After the great response from the previous all-MIKE SHAYNE MYSTERY MAGAZINE column, I figured I would take another shot at it, especially since I have more than 50 of them on my shelf, with plenty of great writers listed on the covers and also a few stories that were recommend to me.
MIKE SHAYNE MYSTERY MAGAZINE: SEPTEMBER 1980 — James Reasoner told me that one of his favorite Shayne stories he wrote was in this issue, called ‘Yesterday’s Angel.” I totally understand why he is really proud of this one, since it goes back to the start of the Shayne series, dealing with the little-mentioned Mrs Shayne. See, at the start of the series, Mike was married, but his wife was written out of the series just as fast. So Reasoner took that idea and played with it.
A woman turns up on Mike’s doorstep with men chasing her, claiming she is the late Phyllis Shayne — a total dead ringer for her, at least, since Mike thinks that it can’t be true, especially after she claims she has no memory of where she has been. The plot moves into multiple people attacking Shayne, claiming he has something they all want.
The story itself actually ties into an earlier book of the series, which Reasoner ruins here, since he gives away the plot and ending. He has apologized for this mistake, claiming that it was his earlier writing and would never do it again. So read THE CORPSE CAME CALLING first if you grab this issue.
For this tale alone, it’s worth grabbing this issue, since its prime Shayne. Reasoner also stated that the Shayne story in the next issue is related to this one. Another standout in the issue is something very much of its time: “The Opponent” by Edmund R. Shields, a story of a chess-by-mail game that has some very serious issues. It deals with a man who has lost his hands and one eye, and is reflecting on this multi-year match as he waits to hear the final move. This story would make a great short, so filmmakers, look into it. It’s totally gripping.
Another good one is “Correspondence with a Bicycle Thief” by Jerry Jacobsen, told through letters in a college newspaper, between a woman condemning the person who stole her bike, and the thief who just eggs her on. It’s a bit Nancy Drew via Ann Landers — a very funny little tale with our heroine proving how she came to solve the case due to the thief’s boasts.
Finally, there is “Cop Killer” by Edward D. Hoch, in which a hunted-down fugitive is hiding out in what should have been an abandoned apartment, only to find a resident who lived there years ago returning, not knowing that whole area of town is now deserted. To go further reveals the big surprise at the end, but like the old saying goes, you can’t judge a book by its cover.
MIKE SHAYNE MYSTERY MAGAZINE: MARCH 1976 — Here is a case of the supporting stories being of more interest than the Shanye tale. “The Corpse That Walked Away” won’t hold many readers’ interest. It literally drags along, about a family and the murders that happen around them. You’re best off skipping that tale and read the B story first, “Tiger in the Snow,” which happens to be one of George C. Chesboro’s tales featuring his dwarf detective Mongo.
Although it’s barely 20 pages, you get a lot of Mongo backstory infused into it. The plot deals with an escaped tiger from the circus Mongo used to work for. But did the animal escape or did someone release it for his own gain? I’ve been looking for more of the Mongo books, but every place I go, the only one they have is one I covered long ago. I do have another Shayne magazine with a Chesboro story — no idea if it’s also a forgotten Mongo tale.
It’s not all mysteries in this digest; there is a bit of spy fiction in “Between You, Me, and the Lamppost,” a story about a man who stumbles onto a drop spot for some Russian agents, and figures out a way to make some money for himself. It seems to go fine until a crucial mistake is made. There is also a bit of humor in another story only told through letters, in Alvin S. Fick’s “The Old Heap,” which deals with a 1949 Kaiser’s missing hubcaps, which seem to have been stolen at a parking garage. What’s funny is that in the next-to-last letter, it’s pretty obvious what has taken place to please the car owner. Still, it’s a very funny little tale of not crossing an old man who is persistent in the care of his car.
Gary Brander’s “The Halt and the Dead” could have easily been slightly changed to become a Shayne tale, especially since this one is really good and deals with a missing-husband case, with all the clues provided for a reader to put the pieces together — not the most taxing of tales, but still a vast improvement than the real Shayne story.
MIKE SHAYNE MYSTERY MAGAZINE: JANUARY 1979 — This is probably the most jam-packed of the issues so far, starting the Mike Shayne story with a bang to say the least, in “Contract on a Corpse.” Take a look at the cover, because that scene takes place really early. But first, we witness two men who are both killed in cold blood for reasons not made clear. Nothing was taken from them, and neither of them seems to have any ties to one another.
Mike and his pals are on a fishing trip when a boat loaded with a group of thugs comes to attack. It seems someone has it out for Shayne in a big way. Thankfully, there is a bazooka on Mike’s boat to take care of that problem. It all leads into the story of how he unknowingly has been hired with a $10,000 retainer check waiting for him at the office. The plot moves along at a quick pace, dealing with a crime from years ago; those involved are slowly being killed off.
As much fun as that Shayne story is, “The Colonel Won’t Attend”‘ by William Fieldhouse will please all those NCIS fans out there, since it deals with a colonel on a U.S. Army base in Germany who was killed by a garrote, with more than a few suspects, including the man who stole the his wife, a sergeant who was court-martialed in the Vietnam War under him, and the lowly mechanic who punched him out years ago. It’s all up to a former cop who is part of the Army to find the killer, with the added problem of the new commander wanting this taken care of by someone else.
We are also treated to another James Reasoner story, “Three Birds,” about a detective who, to say the least, has a very busy caseload fall into his lap. Edward D. Hoch’s “In a Foreign City” tells of a spy whose worth has diminshed once his cover has been blown. One of the more interesting tales is Bill Pronzini and Barry Malzberg’s collaborative take on a murder investigation, told from one of the strangest narrators out there. To give away who is telling the story would truly ruin the tale, but it’s a bit of fun how the case is solved under such determination by the narrator.
Also, there is the tale of a very meek husband who got himself some dynamite and a problem called his wife in “Eve of Destruction” by D.C. Proyer. I’m only scratching the surface of this issue, since there is still another Pronzini story and a great little gem in Jack Ritchie’s “The Little Room” that deals with a husband and a ransom payment he does not want to make. There is a bit of fun in the sun with the cautious tale of nature in James M. Gilmore’s “The Shark Killer.”
At some point later on, I’ll revisit more of these issues I own, since no matter what, you’ll find a few gems hidden inside.
Next time: Make with the funny! —Bruce Grossman
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS SERIES:
• MIKE SHAYNE MYSTERY MAGAZINE: MARCH 1971
• MIKE SHAYNE MYSTERY MAGAZINE: OCTOBER 1978
• MIKE SHAYNE MYSTERY MAGAZINE: NOVEMBER 1978
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF BRETT HALLIDAY:
• ARMED … DANGEROUS … by Brett Halliday
• BODIES ARE WHERE YOU FIND THEM by Brett Halliday
• COUNT BACKWARDS TO ZERO by Brett Halliday
• COUNTERFEIT WIFE by Brett Halliday
• FOURTH DOWN TO DEATH by Brett Halliday
• GUILTY AS HELL by Brett Halliday
• MERMAID ON THE ROCKS by Brett Halliday
• MIKE SHAYNE’S TORRID TWELVE by Brett Halliday
• NEVER KILL A CLIENT by Brett Halliday
• SHOOT THE WORKS by Brett Halliday
• TARGET: MIKE SHAYNE by Brett Halliday
• WHAT REALLY HAPPENED by Brett Halliday
Related posts:
- BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> Newsstand Noir
- BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> The Gorton’s Fisherman Came in from the Cold
- BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> Shorts Weather
- BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> The Girl Can’t Help It
- BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> Summertime … and the Reading’s Easy
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I always thought James Reasoner’s were some of the best Shayne tales written for the magazine. James did his homework before writing the stories, and he knew how to build characters and plots. Strangely, I picked up the first Shayne magazine by mistake. I was hooked on Mike Hammer at the time, and when I found Mike Shayne on the book rack, I mistook Shayne for Hammer. Too many Mikes at the time, I guess.