For those unfamiliar, when Mickey Spillane passed away, he left a treasure trove of work to his friend Max Allan Collins — some just notes; others, fully developed plots. And then surprises like LADY, GO DIE!, the original sequel to I, THE JURY, but in an unfinished state. Why this was put to the side is anyone’s guess, but if it came out when originally written, it would have been just as powerful and popular as its 1947 predecessor.
A few months after the events of JURY, we find Mike Hammer and his secretary, Velda, on vacation on Long Island, in the small town of Sidon. Their first night there, while taking a leisurely walk, they come across a man in the process of getting a serious beatdown by the local police.
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Unless you have read Ferdinand von Schirach’s debut story collection, CRIME, you might easily ignore this follow-up with the equally direct title, GUILT. That would be a shame, as you would miss a unique and unusually moving reading experience.
Like its predecessor, GUILT is compilation of mostly very short stories based on the author’s experiences as a defense lawyer in Berlin, and he often includes himself and his involvement with the story. However, the emphasis is not on the action committed by the central characters, but the lingering aftermath and how it affects and often transforms all involved.
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Continuing with the University of Chicago Press’ Alan Grofield reissues, we hit a true oddity with the series’ second entry, THE DAME, because Richard Stark — or Donald E. Westlake, if you prefer — wasn’t known for whodunits. Yet that’s exactly what this breezy, 1969 novel becomes rather quickly.
The story seems to take place just a few days after the events of THE DAMSEL. Grofield receives a bizarre letter asking him to come to Puerto Rico for a job offer. No other information is given — just the promise of a well-paying gig.
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Joe R. Lansdale’s latest returns to the Depression-era, East Texas setting he used in such memorable past works as THE BOTTOMS, SUNSET AND SAWDUST and others. While the setting may be familiar to longtime Lansdale readers, EDGE OF DARK WATER easily stands on its own and succeeds wonderfully on several noteworthy characteristics.
While fishing one morning with her dad and uncle, Sue Ellen discovers the sunken body of schoolmate May Lynn, a popular, pretty young girl. Someone tied a Singer sewing machine to May Lynn’s foot, and tossed her into the Sabine River. Sue Ellen’s father would prefer tossing the dead body back into the muddy water, but the others insist they haul the corpse into town and bury her.
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University of Chicago Press’ Richard Stark reissues have continued, with three titles most fans of the author were hoping would be included. I’m referring to the Alan Grofield books, of which the publisher has reissued the first three of the series’ four, all sharing an informative introduction by Sarah Weinman. (Hard Case Crime already squeezed out the fourth, LEMONS NEVER LIE, a few years ago.)
Those of you expecting the same cold and calculating stories of Stark’s other creation, Parker, will be disappointed. Grofield is one of the few people who is actually “friendly” with Parker, like the other side of the coin — he’s talkative and gregarious to a point, but also a criminal at the heart of it all.
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