Stark House Press’ A DEVIL FOR O’SHAUGNESSY / THE THREE-WAY SPLIT has been on my radar for a long time – not just because it gives more of that great Gil Brewer noir, but because it also has an unpublished novel that finally sees the light of day. The main reason for this discovery is discussed in the opening essay, which goes into great detail of its history, including how Stark House’s previous collection pleased Brewer’s estate.

The “new” A DEVIL FOR O’SHAUGNESSY is a great piece of noir, further cementing my opinion of Brewer as an unsung master. There’s an element included that could have hampered the story with goofy comic relief, but it’s used to much greater effect than other writers would have done.

Con man Tolbert O’Shaugnessy has a bit of a problem: He has a conscience, which is a huge negative in the world of grifters. He is approached by a girl named Miriam, who has a plan for which she needs Tolbert to play the role of her dead cousin Joseph. She is living with her grandmother, who’s leaving Miriam nothing in her will; it’s all going to Joseph, who has died in London.

Miriam figures it will be easy to pass off Tolbert as Joseph since Grandma has not seen her special little boy since he was 8. Now, here is where Brewer adds something no noir fan could believe, but again, he handles it so well: that of Grandma’s husband’s spirit residing in a monkey. Yes, you read that correctly. It could have been some stupid joke, but Brewer uses it to his advantage, with the monkey being a vicious beast who only responds to his master.

There’s a great reveal toward the end that no one will see coming; even the hardboiled fans will have to pick up their jaws. A great discovery of a story that will finally get the some great exposure it so richly deserves.

Before we are treated to the second novel of the twofer, Stark House throws in three very short stories that Brewer wrote for various publications, with the first being a standout that plays more like parody: “Dig That Crazy Corpse,” written under a pseudonym, plays on the old axiom “you can’t take with you.” The other two stories could have easily have been featured in any Alfred Hitchcock collection.

The second half of this stunning reissue is a classic that most noir fans consider as one of Brewer’s best: 1960’s THE THREE-WAY SPLIT. I can only add to the adulations. It deals with a down-on-his-luck man named Jack Holland, who tries to make his way through life as a captain of a charter boat, dealing with some real asses along the way.

Since its off-season, he has to grin and bear it. Literally, Jack is just scraping by, with no electric or phone to speak of. His girlfriend wants him to straighten up and get a real job. Then his dad Sam shows up unannounced. Theirs is a father/son relationship that is made of hugs and kisses; there was more love between Oedipus and his father.

Jack is trying to set up a salvage job, but does not want his father to even get a hint of what is going on. It would be easier if people that Sam knows weren’t turning up with guns and wanting answers, throwing Jack’s world upside-down. Even when Sam explains he made his restitution in his own way, Jack is still unsure of his father, who seems to weaseling his way further and further into his son’s world.

It all comes to a head in typical Brewer fashion, and to go further would ruin a truly great read. Finishing up the collection is another essay going through Brewer’s history, but with the slant on his father, a fellow writer. It ends on a sweet note about how Brewer’s life was not all noir, since he was married to a woman who cared for him through thick and thin.

To say that Stark House did a remarkable job is an understatement. I’m hopeful it has a few more Brewer tales waiting to be reprinted, because we are only scratching the surface of a major talent who slipped through the cracks. –Bruce Grossman

Buy it at Amazon.

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• THE VENGEFUL VIRGIN by Gil Brewer
• WILD TO POSSESS / A TASTE FOR SIN by Gil Brewer