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. 

Fey Croaker: A Paperback Warrior Primer

Author Paul Bishop is a 35-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department. Receiving “Detective of the Year” accolades twice, Bishop starred as the lead interrogator on the ABC reality show “Take the Money and Run” developed by marquee name producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Along with his 15 published works, Bishop also is the writer and editor of the essential reference work “52 Weeks 52 Western Novels – A Guide to Six-Gun Favorites and New Discoveries”.

With his commendable career in law enforcement, Bishop writes with conviction and authenticity. His experiences are easily conveyed in his artistry, evident in his five-book literary series starring LAPD Detective Fey Croaker. The first novel, “Kill Me Again”, was published by Avon Books in 1994. It introduces us to the seasoned Fey, a West LA detective and supervisor of the homicide unit. It was the top detective spot in the division and she's the first woman to hold the job.

Bishop explains, “I based Fey in part on two of my long term, very experienced, female detective partners. Walk into any LAPD detective squadroom and you'll find one or more versions of Fey. She's got some hard earned miles on her. She street savvy. She knows how to fight dirty, not just politically, but physically, and is more than willing to kick your ass if you take her on. She's forty with a string of bad marriages, bad choices, and bad boooze behind her. She expects and demands a lot of her people, but in return she is loyal to a fault and will fight like a tiger for them. Basically, she's about as far from a twenty-something, hard-bodied, high heel wearing, female TV detective as you can get”.

Just shy of 300-pages, “Kill Me Again” is a riveting mystery procedural that has plenty to unpack in terms of the central character. While Bishop expands the murder case, he slowly allows readers a more intimate view of this rather complex character. From her early career rise, tumultuous love-life and murky childhood, there's a lot to offer beyond a stand-alone story.

Bishop, detailing the character's beginnings, explains, “By the time I was ready to write Kill Me Again, I already had a handful of novels published. Two were connected, but the others were all stand-alones. Career wise, I felt I needed a series character strong enough to carry at least four books. In creating Fey Croaker, the protagonist of Kill Me Again, I plotted out a four book personal story arc for her. I knew exactly what position I wanted her to be in personally at the end of each of the first three books, forcing her to deal with everything that had come before in book four. Each of the four books would have a standalone plot, but there would be a through story dealing with Fey's abusive upbringing, which would come full circle and to resolution in book four”.

Beginning with “Kill Me Again”, Fey's relationship with her father is shown as a key role in her development as a detective, rising through the promotions after 16-years in the unit. As a sexually molested child, the novel provides brief passages explaining Fey's protection of her brother and her abuse from both her father and family friend. It's a prickly family tree, cultivated by sorrow and regret, and written with a grainy sense of realism.

“At the time, I was also working full throttle in my career with the LAPD. As a detective, I spent almost all my career, 30 out of 35 years, investigating sex crimes from indecent exposure to child molest to rape to sexual homicide and everything in between. I was always aware of how victims processed the assault emotionally. There were those whom it destroyed, and others who were never able to break the cycle of victimhood. But I was fascinated by those who flat refused to be defined by something beyond their control. They were determined not to just be survivors of sexual assault, but victors over it. They struggled and they fought and they failed and they picked themselves up again. I admired these incredible individuals, and this was what I wanted to exemplify through Fey Croaker”, explains Bishop.

“Fey is a high functioning detective, but a low functioning human. She is aware of this and ferociously fights those emotional forces that have threatened to cripple her since she was a child...As the omnipotent author, I was going to give her a chance at redemption if she could lead me there over four books.”

“Kill Me Again” received a sequel in “Twice Dead”, published in 1996 by Avon. Following the mystery-procedural formula, the novel centers around an NBA athlete charged with murder. Later, the book was later re-titled as “Grave Sins”. In 1997 the third novel, “Tequila Mockingbird” was published by Scribner in hardback and by Pocket Books in paperback. The same publishers produced the series' fourth entry, “Chalk Whispers,” in 2000. A 68-page novella was released in 2014 entitled “Pattern of Behavior", which was also included in Bishop's short story compilation of the same name. All of the books have been republished in digital formats, including Kindle, by Wolfpack Publishing.

Bishop concludes, “The greatest compliment I've received as an author is when either female law enforcement personnel or individuals who have been through the ringer of sexual assault approach me at a writing function, sometimes with tears in their eyes, and ask, 'How do you know this?' 'How do you know what it's like to be a woman on this job?' Or in the case of one woman, 'How do you understand what it feels like to be a child of the silence?' My answer is always the same, "Fey told me..."

Fey Croaker Purchase Checklist

1. "Kill Me Again" (1994 Avon)
2. "Twice Dead" (aka "Grave Sins" 1996 Avon) 
3. "Tequila Mockingbird" (1997 Scribner/Pocket Books)
4. "Chalk Whispers" (2000 Scribner/Pocket Books)
5. "Pattern of Behavior" (2014 Wolfpack)

Conversations - Paul Bishop

Acclaimed author, editor, and podcast host Paul Bishop joins Eric for a lively conversation about his latest book, 52 Weeks 52 Sherlock Holmes Novels. In this engaging discussion, Paul offers a thoughtful introduction to Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary detective, sharing tips on where newcomers should start, exploring why Sherlock Holmes remains timeless, and delving into the wide world of adaptations—from classic stories and novels to films, TV series, comics, and anime—that have kept the great sleuth alive for nearly 140 years. Stream the video below, on YouTube HERE or listen to just the audio HERE.

Monster Man

In 2011, authors Paul Bishop (Lie Catchers, Penalty Shot) and Mel Odom (The Executioner, Hellgate) each wrote and self-published a pulp-styled boxing novella. The books were so well received, a brand was created called Fight Card. Various authors would try their hand at crafting a 25,000-30,000 word novella centralized around boxing in the 1940s and 1950s. The ebooks were published under a house name of Jack Tunny with physical editions printed with the author's real name. The brand created spin-offs like Fight Card MMA, Fight Card Now, Fight Card Luchadors, and even Fight Card: Sherlock Holmes. 

My introduction to the Fight Card series is an installment called Monster Man. It was authored by Jason Chirevas and published in 2014. It has also been included in a three-book omnibus titled Under the Lights and Heat, a collection of three connected Fight Card novellas written by Chirevas. In 2019, Chirevas contributed a short story to Paul Bishop's collection Bandit Territory: Ten New Tales of Murder & Mayhem and he created and authored the western series Ames & Fyre. 

Monster Man, set in 1953, stars a talented young boxer named Ben Harman. He grew up an orphan in St. Vincent's home for boys in Chicago. After the Army, Ben found that he was a gifted and natural boxer. Rising in the ranks of the fight game, Ben meets an unlikely fate one night in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His powerful right hand fatally injures his opponent in the ring. The death leads to Ben's removal from the big-time fight game. 

The narrative then moves to Toronto and readers learn that Ben is now paired with his old friend Pete. Together, the two are running a fight scam from city to city. The gimmick is that Ben fights in amateur bouts and he either takes a dive (pretending to be knocked out so he loses) or he runs a hustle and fakes that he is brand new in the fight business, then proceeds to knock out the city's local champ. Either way, Pete makes the bets depending on the scam, and the two pocket the money evenly. The catch is that they can't be seen together and they have to conduct business east of New Mexico so no one will recognize Ben as a former pro. But, where does “Monster Man” fit in?

Ben is suffering from the early onslaught of acromegaly, a disease in which an individual's hands, feet, forehead, nose, and jaw grow disproportionately due to an increased hormone growth. You may remember WWE Hall of Fame legend Andre the Giant as the most famous human to have acromegaly. But, there was also 1933 world heavyweight boxing champion Primo Carnera, which influenced the author's decision to write the main character in this way. Throughout the story, Ben researches the disease in all of the town libraries he visits. He also reads up on Carnera's condition. Ultimately, Ben begins to suffer severe pain in his wrists and hands and he fully understands what his future entails.

Monster Man absolutely shines like a classic mid-century crime-noir, fitting in the most rudimentary staples that the genre possesses – gambling, criminals, romance, money and an examination of the average human condition. Like Clark Howard's masterful 1967 crime-fiction novel The Arm, Monster Man emphasizes the gambling addiction – bad, worse, and worst – but introduces a love interest that steadily begins to chip away at the criminality factor. The “monster” isn't Ben, it's the game. In a clever twist, Ben falls for a prostitute named Vicky, a once beautiful, aspiring actress that now has a physical flaw. Ben and Vicky share the same imperfections, and they are both caught up in a life of crime. 

I read a lot of fiction, from the greats to the aspiring authors that still have some rows to ho. In my experience as a reader, Jason Chirevas proves that he is truly something special. He has a unique talent to convey so much emotion and drama in his wording. I felt invested in the characters and sympathized with their predicament. There's no easy way out, and Chirevas' doesn't short-change anything. 

Monster Man is gritty, entertaining, and wildly unpredictable. It caters to boxing fans, crime-fiction readers, and anyone that just loves an engrossing story. While I hung on to the ending for dear life, I'm relieved to know that Ben and Vicky's story continues in the 2015 follow-up Job Girl. Look for my review of that in the coming days. 

You can buy Monster Man as a Kindle stand-alone ebook HERE or the omnibus Under the Lights and Heat as digital or physical HERE.

Men's Adventure Quarterly #12

The Men's Adventure Quarterly Magazine are highlights of my year. Thankfully, the boys behind this amazing publication put in the hard work and are dedicated to keep these books coming. This is the quarterly magazine edited by both Robert Deis and Bill Cunningham that focuses on vintage men's action-adventure magazines, but delves into other media like paperbacks, comics, films, and books about books. Guest contributors in this issue are James Reasoner, David Avallone, John Harrison, David Spencer, and Paul Bishop. Every MAM Quarterly has a theme. Prior issues were dedicated to themes like juvenile delinquents, spy, vigilante, Vietnam War, and western. This one is right up my alley. It is the Private Eye Issue. At 160 pages this thing is stuffed with content. I'll hit the surface just to give you an idea of what you get with this amazing issue. 

In the opening pages, Bob Deis gives a thoughtful and mournful farewell to his friend and MAM inspiration, artist Mort Kunstler. The famed artist passed away in February, 2025. Back in 2019, Bob, alongside his editing partner Wyatt Doyle, put together a fantastic book about Kunstler and his career. Bob's message is endearing and one that solidifies the enormous legacy Kunstler leaves behind. He was a talent like no other and he will be sorely missed. 

Bob also rolls into the issue's first short story with an introduction about a real life private-eye named Raymond C. Schindler. Bob delves into the sleuth's life and his appearance in a short story titled "The Case of the Murdering Detective", penned by writer Alan Hynd and originally published in Cavalier in September 1956. Bob and Bill publish that entire story in this issue complete with the amazing original artwork by Norm Saunders. 

I was thrilled to see that Bob included yours truly in an article about popular crime-fiction author Frank Kane. Bob gives a nod to Tom and I and our Podcast Episode about Kane's iconic private-eye Johnny Liddell. Bob gives a little backstory on Kane and the character and even digs into an old Manhunt story featuring the character titled "Party Girl". That story, originally appearing in Manhunt's August 1954 issue was reprinted in Ken for Men in May 1957. Thankfully, Bob turns the favor and reprints the entire story in this issue as well. Of course it is accompanied by amazing artwork by Rudy Nappi featuring men's adventure supermodel Eva Lynd. 

Bob has an article about a rare two-issue men's adventure magazine titled Private Eye. The issues were November 1959 and April 1960. Bob writes about the magazine and features a story from it titled "Sing a Song of Sex Mail" by an unknown author. 

What I consider the main event of the issue is a book bonus of Michael Avallone's The Tall Dolores. This book bonus is titled "Make Out Mob Girl". The story is introduced by David Spencer and features an excerpt from Spencer's non-fiction work about paperback novelizations aptly titled The Novelizers. The gatefold artwork for the story is by Frank Soltesz. Accompanying this story is an article by Michael Avallone's son David titled "A Little Something About My Father". 

If you are a fan of the Honey West franchise then this issue's MAQ Gallery is a must. There's tons of paperback cover art from books like Dig a Dead Doll and Girl on the Prowl. There's art from TV Guide, an episode guide from the show, and a short story titled "The Red Hairing" which was originally published in the June 1965 issue of Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine with art by Leo Morey. 

James Reasoner's article is titled "The Top Ten Western Detectives" and it looks at characters created by the likes of Loren Estleman, Steve Hockensmith, John Reese, Craig Johnson, and A.G. Guthrie Jr just to name a few. Paul Bishop has a detailed article titled "Sherlockian: The Game is Still Afoot!" that examines Sherlock Holmes short story collection Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories, The Fight Card Sherlock Holmes Omnibus, and his own edited book out now titled 52 Weeks 52 Sherlock Holmes Novels. John Harrison's article looks at specific examples of futuristic private eyes, so that adds a little something unique and different to round out the issue. 

As always, with these issues of Men's Adventure Quarterly, high-quality is the absolute goal and every single issue delivers it in spades. I don't know how they do it but Bob and Bill are a terrific duo that put in a ton of hard work to get this to print four times per year. I'm impressed. Again, this is Men's Adventure Quarterly #12 and it's out now. Get it HERE.

The Red Scarf

Stark House Press has just released a reprinting of Gil Brewer's 1958 novel “The Red Scarf” and his 1954 book “A Killer is Loose”. The two works are packaged together with a forward from the esteemed Paul Bishop, author of “Lie Catchers” and “Deep Water”. Brewer is a staple of the crime paperback empire, writing over 30 novels in a career that spanned 1951-1970. Despite being a fixture in the genre, his selling prowess never came to fruition. 

“The Red Scarf”, the subject of this review, is described by Bishop as “noir at its finest – comparable to any exploration of human darkness before or since”. While I wasn't as moved as much as Bishop, I found this crime novel intriguing in its dissection of greed and its effect on the human condition. It's a familiar and rather elementary story involving a briefcase of stolen cash from the mob. It seems to be the premise of nearly every noir crime, some sort of heist that goes incredibly wrong for the inexperienced planner and performer. 

Roy Nichols and his wife Bess are in a tough spot. They own a roadside motel that doesn't actually feature a road. The acquisition of the motel was in hopes that a planned road would be built through town. However, the city has nixed the idea and Roy has been rejected for additional loans by the bank and his own brother. Roy runs into Teece and his wife Vivian on a lonely stretch of road. Teece is running money for the mob from state to state and has decided to steal a briefcase of cash. After wrecking and seemingly dying, both Roy and Vivian escape unhurt and venture to Roy's motel in Florida with the money. It's here that things get somewhat complicated.

Teece wants to pay Roy to keep her safe at the motel. She's fearing the mob will find her and the money. Roy, hoping to keep all of this a secret from Bess, agrees but second guesses everything. He is constantly looking over his shoulder for the police, mobsters and even a dead Teece in fits of paranoia that may not be worth the price. When the police and a hitman start snooping around the motel...things get wacky and unhinged.

Brewer tinkers with everyday people and puts them in precarious situations. Thus, “The Red Scarf” wraps snugly around the reader, tightening in just the right places to make this one a stressful, high-tension read. The police interrogations are worth the price of admission and watching Roy's nervous antics and jitterbug dances between Bess, Vivian and the law were particularly enjoyable. While there isn't a great deal of action, suspenseful negotiating more than makes up for the absence of guns and fists. I'd recommend “The Red Scarf” to anyone looking for suspenseful fiction. 

Buy your copy here.

Paperback Warrior Podcast - Episode Special #01

This week’s Paperback Warrior Podcast is a special episode without Tom and Eric! Instead, we turn the show over to our friend Paul Bishop of the Six-Gun Justice Podcast to tell you all about the vintage paperbacks of John Whitlatch. Thanks to Paul for keeping us rolling during our holiday hiatus. Listen on your favorite podcast app or PaperbackWarrior.com or download directly HERE

Listen to "Episode Special 01" on Spreaker.

Sherlock Holmes - A Study in Scarlet

The canon of Sherlock Holmes includes 56 short stories and four novels authored by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The character first appeared in the 1887 novel A Study in Scarlet, first published in Beeton's Christmas Annual and then in book format a year later. Thanks to my friend and Sherlockian expert Paul Bishop, an author/blogger/podcaster, I've taken my first plunge into the literary escapism of the Victorian detective era.

A Study in Scarlet begins by way of an introduction between Dr. John Watson, who narrates in first-person, and the enigma himself, Sherlock Holmes. Readers learn of Watson's experience in the Anglo-Afghan War, his service as a surgeon with the Army Medical Department, and his education at University of London, St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and Edinburgh University. As the book begins Watson is searching for room and board and is urged to meet with Holmes, an eccentric in need of a roommate to offset rent.

Holmes is described as having a profound knowledge of chemistry, sensational literature, and British law. He has a feeble knowledge of politics, an accurate understanding of anatomy, and variable degrees of knowledge in botany. Holmes is an expert boxer and swordsman, plays the violin, and, most importantly, is a consulting detective.

A telegram arrives requesting assistance in a murder case. A body has been discovered in an abandoned house on Brixton Road. Watson joins Holmes in the investigation. At the crime scene Holmes shows up Scotland Yard by deducing that the murderer used poison. The German word for “revenge” is scrawled on the wall and a ring is discovered that may lead to the murderer's identity. Eventually, Holmes locates the killer and the mystery is solved. All of this takes place in Part I, titled “The Reminiscences of Watson”. 

Reading the murder investigation as closed, I was surprised that half of the book remained unread. Part II is “The Country of the Saints”, a detailed explanation of what kickstarted the victim pursuit, motive, and the murderer's ultimate goal. Surprisingly, Holmes and Watson have no participation in this part of the book. Instead, this portion of the narrative takes place in the Salt Lake Valley of Utah years before the Brixton Road murder. In this account, a man named John Ferrier and a young girl named Lucy are rescued from the desert by Brigham Young's Latter-day Saints (the Mormons). Ferrier is forced into a Mormon faith and becomes a prisoner to the religion. Despite his reluctance, Ferrier becomes wealthy and gains a great swath of land. However two of the Mormon leaders vow to make Lucy their bride. Ferrier is provided a deadline to turn Lucy over to one of them for adoption into their harem. Lucy is adamant in her intentions to never marry either of them and Ferrier is left between a rock and a very hard place – both being killed or giving up Lucy.

I found both parts of Doyle's novel riveting in different ways. The first adventure of the famed Watson/Holmes crime-solving duo was just so enjoyable. There's a touch of dry humor and an ebb and flow between the two as they pounced on the details of the case and the list of suspects and motives. It was easy to follow the investigation (a lesson some writers today should adhere to) and see the case through to the conclusion. Thankfully, Doyle spends an equal amount of time instilling in the reader the reasons and motive for the murder. I found this portion of the book to be slightly more superior. This was an exceptional western-style novella complete with a “long-rifle hero” attempting to save a homesteader and his daughter from land barons. It is the classic western tale that ascends into a crescendo of violence, death, and revenge.

I thoroughly enjoyed this Sherlock Holmes book and I'm looking forward to devouring the remaining novels and short-story collections. A Study in Scarlet is my highest possible recommendation. Get it HERE.

The Enforcer #01 - The Enforcer

Lancer released The Enforcer in 1973. It was the debut of a series that lasted four volumes with the publishing group before Manor purchased the line and released two more (including reprinting some with better art). The series was written and created by Andrew Sugar, who would later contribute for Argosy as well as books in The Israeli Commandos line. After one stand-alone title, Yank, the author seemed to retire from writing around 1979.  No other published works are known. Oddly, there’s some mystery behind this particular creator. Some have speculated that Andrew Sugar was actually a woman named Andrea Sugar. However, according to the Glorious Trash blog, a fan and former Sugar colleague states this is false. Blogger and author Paul Bishop discovered evidence from a court case (her lawsuit over naming rights of Dirty Harry film franchise) that he lived his later years as a woman – Andrea Sugar.

While The Enforcer appears to be another entry in the popular “vigilante revenge” sub-genre, don’t let the cover fool you. There are very little comparisons contrary to the book’s obvious knock-off of The Executioner styled covers. The cover suggests this is a “great new series”. It’s not. It also shows us a Mack Bolan clone holding a handgun. That’s not in the book. The tagline of, “The contract’s out from the Mafia masters – get the Enforcer before he gets us!” has absolutely nothing to do with this book. There’s no Mafia, no contract and the Enforcer isn’t out to get anyone. The book’s jacket is a scam just begging for you to spend your hard earned .95 cents on this guy instead of Bolan. I hope you didn’t.

Alex Jason is a successful author and lives in a nice apartment complex in New York. In the book’s opening chapters, we learn that Jason is in the final stages of stomach cancer and weights roughly 100-pounds. He’s not exactly in tip-top fighting shape regardless of his martial arts background. Aside from controlling his pain using inner self-control called Ki, he spends his dying days depleting his funds and having heavily detailed sex with his girlfriend (who at one-point wishes Jason had two penises to please her with). Jason entertains an offer from a mysterious hologram – he can live an additional two years if he can contribute his services to the John Anryn Institute. How is this possible for a terminal Cancer patient? Simple. A guy named Flack has invented successful body growing (and cloning). Frankenstein influences in a men’s action adventure tale?

In what of the most outrageous storylines of any genre series, Flack can simply place Jason’s mind in perfect bodies that he has grown from cells. While these bodies are healthy, strong and enamored with ginormous penises, they do have a flaw. After about 90 days the body will essentially melt and Jason will need to be replaced in a new body. Each time this happens…the brain waves become a little duller. It’s not a flawless process but Jason understands the risks. Soon Flack and his institute has Jason in laser beam training, an important part of his first mission – destroying oil wells in Cuba to spur a dictatorship’s downfall. After meeting, and screwing, a trainer named Brunie (also a cloned body), Jason is off to Cuba (?) to shoot the oil well with a laser beam. Unfortunately, his raft sinks along with most of his supplies. Considering Jason has no prior military experience and writes books for a living, he is soon captured by the dictator and forced into a three-month prison sentence of torture and penis flicking (by another man).

There are so many things wrong with this book that I can’t possibly outline them all here. 

First, why would the institute want Jason to do these things? It’s 1973, why not some Vietnam specialist or other military trained professional? Second, the author spends a bulk of the middle of this book just doing day to day stuff at the prison – very mild torture, hotbox occupancy, penis flicking – with very little payoff. How does our paperback warrior escape? Brunie and his laser beam trainer, Tutley, show up to spring him from the camp. 

The book continues for another 40 pages as the team learns there is an Island of Dr. Moreau thing happening in some secret laboratory on the island. Without proper supplies and arms (the laser beams have a max capacity of 15 shots), they literally walk into the laboratory and threaten the commander with a spider in a bag. No shit. I’m not making this up. Utterly ridiculous…and fascinating. 

The book’s finale, which can’t come soon enough, circles back to the novel’s opening pages of Jason melting away on a Caribbean beach. It’s hard to imagine where the series’ will go from here – but I’m hoping less spiders in a bag, less laser beams and much, much better writing.

Buy a copy of this book HERE

.44

There’s a beautiful reference guide compiled by Paul Bishop and Scott Harris titled “52 Weeks - 52 Western Novels” with an essay by author Peter Brandvold gushing about a 1953 paperback called “.44” by H.A. DeRosso. Brandvold makes the point that the short book is really a noir novel wrapped in western packaging. A western noir? Now, you’re speaking my language.

Dan Harland is a cowboy turned gunslinger turned assassin-for-hire. As the novel opens, a paid hit veers in an unexpected direction when his intended target - a fast draw named Lancaster - allows himself to be killed by Harland without putting up any resistance. Why would someone do that? It amounts to suicide and it begs a lot of questions that Harland wants answered. The experience of murdering a willing victim was profound enough to bring Harland to the conclusion that he’s had enough of the killing game. Lancaster could have easily shot Harland but instead chose to die. By Harland’s old-fashioned honor code, he owes Lancaster his life.

Harland was hired for the Lancaster hit by a middleman who refuses to share the identity of the ultimate client who paid for the job. Harland becomes obsessed with the idea of finding the hidden client, and he goes on an investigative quest to settle the score in Lancaster’s memory.

What we have here is a genuinely unique mystery where the murderer himself is on a journey to solve his own victim’s murder. The “hitman searches for his mystery client” story later became a recurring plotline in Max Allan Collins’ ‘Quarry’ series, but DeRosso’s take is a way darker, almost melancholy, work of noir fiction.

The mystery is intensified by the sheer number of people falsely confessing to Harland that they are his secret client. Was the motive a cattle rustling dispute? A gambling debt? Or could it have something to do with the recent big-money train robbery? And most importantly - who is the puppet master convincing these people to run interference with cock-and-bull stories crafted to keep Harland away from the truth?

Folks, this is a great Western. One of the best I’ve read in ages. It’s also one of the best noir mysteries I’ve read. It made me want to explore the rest of DeRosso’s body of work. Sadly, the author died in 1960 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Since the novel’s Lion Books release in 1953, “.44” has been reprinted several times and is currently available as an eBook. This is great news since the book is a masterpiece and should be required reading for noir and Western fans. Highest recommendation.

Buy a copy of this book HERE

Paperback Warrior Podcast - Episode Special #04

On today’s special edition of the Paperback Warrior Podcast, Tom finds a cache of unusual westerns by “Alex Hawk.” We turn to Paul Bishop of the Six-Gun Justice Podcast to set us straight about these odd books and the enigmatic author. Listen on your favorite podcast app or at www.paperbackwarrior.com or download directly HERE

Listen to "Episode Special #04" on Spreaker.

Barbarians on Bikes: Bikers & Motorcycle Gangs in Men's Pulp Adventure Magazines

When it comes to post-apocalyptic and men's action-adventure, Paperback Warrior has featured a number of reviews of books featuring bikers and biker gangs. From sprawling doomsday sagas like 'The Last Ranger' and 'Outrider' to gritty vigilante novels like 'Hell Rider', the inclusion of motorcycles and their riders is a consistent aspect of the freewheeling warrior spirit.  While most of our attention has been given to the 80s and 90s action paperbacks, in all actuality the motorcycle-fiction genre reached a fevered success much earlier. Between the 1950s to 1970s, men's action-adventure pulp magazines featured wild, colorful and over-the-top biker paintings and illustrations. The stories themselves ranged from harrowing military feats to Hell's Angels styled escapism for blue-collar males. It was an immensely popular and competitive market for the publishing industry.

Esteemed scholars Robert Deis and Wyatt Doyle (The Men's Adventure Library, MensPulpMags.com) have collaborated on a number of historic accounts and publishing trends in vintage Men's Pulp Adventure Magazines (MAMs). Their 2016 coffee-table archive is dedicated to the biker sub-genre within the publishing industry of the mid-20th Century. Titled “Barbarians on Bikes: Bikers & Motorcycle Gangs in Men's Pulp Adventure Magazines” (New Texture), this 130-page book chronicles hundreds upon hundreds of magazine covers, gate-fold spreads and a brief introduction that cites 1947's “cycle-rally-gone-wild” in the Northern California town of Hollister as a real-life catalyst for America's fascination with biker culture. The book also features an analysis by author Paul Bishop, a former LAPD detective and author of the terrific 'Fey Croaker' detective series.

While I enjoy book and magazine covers, my expertise is typically dedicated to the in-between pages. I love reading and reviewing great fiction, but have a soft place in my heart for the artwork adorning all of these great paperbacks. It's rewarding to find that same passion lies within Robert and Wyatt's labor of love. The astronomical prices of vintage magazines, combined with the rarity of finding intact 70-year old magazines, makes “Barbarians on Bikes” a must-have for anyone that appreciates the action-adventure culture (films, comics, magazines, paperbacks). The high-quality, full blown scans of these hard-to-find magazines is an all-you-can-devour eye candy buffet. Personally, this book is about as close as I'll ever come to holding and owning these vintage and antiquarian men's magazines.

“Barbarians on Bikes” showcases Bob and Wyatt's undying love for a time and place in history that we'll never experience again. Their dedication and hard work unearthing these historic treasures for today’s generation are an absolute delight. For readers, collectors, historians and anyone else remotely interested in men's action-adventure literature, pulp magazines and motorcycles, “Barbarians on Bikes” is mandatory for your home library or coffee-table.

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The Comanche Kid

James Robert Daniels is a professional actor and director that performed and wrote for theaters like Shakespeare and Company, Cleveland Play House, Kansas City Repertory, and Asolo. He performed at the Kennedy Center, and contributed to Shakespeare festivals in Illinois, Texas, and Oregon. Daniels served in the infantry in the Vietnam War, and used some of his military experience in his first novel, The Comanche Kid. The western was published in 2021 by Cutting Edge Books. 

The book begins with one of the more powerful opening paragraphs I've read:

It was early spring when the ocotillo was in bloom that the raiders come down on us and killed everyone but me and Sally. I remember the ocotillo because the tiny red blossoms looked like splattered blood, even though the rains had washed most of the real blood into the earth by then. 

The narrator is Jane Fury, a 16 year-old girl who survives a Comanche attack that savagely kills her parents and brother. In the melee, her sister Sally is taken captive. After burying her family, Jane tracks down some of the murderers, killing four of the raiding party with her father's rifles. Her primary goal is to find and kill her mother's rapist and murderer, a Comanche warrior deemed One-Eye.

After five action-packed chapters, the novel settles into a literary, coming-of-age tale when Jane, disguising herself as a 14 year-old boy (nicknamed The Comanche Kid), herds her family's remaining cattle into a larger and longer cattle drive. The comparisons to Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove are probably found here, the inevitable long and winding trail drive that forces the cowboys, and Jane, into battles against nature, each other, and the Comanche tribe. In this regard, I would also compare it to Ralph Compton's successful Trail Drive series.

On the Six-Gun Justice Podcast, Daniels explained to host and author Paul Bishop that he was influenced by Clair Huffaker's The Cowboy and the Cossack. The concept of a long cattle drive developing characters, personalities, and story helped define the style and framework of The Comanche Kid. Additionally, the author explained that the copious amounts of profanity in his book was something he personally experienced during his military career. Cowboys used coarse language, and the book is more realistic because of it. Daniels' love of Shakespeare is a large portion of the book's dialogue, central to a character nicknamed Shakespeare and his romantic chemistry with Jane.

My personal takeaway from The Comanche Kid is twofold. One, the book is certainly a traditional western tale, falling into one of only a handful of possible genre plot devices - the cattle drive. I enjoyed the thirst for revenge and the extraordinary action sequences that brought the revenge to fruition. But, it's a long journey between points A and B, and by page 300 I was simply worn out. I think I needed something a little more to keep me turning the pages. 

Thankfully, the second, and most prevalent aspect, is that The Comanche Kid is a conversation between Jane and God. This was the unique, most compelling portion of the book. Jane was raised as a God-fearing Christian, but struggles with her beliefs and faith after her family's murder. Throughout the book, she questions God, demands that her questions be answered, and walks a balance beam of faith and non-belief. I thought this challenge for forgiveness, retribution, and the struggles of devotion carried the narrative into a thought-provoking realm of enjoyment.  

If you enjoy sweeping, more epic western novels, then The Comanche Kid is your ticket to escapism. Daniels provides a sense of stirring adventure while successfully capturing an authentic, violent portrait of life on the frontier. Recommended. 

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Black Berets #01 - The Deadly Reunion

The Black Berets was a 13-book paperback series published by Dell between 1984-1987, a fertile time-frame for the men's action-adventure series industry. Dell was simultaneously publishing the post-apocalyptic series Traveler as well as the vigilante novels in the Hawker franchise. Therefore, it made sense for the publisher to include a team-based combat series in their catalog of offerings. The Black Berets was written by John Preston and Michael McDowell under the house name Mike McCray. Both authors were openly gay and authored a number of well-received gay-fiction novels. McDowell wrote movie and television scripts including Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Tales from the Darkside. After enjoying the aforementioned Dell publications, I decided my team-combat reading could use some fresh faces. Camouflaged of course.

Beak, Rosie, Cowboy, Harry and Runt were utilized by the CIA as a special forces squad during the Vietnam War. After the war ended, the group disbanded and began living their separate lives. Billy “Beak” Beeker is the authors' focal point, the group's leader who is introduced in the opening chapters as a Louisiana Native-American who teaches at a private school while minimally living on large acreage. In the opening installment, Deadly Reunion, Beeker receives a call from the team's old boss, Parker. After an eight year hiatus, he wants to put the band back together again.

The next chapters are dedicated to Beeker reluctantly tightening his bootstraps once again and recruiting the original team members. After partnering with cocaine-cowboy and flying ace Sherwood “Cowboy” Hatcher, the two travel across the country explaining the team's new mission, and the reader learns the backstory of each member. All parties are hesitant to join the resurrected team and are skeptical about Parker's historically-shaky allegiances. The motivation for the reunion is that Parker informs the team that a former Black Beret member has finally been found. After going missing-in-action during the war, this team member has been spotted in a Laos prison. He's not dead but barely surviving off of meek rations among years of torture and abuse. Parker wants the team to penetrate Laos and rescue the man.

Deadly Reunion is like a really good Fawcett Gold Medal novel. The team reunites for a secret mission in hostile territory to recover something with the geopolitics updated to incorporate Vietnam. There's even the old heist bit thrown into the narrative to capture that vintage feel. I had some doubts about another 1980s team-combat series but instantly fell in love with these characters and the solid writing. Unlike other high testosterone action-adventure series, the authors dedicated time and effort to tell a realistic story about Vietnam Veterans. Many of the team members find themselves lost after returning home, haunted by the combat nightmares. Lost love, poor finances, alcoholism and drug abuse are part of the Black Berets narrative, and I found that vulnerability to be a more realistic approach than the typical barrel-chested brawny heroes of the 1980s.

Overall, I just can't say enough good things about this opening installment. Compared to Able Team, Dennison's War and Eagle Force, The Black Berets seems to be solidly higher quality. I've already purchased the second installment in hopes the momentum continues. Stay tuned! 

Note: Author, editor and podcast host Paul Bishop has an excellent write-up on this series including each book's synopsis and vivid cover art. Check it out HERE.

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Fargo #01 - Fargo

Author Ben Haas used over a dozen pseudonyms throughout his career, including John Benteen. It's this name behind the long-running 'Fargo' series. There were 23 books total, three of which written by the fictional name of John W. Hardin, who most likely was Haas colleague Norman Rubington. Sky-level, the series can easily identify with the western genre. However, the weeds-level view showcases non-traditional elements that skirt the rigid boundaries of western fiction. It's pulpy at times, often placing the action in South American locales with more modern components – soldier for hire, paid man-killing and machine guns. There's a devout fan following for 'Fargo', and after reading the first installment, I can certainly see why.

The debut, “Fargo”, was released in 1969 and introduces us to the character. Fargo is an ex-Cavalry fighting man that served in Roosevelt's Rough Riders regiment. The author details that he took a bullet in the shoulder on the charge up Kettle Hill, has scar tissue from both a career in boxing and a mining scuffle. We learn that by 1910, Fargo has lived a dogged existence fighting for money. He's now a “specialist in sudden death” and arrives in El Paso looking for work. 

The novel really runs the gambit of one adventure to another, setting the locale in old Mexico. I'd suspect that the pacing is one of the book's most cherished aspects, contributing to it's collector's fellowship and fandom. Here, Fargo is Hell-bent for leather, escorting a rugged, shady businessman back to a Mexican mine through bandits and Mexican guerrillas. Benteen puts us inside a fort fighting off waves of horse-soldiers before scooting us into rough riding through gangs and mountain passes (the atmosphere is dusty and sun-baked). The fighting is intense, made more identifiable with Fargo's trademark weapons – Colt Army .38, Winchester 30-30, Batangas knife and the overly utilized Fox ten-gauge shotgun.

Conclusively, this is an action-packed novel written by a genre fan for genre fans. It's simple, entertaining and introduces a lovable character. While influenced by the pulps, as Fargo is amazing at everything, it's more gritty and convincing. Benteen's smooth delivery is never bogged down with details. It's Fargo – in it for the money, adventure and tits. Who can't be a fan of that? For more background on this character and series, read author Paul Bishop's insightful write-up here.

Alley Girl (aka Renegade Cop)

The 1954 stand-alone novel “Alley Girl” by Jonathan Craig (real name: Frank Smith) was re-released in 1959 as “Renegade Cop.” I suspect that the book was written and published following the success of Jim Thompson’s 1952 masterpiece, “The Killer Inside Me”, as both novels feature sociopath cop protagonists.

The main character of “Alley Girl” is highly-regarded Detective-Lieutenant Steve Lambert, and the first time we meet him he is pounding whiskey before his morning shift while the naked 18 year-old he’s been banging is haranguing him about his bad habits.

The central mystery of the novel concerns Tommy Nolan who may or may not have killed somebody in a whiskey blackout. Detective Lambert is working the case and promised Tommy’s hot wife that he’d keep Tommy out of the electric chair if she sleeps with him. Classy guy, right? Meanwhile, someone else wants to make sure that Tommy is convicted for the crime and is willing to pay Lambert a ton of cash to make sure that happens. The detective has no ethical qualms about this conflict of interest and appears personally uninterested in the truth behind the allegations against Tommy.

Meanwhile, a good and honorable cop named Dave Kimberly wants to solve the murder for all the right reasons. His cop instincts won’t let him mind his own business and allow Lambert to work the case without the scrutiny of an honest colleague. Dave’s character is a ray of light in this novel filled with ill-will and corruption. Dave’s quest for the truth makes this crime novel a straight-up whodunnit mystery with a satisfying conclusion. 

Lambert is a reprehensible protagonist, and you need to be comfortable with that fact to make it through this short paperback. He feels like a 1950s prototype for the Vic Mackey character on the TV show, The Shield - a talented cop with no moral compass. If you can stomach spending so much time with a villainous main character who forces another man’s wife into depraved, coercive sex, you’ll find a pretty compelling police procedural here. I’m embarrassed to say that I enjoyed this book a lot. You might as well if you’re a twisted soul.

A couple postscripts:

The title “Alley Girl” makes no sense, and was likely the idea of someone at Lion Books rather than the author. There’s no obvious Alley Girl in the whole book. There’s a secondary female character of humble beginnings who could arguably be the Alley Girl, but naming the novel after her doesn’t add up. Blame the publisher. As a title, the 1959 Diamond Books re-release as “Renegade Cop” makes more sense even if it shows an utter poverty of imagination.

Jonathan Craig also wrote a bunch of police procedural novels called the '6th Precinct' series. The paperbacks spanned ten installments between 1955 and 1966. At first glance, it would seem that the series was trying to capitalize on the popularity of Ed McBain’s '87th Precinct' series, but Craig actually beat McBain to the punch by a full year. The '6th Precinct' novels follow two NYPD detectives - Pete Selby and Stan Rayder - through a series of murders that always seems to start with the discovery of a dead, nude woman. Craig’s series never saw the commercial success of McBain’s (both were inspired by “Dragnet”, it seems), but Craig was a solid talent and the books seem to be worth a shot. For what it’s worth, the late Bill Crider loved them, and the never-late Paul Bishop was lukewarm on the '6th Precinct'. I intend to break the tie and get back to you.

We have a feature on Jonathan Craig on the third episode of the Paperback Warrior Podcast.

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Paperback Warrior Podcast - Episode 22

This episode: What's all the fuss over James D. Lawrence's 1975 series "Dark Angel" and why are collectors spending top-dollar to grab copies? Also, Tom reviews "Savage Love", a Harry Whittington paperback from 1952, and Eric covers 'Traveler: Road War' by John Shirley. Finally, we discuss some contemporary projects produced by friend-of-the-show Paul Bishop. Stream below, anywhere that is streaming great podcasts or download directly HERE.

Listen to "Episode 22 - Dark Angel" on Spreaker.

Earl Drake #01 - The Name of the Game is Death

Dan J. Marlowe was cursed with the wrong last name. Many in the genre, including myself, confused the author with Stephen Marlowe and Chandler's own iconic character Philip Marlowe. It's unfair, but some of the burden falls on the fan/reader's own ignorance. I fall into that category every time. Marlowe was an odd bird, with a lifespan that's rather peculiar and complex. Born in 1914, he was an accountant and avid gambler, validating his inclusion of poker and horses in his work as influences through experience. His wife died in 1956 and things drastically changed from there.

His love for writing and booze were support mechanisms that provoked his move to New York to write full-time. After five books about hotel detective Johnny Killian, Marlowe would go on to write the influential masterstroke - “The Name of the Game is Death”. It's an influential caper novel firmly entrenched under the much broader crime genre umbrella. Megaseller Stephen King dedicated his own noir work, “The Colorado Kid”, to Marlowe deeming him the “hardest of the hard-boiled”. The book is worthy of King's praise.

In the hard-boiled tradition of the first person narrative, we are introduced to the man with no name. Later, as the series continued (and arguably declined), the character is referred to as Earl Drake. In this book he uses an alias of Chet Arnold, fundamentally a loner who does bank jobs for a living. The story opens with Arnold and his mute partner Bunny knocking over a Phoenix bank. The hired driver panics and is fatally shot while Arnold takes one in the shoulder in an escape with Bunny. Most of the bag goes to Bunny, along with instructions for his partner to drive to Florida's gulf coast, find a small town and mail a thousand in hundreds to him. Once Arnold (at this point going by Roy Martin) heals, they will meet up. That plan goes to Hell in a handbag.

After one week of cabbage by mail, a letter arrives from Bunny saying he is in trouble and for Arnold to lay low until things clear up. The kicker – Bunny says he will call Arnold. Bunny is mute. After healing up, the novel then converts from recovery to road trip, encompassing Arnold's drive from Arizona to Hudson, Florida. It's this road venture that allows Marlowe to explain Arnold's past – equally as absorbing and intriguing as Bunny and the missing cash. We learn Arnold is 100% a loner, dedicated to solo strength and perseverance. His childhood is a suburban oddity, from a dead pet to knocking over convenience stores. Arnold did five years of hots and a cot, and swore he would never go back. 

The book then moves to a bit of a slow, but entertaining burn as Arnold acclimates himself with the tiny town and has a fling with the lovable and fiery barkeep Hazel. There's a side-story on an underground illegal supplier from Alabama, while the story unfolds on Bunny's whereabouts and the missing $200K. The finale doesn't disappoint and has Arnold hammer back, pedal down in a whirlwind of headlights and gunfire. The book's ending defiantly pronounces Arnold's journey is far from over. 

Again, it's Marlowe's masterpiece, a tour-de-force that showcases everything we love and cherish in the crime and caper epic. Arnold/Drake is the perfect anti-hero – methodical, calculating, ruthless but altogether lovable - from across town. The supporting cast of Hazel, corrupt deputy Blaze, the luscious Lucille and the spunky youngster Jed enhance the story with small town charm. It's this tease that puts Arnold teetering ever so close to the brink of normalcy.  The novel's sequel is “One Endless Hour” before Drake and Marlowe take the series and character into the spy genre. Both “The Name of the Game is Death” and “One Endless Hour” have been reprinted as an omnibus through Stark House Press. 

Kudos to author Paul Bishop for writing a terrific piece on Marlowe here.

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Crime Cop

Using the pseudonyms Larry Holden and Larry Heller, New Jersey native Lorenz F. Heller (1910-1965) authored two police procedural crime novels in 1959 and 1962 titled Crime Cop and Body of the Crime. Stark House Press has reprinted these lean thrillers in one volume with an introduction by retired LAPD detective and author Paul Bishop. As a huge fan of Heller’s writing, I was excited to plunge into Crime Cop.

Taking cues from Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct series, Crime Cop is set in the fictional metropolis of Hudson. Heller does a nice job of mimicking McBain’s third-person narrative voice. Our featured cops are robbery Detectives Jeff Flavin and George Gilman (presumably before he wrote the Edge westerns), and they are busy dealing with actual crimes, chronic complainers and tips from chatty stoolies.

Amid the day-to-day chaos, Flavin is summoned to a boss’ office to be briefed on a big case. A series of residential home invasion robberies resulted in the death of a female homeowner. Homicide is working the killing, and they need Flavin and his partner to tackle the robberies providing the department with two avenues to solve the crime.

Beyond the normal procedural steps of interviewing potential witnesses, there is some interesting pre-computer police science elements to the plot that were completely fascinating. The compiling of clues and inferences gained from those clues is an exercise in pure Sherlockian deduction. As cops, Flavin and Gilman are logic machines and a pleasure to read.

Smart legwork by the crime cops - punctuated by vivid hardboiled dialogue - develops a viable suspect for the robberies and the killing. There are twists and turns along the way. We also get several vividly-drawn characters filling out the cast, culminating in a satisfying ending.

Crime Cop reminded me of an exceptional Ed McBain 87th Precinct cover band. In many ways, I preferred Heller’s writing and plotting to McBain’s work. The good news is that - thanks to Stark House - readers don’t need to choose. Read them both.

Fun Fact:

There’s a homicide detective in Crime Cop named Ben Tutchek who is the main character in the author’s Body of the Crime. Interestingly, the 1962 paperback was published under the quasi-pseudonym of Larry Heller. The author was setting himself up for a Marvel Universe (or 87th Precinct) of inter-connected cop stories from Pyramid Books, but tepid sales couldn’t justify a third novel. Thanks to Stark House for reuniting this two-book “series” into a single volume.

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