It doesn't take a psychic to see where this is going.

As the five hard-working, frozen workers contend with drills and pick-axes in endless snowstorms, Lenore busies herself by making warm meals for the men. As the weeks roll on, the men begin to have cabin fever that's elevated with their sexual desires for Lenore. Danny is still in love with her, yet she's married to Frank. Craig finds himself fighting his brother as both of them are lustfully eyeing Lenore. It's this burning temptation that allows the author plenty of creative space to work his magic.

Set in the 1800s, High Hell works like a western adventure with burly men fighting (and dying) for a sultry woman. Craig is the iron-fist, no-nonsense leader that demands as much from himself as his men. Yet, his will is the first to break. From that point, it's a high-tension game with plenty of danger and intrigue to propel the pace. The author's brilliant placement of Lenore in the ranks of snowbound men was captivating. I read this enthralling paperback in one sitting.

High Hell should appeal to fans of snowbound action. While it can be a slow burn at times, the payoff was well worth the price of admission. Despite my failed attempt to embrace Steve Frazee's writing, High Hell was certainly a redeeming use of my time. Frazee is the real deal.

Buy a copy of this book HERE

The Tease

By the late 1960s, successful crime-noir novelist Gil Brewer was battling many personal demons. His bouts with alcoholism and severe depression both contributed to the shortening of his superlative literary career. After a successful run of Fawcett Gold Medal paperbacks, Brewer experienced a downward spiral through the publishing world, drifting to mid-echelon publishers like Monarch and Lancer. Aside from his three It Takes a Thief television tie-ins published by Ace in 1969 and 1970 and some house-name series work, Brewer's penultimate original novel in his own name was The Tease, published by Banner in 1967. It exists now as a reprint by Stark House Press

The book introduces readers to Wes McCord, a realtor and married man living in a shoreline house in Tampa, Florida. Wes is married to his very patient wife Lucille, who has lived with his lying and unfaithfulness for years. In the book's opening chapter, Lucille and Wes have a heated argument over their financial woes and Wes's sexual misbehavior at a neighborhood party. In the heat of the moment, Lucille flees to her sister's house with the solemn vow that she wants to dissolve the marriage.

That same evening, just hours after the fiery exchange with Lucille, Wes spots a half-naked vixen running along the beach. Rushing to her assistance, Wes meets Bonnie and brings her home where she claims she was assaulted by an elderly man at gunpoint in a nearby motel. While defending herself, the assailant’s gun discharged and shot the man in the chest. Fleeing the scene, she escaped down the beach and into the arms of Wes. Is that the story she maintains throughout Brewer's pulsing narrative? Thankfully, no.

With his wife out of the house, Wes finds a place in his home to hide this beautiful, sexually-charged 18-year old. When the cops arrive to ask about the footprints in the sand, Wes panics and covers for his new houseguest. The next morning, Wes reads in the local newspaper that a man from Jacksonville, Florida (fun fact: world headquarters of Paperback Warrior) named Joseph Vito was found dead in a Tampa motel. He was the prime suspect in a $325,000 bank robbery a month ago and his accomplices, including an unknown woman, were still being sought by authorities.

As Wes's emotional distress is elevated, he's faced with a number of life-altering choices. Does he defy the law and continue hiding Bonnie in hopes that she's holding $325,000 and is willing to share? Does he pursue his estranged wife and attempt to salvage their devastated marriage? Should he give into his desires and ravage this young woman in the sexual prime of life? It’s these questions that add fuel to the burning fire created by Brewer's compelling prose.

The Tease exhibits all of the vicious, savage tones that made Gil Brewer the crime-noir kingpin of his time. Like 1958's The Vengeful Virgin, the author melds sizzling lust with raw criminal intent. It's the perfect combination of hot, spirited passion and fervent greed. Bonnie's pleas for help – both mentally and physically – lead Wes into a spider-web of lies and treachery by forfeiting his career, marriage and lifestyle. 

When presented with sex, money and power, what does the everyman do? It is amazing that despite Brewer's myriad of personal problems, he was still able to orchestrate an exhilarating story in the twilight of his career. While it has yet to be reprinted, don't let the expensive second-hand price deter you from obtaining a copy of this entertaining crime-noir paperback. The Tease is simply excellent. Get a copy HERE

Ladyfingers

Shepard Rifkin was a New Yorker born in 1918 whose writing career began in 1956 as the author of several western paperbacks. He shifted gears in 1969 to pen a grisly police procedural mystery called Ladyfingers that remains available today as a $3 ebook. After much searching, I could find no record of Mr. Rifkin’s death, so my hope is that he is enjoying a spry and fulfilling life somewhere at age 100-something.

Rifkin’s best-known novel is his 1970 mystery titled The Murderer Vine set in the shadow of the American civil rights movement. The publication of Ladyfingers preceded The Murderer Vine by about a year and also displayed Rifkin’s interest in the American minority experience by casting our narrator and hero as NYPD Detective Pablo Sanchez, an American of Puerto Rican descent. After orchestrating a large heroin bust in East Harlem, Detective Sanchez is summoned to his boss’ office for a new assignment.

The Police Commissioner (a position historically held by Teddy Roosevelt) has received two small packages each containing a severed finger of an unknown woman. The quality of the manicure makes it unlikely that the digits were from indigent corpses used as med school cadavers. Where is the rest of the woman? Why send the fingers to the Police Commissioner without any demands? Despite a successful, but unremarkable, history as a narcotics officer, Sanchez is assigned the case, and he immediately feels that he’s over his head. His narration concerning his frequent missteps are quite funny.

Sanchez’s humble narration is a total joy to read and is in direct contrast with the cocksure heroes most of these novels feature. He’s a funny, self-deprecating narrator, and Rifkin’s excellent prose makes it all come together quite nicely. The supporting cast is filled with colorful New York characters, and every scene really pops. The investigative steps that Sanchez takes seem credible and realistic while still being entertaining. Fans of Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct police procedurals will feel right at home with Ladyfingers. Recommended.

Buy a copy of this book HERE

The Captive

American author Norman Daniels (real name Norman Danberg, 1905-1995) is best known for re-introducing pulp hero Black Bat in 1939. Daniels authored a number of short stories featuring the character for Black Book Detective. Arguably, Black Bat was the catalyst for DC Comics' iconic Batman. Along with Black Bat, Daniels contributed stories for dozens of pulp magazines like Shadow, Gangster Stories, Thrilling Publications and All Detective. The author's post-pulp career was immensely successful as Daniels utilized a number of pseudonyms to write crime-noir and adventure paperbacks for a variety of publishers. My introduction to Daniels is the 1959 Avon paperback The Captive, which is now available in both digital and paperback editions through Cutting Edge.

Jeff Castle is a WW2 veteran who now lives a quiet life in Africa as a big-game hunter. Upon hearing that his estranged grandfather is dying, Castle arrives on New York's East Side to pay his respects. After stopping in at a local bar for a drink, Castle is seduced by a sultry woman named Alma. After an afternoon of lovemaking at the woman's apartment, Castle steps out to buy a few drinks. Upon his return he discovers that Alma has been strangled to death. In my crime-noir experiences, The Captive was shaping up as a stereotypical “innocent man flees the corpse” novel. Thankfully, Norman Daniels had some interesting variations in store for the reader.

After fleeing the scene, Castle vows to find Alma's murderer. But Castle's quest for vengeance is sidelined when his grandfather advises him that he's the sole heir to his vast fortune. The heart of the estate is 60 small hotels and inns scattered throughout the state. As if it was a dire warning, Castle's grandfather, on his deathbed, pleads that nobody will take the fortune and asks Castle to fight for what is his. Questioning his grandfather's dying wish, Castle begins investigating the hotels he now owns. Shockingly, he discovers that all of the properties are full-staffed brothels.

Digging into the accounting ledgers, Castle discovers a complex earning schedule of rental income and the proceeds from properties' illegal affairs. After attempting to remove prostitutes from one of the larger hotels, Castle is brutally tortured and beaten in a cold dark basement. The Syndicate warns Castle that he may own the properties, but they control and operate all of the affairs. As the plot thickens, Castle learns that Alma's murder may have ties to the Syndicate's warning. In his quest to avenge Alma's murder, Castle finds that he's fighting the mob head-on.

First and foremost, Normal Daniels is an average writer. When compared to mid-20th century contemporaries like Charles Williams, Gil Brewer or John D. MacDonald, there is an obvious shortfall in the prose’s quality. Daniels' dialogue sequences are the heaviest casualty. With that being said, The Captive is still an engaging, thoroughly enjoyable literary work. The pace is brisk and both Castle and a few side characters are really engaging. I particularly enjoyed the author's connection from mobsters to the big-game hunting that Castle is familiar with. In a way it reminded me of the 1951 novel The Killer by Wade Miller (Robert Wade, Bill Miller). The narrative's twists and turns through Castle's new estate left me curious and wholly surprised. Further, I was ecstatic to find Daniels flesh out a familiar opening concept.

With The Captive, Norman Daniels pulls no punches – this is a violent crime yarn from cover to cover. You can buy your copy of the book HERE

Recoil

Oklahoma native Jim Thompson (1906-1977) began authoring his brand of violent, hardboiled crime-fiction in the late 1940s. His 1952 novel, The Killer Inside Me, is regarded as a mid-century genre classic. Often the author's work was written in a fast-paced, unbridled style rich with anti-heroes, sociopaths and violent criminals who serve as story protagonists. In his efforts to push the boundaries of the average paperback, Thompson's craftsmanship is widely respected by literary critics yet is often criticized for his abstract delivery. Case in point is the 1953 novel Recoil originally published by Lion Books.

The story's protagonist, Patrick Cosgrove, is first introduced to readers on his last day of a fifteen year prison sentence at Sandstone State Reformatory. In flashback sequences, it's explained that Patrick had a wild bank robbing accident while deer hunting (gives new meaning to chasing bucks). As a product of the 1950s, the law of that era specifically required someone to mentor or accept the responsibility of taking a reformed prisoner under their wing. Without it, the prisoner stays confined. Patrick doesn't have any friends or family, so he wrote to hundreds of companies asking for employment. After months of silence, Dr. Luther, a psychologist and political lobbyist, responds to Patrick's letter in the form of a job proposal. After his release, Patrick goes to work for Dr. Luther and that's where things become unusual.

Unconditionally, Luther provides free room, food and a car to Patrick. Additionally, he pays him $250/month to be a town surveyor...but provides no real instruction. Confused, Patrick drives around all day and attempts to avoid the seedy side of town. Later, Luther's sexy and flamboyant wife throws herself at Patrick. Instead of restricting the behavior, Luther encourages it! It's as if Thompson just purposefully defies the genre's traditions despite the overall absurdity of the situation. When Patrick hires a private investigator to learn more about Luther and Lila, smoking guns, car chases and corpses begin populating Thompson's otherwise flat, one-dimensional prose.

I wasn't sure what to make of Recoil. My first impression was to fling the book across the room, but then realized I had hardwood floors and the Kindle version. Jim Thompson proves that everyone should do a short, preliminary search to obtain a book's general public reception. Recoil is mostly panned by readers, and I'm only contributing to that consensus. Like an old, rusty Volkswagen, I start and stop repeatedly when I venture into this author's lane. Artistically, there's nothing to celebrate in this paperback. It is filled with awkward scenes that not only fail to entertain, but are just confusing to the reader. Yet somehow I stuck around like some interstate rubbernecker just wanting carnage satisfaction.

In closing, here's a scene summary that is indicative of everything wrong here:

Patrick finds a dead body in an office building late at night. Fearing that he himself will be a suspect in the murder, he attacks the night guard and attempts to stuff the corpse in the backseat of his car.

It's this kind of stuff that brings Recoil ridiculously close to the Paperback Warrior Hall of Shame. Steer clear of this book at all costs.

Buy a copy of this book HERE

Paperback Warrior Podcast - Episode 34

Paperback Warrior Podcast Episode 34 explores the violent and sexy world of Men’s Adventure Magazines and the upstart publishing company  reprinting the stories and art for modern audiences. We review the best anthologies compiling the content from these oddball publications of the 1950s and 1960s. Check it out on your favorite podcast app or stream below. Download directly HERE.

Listen to "Episode 34: Men's Adventure Magazines" on Spreaker.

Hell-Bent for Danger

There is sparse information available today about the life of mid 20th Century author Walt Grove. I speculate that he probably served as a pilot during WW2, evidenced by his aviator-themed novels like Down and The Joy Boys. Perhaps he's best known for his novelization of The Wings of Eagles, a 1957 aviation-war film starring John Wayne and directed by John Ford. My first experience with Walt Grove's small literary catalog is Hell-Bent for Danger, a paperback published by Fawcett Gold Medal in 1950. The novel was expanded from a 1949 short-story appearing in Colliers magazine.

Grove's opening chapter reads like vintage Gil Brewer in its presentation of a heated domestic dispute between main character Robert Warren and his wife Nancy. Feeling restrained in the cold cell block of marriage, Warren's response to his wife's request to return a package to a local department store is awe-inspiring. From the driver's window, Warren throws the package and it's spilled belongings onto the family's lawn as a horrified Nancy watches on. Quickly peeling out of the driveway, readers suddenly learn that this suburban married man and father has reached his breaking point.

Through Grove's skilled hands, Hell-Bent for Danger is like a psychological study of man's downward spiral. As a fighter pilot in WW2, Warren often wishes he could relive one more thrilling bombing run (perhaps a sentiment shared by the author?). His distressed mind even fathoms a new society where working men and women are pitted against savage lions before boarding trains and buses – the ultimate survival of the fittest every weekday morning. But thankfully, Warren's life takes a drastic turn when his old Colonel, a lowly drifter named Bobo, shows up to borrow money.

It's abundantly clear that the author enjoyed stretching Warren's emotional guy-wires tighter and tighter as the narrative threads shift into a surprisingly new setting. Bobo wants Warren to help finance a transcontinental air-shipping business. The goal is to begin a thriving new adventure, but primarily it's so both Warren and Bobo can experience the exhilaration of flying again. The issue is that Bobo's lover Annie is young, sexy and available for Warren's repressed sexual desires. Warren wants to rediscover the thrill of living, yet teeters on a balance beam between lusting for Annie or chasing high altitudes with his friend and former Colonel. Through a roller-coaster of emotions, Grove's narrative explores lust, life's complacency and even criminal intent high over the Canadian Rockies.

Hell-Bent for Danger isn't necessarily a crime-noir. It reads more like a tight, romantic-thriller but retains enough action and masculinity to attract crime-fiction readers. It's clear that Walt Grove was an incredibly gifted storyteller, and I’m curious why his literary career stopped at just a handful of paperback originals. Based on my small sampling size, we were surely cheated out of what would have been an outstanding, robust literary catalog. Hell-Bent for Danger is an outstanding novel despite it's genre misplacement.

Buy a copy of this book HERE

Able Team #01 - Tower of Terror

With The Executioner's overwhelming retail success, it was just a matter of time before publisher Gold Eagle would expand the Mack Bolan universe. In June 1982, Gold Eagle launched two successful spinoff series - Able Team and Phoenix Force. The publisher used The Executioner's creator, Don Pendleton, on the covers of the first three novels of each series as a co-author. Of course Pendleton had no hand in the writing, it was only a marketing scheme to lure consumers familiar with the Pendleton name. Instead, house names were assigned to each series: Gar Wilson for Phoenix Force and Dick Stivers for Able Team. Like the later Bolan installments, the books were really penned by a revolving door of authors. We're examining the debut Able Team book, Tower of Terror, authored by L.R. Payne. It was the first of 51 total series installments.

In the Vietnam War, Sergeant Mack Bolan commanded a special forces unit called Team Able. Much later, Bolan's crusade against the mafia warranted Bolan to call upon his old team again. These events occurred in The Executioner #02: Death Squad. Unfortunately, the entire team was killed in that battle except Bolan, Rosario “ Politician” Blancanales and Herman “Gadgets” Schwarz. Both of these former members have served Bolan periodically throughout his war (and the book series). Carl Lyons is a former Los Angels Police Sergeant that became Bolan's ally during his West Coast mob fight. Under the direction of Bolan and Stony Farm director Hal Brognola, these three men combine as a trio to fight criminal cells within the U.S. Thus, Able Team is born.

In the series debut, a Puerto Rican terrorist group called FALN have claimed a Wall Street skyscraper. Thankfully, they chose to do this on a Saturday morning when the building is mostly empty. Quickly the terrorists commandeer the facility and plant bombs on nearly every floor. A Vietnam Vet turned business executive ushers a dozen employees to safety on one of the building's higher floors and the call goes out that the building is wired to blow. The NYPD calls the FBI who then calls Stony Man to get Able Team on the scene.

The problem lies in the fact that Able Team spends 160-pages of this 187-page novel running all over town hunting clues on who the terrorists are. Mercifully, they arrive at the building as the book closes but only have a brief encounter with the primary villains. This is acceptable if the hunting was more of a character developing storyline that delved into police procedural. Maybe it is my love of mid 20th Century crime-noir, but I found the investigation to be a sluggish exercise with very little to offer readers. Gadgets played with gadgets, Lyons rode around in a cab and Politician seemed like an unnecessary character here.

Needless to say, I hated this book. I counted the pages down just hoping it would end or the book would spontaneously combust. It isn't Hall of Shame material, but it is safe to say Able Team was unable to fulfill my reading pleasure. Perhaps another author will produce a different result. I'm in no hurry to find out.

Buy a copy of this book HERE

Adam Steele #01 - Rebels and Assassins Die Hard

Terry Harknett is a British author that specialized in writing violent, sometimes humorous western novels. By using a variety of pseudonyms, Harknett is one of the most dominant authors of the western genre. His most prolific work is the 61-book Edge series, the 27-book Apache series and the subject at hand, the 49-book run of Adam Steele novels. In fact, after Harknett's phenomenal success with Edge, the Pinnacle publisher was clamoring for another series in the same style. In 1974, the debut Adam Steele novel arrived with the title Rebels and Assassins Die Hard. Harknett's pseudonym was the same one used on the Edge series, George G. Gilman.

The story begins with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln at the Ford Theater in Washington, DC. With the town stirred up, three guys in a bar start targeting anyone with a southern accent. After brutally beating an older patron, the trio, with the help of the bartender, accuse a defenseless old-timer with providing Lincoln's assassin with the proverbial smoking gun. Despite the victim's pleas of innocence, the foursome cruelly hang him in the bar.

Adam Steele arrives in town and quickly learns about Lincoln's murder. He chances on the same bar and finds the old-timer still hanging in the saloon. After Adam gets a closer look at the victim, he gains some information from the bartender regarding the identities of the hangmen. Then shockingly, he tells the bartender that the man they hung was his father! After shooting the bartender pointblank in the belly, Adam rides back to the old family farm to bury his father.

Things get really interesting at this point in the narrative. First, Steele has a confrontation with his childhood best friend Bishop, now a deputy. Adam is a wanted man, which is like blood in the water for a cold-blooded bounty hunter named Lovell. While that narrative comes to fruition, another thread has the Army searching for the assassins involved in Lincoln's assassination. This leads them into a enthralling head-on collision with both Bishop and Lovell, the hangmen and Adam Steele.

This debut entry is just a remarkable western tale. There are so many narratives weaved together, yet it's presented seamlessly under Harknett's experienced hand. Just when I thought the frantic pace would slow, a new adventure would quickly begin. By story's end, Adam Steele resembled an enjoyable Fargo installment. There's even a small The Most Dangerous Game thread as Adam is hunted through the mountains by Native Americans led by a deranged British Captain. To say this is an unorthodox western is an understatement.

Terry Harknett's debut Adam Steele novel is a mandatory read for genre fans. Buy your copy HERE.

Killing Cousins

Fletcher Flora (1914-1968) was born in Kansas and served in the U.S. Army during World War 2. After the war, he became a mystery writer while continuing to serve as an Education Advisor to the Army. The promise of sex in his novels is always front and center in the marketing, but his stories were never as graphic as the tawdry covers promised. Flora’s Killing Cousins was a 1960 hardcover later reprinted in 1961 as an Ace Double and several other times since then. It’s currently available as both an ebook and audiobook.

Willie is married to Howard, but she’s also the town slut in their affluent suburb of Kansas City. It seems that a sizable number of men in the town - certainly at their country club - have taken their turn with Willie over the years. One some level, Howard knows this is happening and chooses to look the other way like a good cuckold.

All this changes when Howard catches his wife servicing his brainy cousin, Quincy. Willie’s infidelity with a family member is a bridge too far, and Howard packs his bags to leave Willie once and for all. This leads to an altercation in which Willie shoots Howard dead with a pistol in their home. No spoilers here - this early-novel killing is disclosed in the opening pages.

Of course, this is just the novel’s setup. The heart of the story is how Willie deals with the dead body of her husband lying in her bedroom. She enlists the help of her lover Quincy to manage the disposal of his cousin’s corpse while planning the elaborate cover-up together.

Flora writes Killing Cousins in a breezy and darkly humorous style reminiscent of a good episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. This tonal choice makes sense as the author sold dozens of stories to Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and anthologies throughout his writing career. The focus is not on the horror of Willie’s infidelities and husband-killing but rather how she and Quincy navigate suburban norms and niceties in their attempt to get away with it.

I enjoyed the hell out of this short novel and you probably will too with three important caveats: First, all the characters are pretty reprehensible, so there’s no hero to really get behind. Second, it’s not an action-packed novel at all. It’s more like a chess match between the protagonists and the their obstacles. Lastly, this is a crime novel, not a mystery. There are twists and surprises along the way, but there’s nothing for the reader to solve. None of these issues detracted from my enjoyment of the book, but you should know what you’re getting. Recommended. 

Purchase a copy of this book HERE

He-Men, Bag Men, and Nymphos

During the 1950s and 1960s, Men’s Adventure Magazines like Stag and For Men Only told salacious stories - often masquerading as non-fiction journalism - of daring deeds and lusty ladies around the world. The magazines were illustrated with vivid action drawings by many of the same artists who created the cover art for the vintage action and crime paperbacks we adore.

Robert Deis and Wyatt Doyle have preserved many of the great stories and art from these magazines in a series of anthology books called Men's Adventure Library published by New Texture. These books are associated with the website MensPulpMags.com. One such compilation focuses on Walter Kaylin (1921-2017), a top writer in this interesting sub-genre. The book is called He-Men, Bag Men and Nymphos, and it’s a lovingly-curated Kaylin Greatest Hits collection with 15 of the writer’s stories from the men’s adventure magazines spanning from 1956 to 1978. There are also a few tribute pieces about Kaylin and his work.

Reviewing a short-story compilation is always a challenge, so I’ll just touch on three representative highlights:

“Snow-Job From a Redhead”

This story originally appeared in the June 1956 issue of Men. It’s a first-person narration by Fred who violently steals a small statue of a black bull from a fellow crook in an ambush doublecross. He’s part of a small smuggling crew meeting at a rooming house near Los Angeles operated by a sexy redhead who’s initially resistant to Fred’s advances.

What is it about the statue that makes it worth killing to possess? Can Fred withstand pressure from the local police? Will he get lucky with the redhead? Can he get away with his mini-caper, or will his lustful big mouth get in the way? All of these questions are answered in this gripping short story.

Kaylin writes in a dialog-heavy style without a lot of exposition, which allows the reader to catch up to the action in progress. The anthology editors were wise to start the compilation with a great double-cross story like “Snow-Job From a Redhead.” After finishing it, you’ll want to move onto other Kaylin stories.

“The Nymph Who Leads an African Death Army”

With a title like that, I needed to know more, which was often the idea behind the headlines and illustrations in these men’s magazines. This particular story originally appeared in the October 1960 edition of Men. The piece is presented as a piece of journalism - like a feature one might read in the National Geographic or The New Yorker - but every word came from the mind of Kaylin.

The story is about Max Bosch and his group of international solders-of-fortune known as the Butcher Boys who arrive in Camaroon and take over a peaceful village. The group of tough thugs is presented in contrast to Harry Tapp, a benevolent American living peacefully among the natives, establishing small businesses such as a general store and used car dealership. He’s a prince of a guy who teaches the Africans to play “Three Blind Mice” on the trumpet, a plot point that becomes brilliantly relevant as the tale moves to its violent climax.

Kaylin could write a helluva fight scene and this story has plenty to enjoy as Tapp turns to a full-breasted hill woman named Aunt Edna for assistance with his mercenary problem. She has a close relationship with a badass crew of African jungle dwellers, and she’s happy to supply them as muscle for Tapp’s crusade against Bosch’s Butcher Boys...for a price.

As alliances shift and the bloodbath becomes inevitable, “The Nymph Who Leads an African Death Army” becomes an exciting survival story and a high-point of this superb collection.

“Surf Pack Assassins”

Kaylin was such a prolific contributor to these
magazines that his stories often appeared under pen names to hide the fact that his imagination was saturating the market. This was the case for his piece in the August 1967 issue of Male magazine titled “Surf Pack Assassins” originally published under the pen name Roland Empey.

Kaylin has a lot of fun with this one trotting out the surf lingo in this story of an informal American surfing club riding the waves as part of an international hang ten tour. They’re a rowdy crowd who surfs all day and drinks themselves blind by the beach bonfire every night. Harmless fun, right?

As the story continues, it becomes clear that not all as it seems with the surf society. African democracy leaders are dying in cities corresponding with the surf crew’s travels. Yes, as the title promises, these aren’t ordinary surf-bums, they are a covert group of talented killers.

Meanwhile, a member of a U.S. intel agency is investigating the surfers to see if its even possible that a group of burnouts could possibly be assassins. The undercover infiltration story is exciting stuff and every bit as good as the best Nick Carter: Killmaster paperback. The story went on a bit too long, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable read.

* * *

He-Men, Bag Men and Nymphos is an important collection of delightful stories from a writer who deserves to be remembered. The guys at Men's Adventure Library should be commended for putting together such a lovely-packaged book packed with winning stories and illustrations from the original magazine stories.

Mostly, I’m glad Walter Kaylin is being remembered. He was a talented writer with an interesting niche market that could have easily been lost to the ages if it weren’t for this important volume. Kaylin wrote a single mystery novel for Fawcett Gold Medal called Another Time, Another Woman published in 1963 that I’d like to check out sometime. In the meantime, there are a smattering of Kaylin magazine stories in other anthologies covering this genre to read and enjoy. Highly recommended. 

Buy a copy of this book HERE

Sacketts #01 - Sackett's Land

Louis L'Amour remains the most popular and mainstream western author with sales exceeding 300 million books. With over 100 original novels, most of which are still in print, the writer's prolific presentations of America's wild frontier have influenced or impacted countless authors, screenwriters and even U.S. Presidents. While most of his literary work was stand-alone westerns, L'Amour also created five specific series titles – Talon, Chantry, Kilkenny, Hopalong Cassidy and the wildly successful Sacketts.

The Sackett series began in 1960, ten years into L'Amour's literary career of authoring full-length novels. Starting with The Daybreakers, the series ran for 17 total installments, finishing in 1985 with Jubal Sackett. L'Amour died in 1988, and I would imagine if he had lived longer he would have continued with more contributions to the series. While The Daybreakers was the first novel to feature members of the Sackett family (circa 1870), the series publishing order isn't parallel to the time periods L'Amour would explore. In fact, the family's origins weren't fully explained until 1974's Sackett's Land, which is the beginning of a four-book adventure series chronicling the family's history from 1599-1620. The remainder of the Sackett novels take place in the mid to late 1800s. Paperback Warrior typically indexes based on the chronology of the story, so essentially Sackett's Land is represented as the first novel.

The book begins in Cambridgeshire, England in 1599. Protagonist Barnabas Sackett is living a meager life in a marshy residence called The Fens. While never starving or destitute, Barnabas works in the quarries and lives off the acreage he inherited from his father Ivo, a career fighting man. While crossing an area called Devil's Dyke, Barnabas finds a large sum of old coins in the mud. With aspirations to buy an adjoining piece of property, Barnabas heads into town to appraise his riches. But his joy is short-lived when he becomes embroiled in a dispute with the Earl's nephew, Rupert.

Realizing that he can't remain in England, Barnabas decides that America, the New World, might be a fresh start. With his riches, he buys supplies that will allow him to trade and hunt for furs in America. Hoping to capitalize on the lucrative fur-trading business, he arranges to sail with a Captain who respected his father. After an early connection with the Captain's beautiful daughter Abigail, Rupert and thugs mug Barnabas and place him on a ship of pirates heading to the New World. It's here where he leans heavily on his survival skills, outwitting the pirates while enslaved. But, his joy is short-lived when he finally arrives in the mysterious New World. Contending with pirates, Native Americans, wildlife and the harsh weather, Barnabas realizes that his dreams of a new start may bring about his bitter end.

With Sackett's Land, L'Amour's writing prowess is clearly influenced by Robert Louis Stevenson and Johann David Wyss. This is an adventure story, complete with swords, muskets and cannonballs. While it is an alternate approach for L'Amour, it was evident that after 80+ novels of 1800s gunslingers, the author wanted to explore different eras of storytelling. The novel's epic presentation, with historical context, was a dynamic and welcome change. L'Amour emphasizes the numerous adversities many of our forefathers experienced as they entered a vast, mysterious land in North America. It was also clear that Barnabas' story would continue, with lots of foreshadowing inserted by the author. The book's next titles focus on the main character's dreams of going “to the far blue mountains”, a goal that Barnabas sets after viewing the far off peaks and ridges.

Overall, Sackett's Land is one of my favorite novels of any author. I've read it a couple of times and have encouraged many young people to explore the book as well. While American schools continue to heap Shakespeare plays on students, I wish they would incorporate this novel into their required reading curriculum. It is these novels that have become the new “classic literary tale”.

Note - If you enjoy this novel, Fair Blows the Wind (1978) is a similar tale focusing on the first Chantry member to arrive in America circa 1600s.

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Junkie (aka Frenzy)

Jonathan Craig (real name: Frank Smith) was an excellent crime fiction novelist of the 1950s and 1960s who really deserves to be remembered today. His Sixth Precinct police procedural mysteries were his best known books, but he also left behind an impressive array of stand-alone novels as well. In 1952, Falcon Books published a Jonathan Craig book called Junkie marketed to leverage the public hysteria over drugs and jazz. The novel was reprinted in 1962 by Lancer Books is Frenzy, and remains available today as an affordable ebook.

Steve Harper is a Washington, DC jazz trumpeter whose mentor and best friend Hal has been murdered by strangulation in his own apartment. Here’s the catch: before the police found Hal’s body, someone identifying themselves as Kathy Mason called the cops and said she’d killed Hal and was going to kill herself. The problem is that Kathy is Steve’s steady girlfriend. Now Kathy is missing and the cops want Steve’s help in finding her. Is she even alive? And if so, is she a murderer?

The possibility that Kathy killed Hal can’t be dismissed out of hand because she is a recovering drug addict. I’m talking about Smack, Junk, Horse, The Big H, also known as the plague of the jazz scene: Heroin. Steve thought she was off the junk for the three months they’ve been dating, but the evidence is pointing towards her continued usage and the possible murder of Hal.

Junkie/Frenzy is deceptively packaged as a salacious look behind the curtain of the seedy world of drug addicts when it’s actually a pretty straightforward murder mystery by an outstanding crime fiction author. The plot moves along quickly, and the characters are well-developed and three dimensional. The author explores the male instinct to rescue beautiful, damaged girls, and it’s easy to have empathy when Steve’s white knight complex is on full display.

There are some decent twists and turns along the way, and the author keeps the action and revelations flowing nicely throughout the short paperback. The mystery itself has a satisfying conclusion, and while this isn’t Jonathan Craig’s masterpiece, it’s certainly another one in his win column. 

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Nick Carter: Killmaster #181 - The Decoy Hit

Nick Carter: Killmaster series was one of the post popular and enduring titles in men’s adventure fiction with 261 installments between 1964 and 1990. Robert Randisi remains one of the most entertaining and highly-regarded authors in the private eye and western genres. The promise of these two successful brands colliding in Killmaster #181: “The Decoy Hit from 1983 was too intoxicating of a combination to pass up, so here we go.

In 1983, the Defense Intelligence Agency used human couriers to transport sensitive information from Point A to Point B. The paperback’s premise is that a someone is killing these intel deliverymen en route and stealing their top secret paperwork. The U.S. national security community turns to the super-secret government agency called AXE that employs our hero, Nick Carter. The agency chooses Nick to deliver a package to a missing scientist in London for the purpose of locating the man and smoking out the courier assassins.

Along the way Nick encounters Stephanie, the sexy daughter of a murdered DIA courier also seeking to learn the truth about her father’s demise. Of course, this leads to the trope where the professional spy is forced to team up with the erotic, bumbling amateur. Nick and Stephanie’s investigation keep them bouncing from Washington to London to Paris to Switzerland to Rome.

Randisi wrote this installment using the same winning formula he employs in his popular Gunsmith series of adult westerns - extremely short chapters, propulsive action, and lots of dialogue. This makes for a speedy and never-boring read, but it felt more like a mystery than a pure spy novel. Randisi was stuck with some of the dumber traditions the Killmaster series forced upon him, including the proper names given to Nick’s knife and gun (Hugo and Wilhelmina), but those elements of the story were largely just background noise. One upside is that Randisi also brings his knack for graphic sex scenes to The Decoy Hit - kid’s stuff compared to The Gunsmith - but more explicit than Ian Fleming ever dreamed.

Overall, The Decoy Hit is not a masterpiece of espionage genre, but it’s a fun action-mystery from a talented author working with an established franchise. Most importantly, it’s a very good installment in the wildly inconsistent Nick Carter: Killmaster series, and is certainly worth your time.

Afterward:

The Killmaster series employed a deep bench of authors writing under the Nick Carter house name during the 26-year publication history. This made the continuity, quality, and writing style a bit of an inconsistent mess. The best way to navigate the series is to go straight to authors you know and trust. Robert Randisi is one such writer who can always be counted on to deliver a quality product. His Killmaster titles are as follows:

#152: Pleasure Island (1981)
#155: Chessmaster (1982)
#169: The Mendoza Manuscript (1982)
#173: The Greek Summit (1983)
#181: The Decoy Hit (1983)
#184: Caribbean Coup (1984)

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Johnny Liddell #01 - Fatal Foursome (aka About Face)

After Dashiell Hammett successful Continental Op series of 1920s detective stories, the publishing world was ablaze with private-eye novels and short-stories. Adding fuel to the fire, Brett Halliday (real author: Davis Dresser) launched an empire of novels and magazines starring detective Mike Shayne. Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer rose to the occasion and sold millions of paperbacks. It's no surprise that by the late 1940s, prolific crime novelist Frank Kane would enter the fray with his private-eye, Johnny Liddell. The series included 29 novels and numerous short-stories. The debut full-length, About Face, was published in 1947 but later was re-named Death About Face. In 1958, Dell reprinted a majority of these novels with new cover designs, including About Face, which was renamed The Fatal Foursome.

In the series' first three installments, Liddell is a New York City sleuth working for a detective agency called Acme. Later, the character would be an independent private-eye free from any pesky agency’s rules and regulations. In this series opener, Liddell has been summoned to Hollywood to investigate the disappearance of a pretty-boy movie star named Harvey Randolph. The client is a rotund, loud-mouthed producer who may have more than just a professional interest in the actor's exodus.

Liddell's procedural routine involves a lot of people, a lot of questions and a lot of alcohol. Once the protagonist finds Randolph, things escalate rather quickly. Everyone involved in Randolph's disappearance is suddenly wearing bullet-holes and Liddell fears he might be next. While teaming with a sultry reporter named Toni Belden and coroner Doc Morrisey, Liddell navigates a complex world of insurance fraud and body doubles. But is any of it really entertaining?

If you love detective fiction, then Frank Kane's literary creation is just right for the genre's era. There isn't anything overly complicated about the character – he's got the rod and know-how to discover who's taking the next powder. It's slightly humorous, overly fantastic (using the ol’ make-a-new-face-for-the-criminal-routine) and soaked with masculinity. While Liddell is one-dimensional, the pairing of Toni and Doc expanded the narrative to allow different viewpoints and theories on motive and murderer. I preferred their commentary more than the hero’s insights.

While certainly a mainstay in crime-fiction, Frank Kane's debut Liddell story is average at best. Maybe social media groups or a deep dive online could produce a “best of” list of preferred series reading. For me, the debut doesn't catapult Frank Kane into my next batch of books to read. There's so much better stuff out there.

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The Survivalist #01 - Total War

Paperback Warrior has covered a lot of post-apocalyptic fiction paperbacks of the 1980s. Series installments in the Deathlands, Out of the Ashes, and The Last Ranger to name a few. One of the longest running post-apocalyptic series was The Survivalist by Jerry Ahern and his wife Sharon. It was originally published by Zebra from 1981-1993 and consisted of twenty-nine total books. In a 2010 interview with Survival Weekly, Jerry Ahern described the series as one long soap opera, a giant novel of around two million words. Since Jerry's death in 2012, Sharon has collaborated with mystery-thriller author Bob Anderson to write and publish an additional seven novels between 2013-2019. The entire series has been made available at an affordable digital price.

The series debut, Total War, introduces readers to John Rourke, his wife Sarah and their two children. As a former medical student, Rourke dropped out of college and joined the military. As a career soldier, Rourke later joined the CIA in their Counter Terrorism division. Now, Rourke spends his time training survival and fighting techniques globally. In the book's opening act, John departs the family's Georgia home on a business trip to Canada. It's during this time that WWIII takes place.

The book's first half is a slow-burn with a dozen characters, including the U.S. President, positioning pawns to defend Pakistan from the Soviet Union. During the increased tension, U.S. and Soviet subs come to blows and the chain reaction has 60% of America dead. The U.S. President's delay on launching nuclear missiles left most of the American military defeated but still destroying 40% of the Soviet Union's population and devastating their industrial complexes.

Once the elaborate, and plodding, chess match is over, Total War shifts into the traditional post-apocalyptic formula. With John aboard a passenger jet, the pilots become blinded and John is forced down in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Across the country, Sarah and the kids are dealing with looters and marauders who quickly attack their residence. After a number of skirmishes and fighting, John and an unlikely ally face an army of savage bikers. Faced with insurmountable odds, John fights for the opportunity to gain enough supplies and fuel to start the long journey back to Georgia to locate his family.

Doomsday series titles such as Phoenix, Roadblaster, and Swampmaster all have familiar threads – brutal motorcyle gangs and an obligatory quest for the protagonist to find a loved one. This mono-myth is a common one and is often placed in extreme scenarios like nuclear war and zombie outbreaks. In the case of the Survivalist debut, the familiar formula actually works quite well. I read the book in one sitting and was extremely pleased that the Ahern shifted the novel's premise from political power plays to a rugged, hardened action story complete with characters that were engaging. While the tale is well-told, the storytelling technique was outstanding if you simply suspend disbelief.

While I've been critical of Ahern’s other work (I'm pointing at you Track), I'm glad I was able to find enjoyment with this series. I'm looking forward to reading more installments and encourage you to seek out these affordable digital reprints. If you love panic and hysteria, you'll find this is a real treat. 

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Seven Ways from Sundown

Clair Huffaker (1926-1990) was a WW2 veteran, screenwriter and author. While writing in a number of literary genres, Huffaker's most prolific production was westerns. A number of his novels were adapted for film including 1958's Badman, which was re-titled The War Wagon starring John Wayne. A number of his readers cite two distinct novels as his best – 1973's The Cowboy and the Cossack and 1959's Seven Ways from Sundown, which was later adapted into a film starring Audie Murphy. Having a copy of Seven Ways from Sundown collecting shelf dust, I decided to give it a much needed evaluation.

Readers are introduced to Seven Smith in the novel's opening chapter. Smith, a young and inexperienced lawman, joins the illustrious Texas Rangers for his first assignment. After sparking a love interest with a young woman named Joy, Smith finds himself at odds with Lieutenant Herly. After learning that Herly has been pining for Joy for a number of months, it is only a matter of time before Smith's difficult assignment is revealed. Herly orders both Smith and Sergeant Henessey to track down a notorious outlaw named Jim Flood. The unlikely duo are on a death march – Flood's infamous history proves he is a cold-blooded killer and Hell with a gun.

Over the course of several weeks, Smith and Henessey track Flood through Texas, Mexico, Arizona and Utah. Along the way Henessey teaches Smith how to ride, shoot straight and speak the truth. It's the timeless coming-of-age story that finds a brutal ending in a Colorado snowbank. Forced to fend for himself, Smith tracks and captures Flood, but the return trail to the Rangers proves to be an extremely perilous mission.

At 120-pages, I read this novel in one sitting. Needless to say, Seven Ways from Sundown is an engaging, entertaining western novel authored by a talented storyteller. With my extensive experience with the genre, it is hard to find a refreshing, unique take on the western formula. Huffaker's narrative is a definitive, heartfelt journey that connects two characters – the inept and the skillful. Over time, the experienced Flood mentors young Smith into an ironic twist – Flood is keeping Smith alive on the hostile journey, yet realizes that by doing this he is inching one step closer to the inevitable noose. Smith is determined to bring Flood to justice, yet must rely on him to survive heavy snowfall, dusty deserts and throngs of cold-blooded bounty hunters.

Seven Ways from Sundown pulls at the heartstrings with a propelling narrative that produces humor, sadness, irony and excitement. In just 120-pages, Huffaker is able to do more with the western formula than what most authors can do over the course of a lifetime.  This is a mandatory read for any fan of the genre. Highly recommended.

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Baby Moll

Before he became a successful author of horror fiction, John Farris wrote crime and mystery paperback novels, including a 1958 release titled Baby Moll initially published by Crest Books (Fawcett Gold Medal’s sister imprint) under the pseudonym of Steve Brackeen. The book was re-released under Farris’ own name by Hard Case Crime in 2011 back when the company’s primary business was reprinting lost classic crime fiction titles with snazzy new covers.

Fishing supply store owner Pete Mallory is our narrator, and he’s engaged to marry a blue-blood heiress named Elaine. Pete has a secret past he hasn’t told Elaine that might throw a monkey-wrench in their wedding plans. You see, Pete used to run with a gangster named Macy who controls the rackets in South Florida, and someone has been bumping off members of Macy’s old crew one-by-one with maximum brutality and suffering. Macy needs Pete to come out of retirement, identify the killer, and neutralize him before the gangster boss gets a knife in the belly. The request is spiced with a dash of blackmail, so Pete isn’t in a position to decline. As such, it’s off to Florida for our narrator.

Of course, agreeing to this assignment from his former boss puts Pete squarely in the cross-hairs, and this leads to some vivid, violent, and visceral action sequences throughout the paperback. The core of the novel is Pete’s investigation into who is killing Macy’s inner circle. Is it a rival gangster looking to move into Macy’s turf? Could it be a grudge from the past coming back to haunt the aging racketeer?

The plot also revolves around the fact that Macy is getting too old to run his crime empire. A younger upstart - who may or may not be responsible for all the killing - is on the rise in Florida. Pete finds himself in the middle of all this tension and becomes acquainted with the women in each mobster’s sphere of influence. Evidently, crime bosses and their lieutenants have chronic girl problems. Presumably, one of these women is the Baby Moll from the cover, but the paperback was clearly titled by a Fawcett Gold Medal executive seeking to monetize 1958 America’s fascination with Bad Girls. As is often the case, the actual contents of the book doesn't jibe with the cover art (either iteration) or the title. Consider yourself warned if you were looking for a story about a Godfather’s Woman.

Overall, Baby Moll was a fast and compelling reading experience. It’s a well-told story written with great maturity despite the fact that the author was only 22 years old at the time of publication. Perhaps there were too many characters, but you can just make a list on your bookmark to keep them straight. Thanks to Hard Case Crime, you should have no trouble scoring yourself a copy with new and alluring cover art. However, the story inside is what really counts, and this one is a winner.

Postscript:

If you read and enjoy Baby Moll, you should check out these three other early crime fiction paperbacks by John Farris:

- The Corpse Next Door by John Farris (Graphic Books, 1956)
- Danger in My Blood by Steve Brackeen (Fawcett Crest, 1958)
- Delfina by Steve Brackeen (Fawcett Gold Medal, 1962)

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Paperback Warrior Podcast - Episode 33

On our newest podcast episode, Paperback Warrior presents a feature on prolific crime-fiction author Frank Kane's popular series of Johnny Liddell private-eye books and stories. Tom reviews the 1961 crime-noir novel "Killing Cousins" by Fletcher Flora and Eric discusses "Saigon Slaughter", the seventh installment in the M.I.A. Hunter series. Stream the episode below or on any popular streaming platform. Download the episode directly HERE.

Listen to "Episode 33: Johnny Liddell" on Spreaker.