| Vintage Pulp | Oct 26 2020 |
Bad news. Your husband refused to pay the ransom. He also wanted me to tell you it's not you, it's him.
A while back we moved Jonathan Latimer from the decent bin to the mandatory bin off the back of his crazy thriller Solomon's Vineyard. We're returning him to the decent bin. The Dead Don't Care is an okay book, but not top notch. Latimer wrote it in 1938, and it was the fourth entry in a detective franchise starring a boozy dick named Bill Crane, and an equally boozy sidekick named Thomas O'Malley. The two engage in such shenanigans as ordering double-triple bourbons and generally pickling their livers at every opportunity—which we totally respect‚ but the actual mystery, divorced from its comedic elements, is overly talky and populated by characters that tend to blend after a while.
Basically, Crane and O'Malley are called in when an upper crust woman is kidnapped, and someone is murdered. As usual in such books, the first murder isn't the last, and the second killing provides key clues to finally unmasking the eventual culprit. In all, it was meh. But it did well enough to spawn a film adaptation, 1938's The Last Warning, which we may watch at some point. We're in no way discouraged by The Dead Don't Care. We already know Latimer can write. But it isn't surprising he'd run into problems four entries into a series that would peter out after one more outing. We'll move on to his other books and do so eagerly. This MacFadden-Bartell paperback came in 1964, and the cover art is by Robert Schulz.
| Vintage Pulp | Dec 12 2016 |
Go completely unnoticed in any setting with the amazing new Undercover Operative Trench Coat.
Well, some products don't work as advertised. We weren't going to buy it, but then we learned it came with a complimentary limited edition newspaper with two eye holes cut in it. But when we wore the coat we got spotted immediately and now we have a restraining order. 1955 copyright on this Ace Double of Harry Whittington's One Got Away (Robert Schulz cover art), bound with Cleve F. Adams' Shady Lady (Harry Barton on the art chores). We'll see you after our probation hearing.
Ace BooksAce Double NovelsHarry WhittingtonRobert SchulzCleve F. AdamsHarry Bartoncover artliterature
| Vintage Pulp | Sep 17 2014 |
Part angel, part goddess, and part alley cat.
Seems like one good Midwood deserves another, so here’s another effort from them—Don Rico’s Nikki, published in 1963. After years writing for comics, this was Rico’s first novel, and he would later publish other books as Dan Rico, Donella St. Michaels, Donna Richards, Joseph Milton, et al. The back cover text for Nikki is unusually entertaining, so we’ve got that below as well. The excellent art is the work of Robert Schulz.
MidwoodNikkiDon RicoRobert SchulzDan RicoDonella St. MichaelsDonna RichardsJoseph Miltoncover artliterature
