The gold I’m speaking of is Fawcett Gold Medal books — a line of novels that are highly sought after and well worth reading. They’re a who’s who of crime authors, with the added bonus of always having great covers. So let’s see if this is truly a gold mine or just fool’s gold.
ALWAYS LEAVE ‘EM DYING by Richard S. Prather — Another entry in the long-running series of Shell Scott mysteries is this early 1954 one. Shell is hired to find a girl named Felicity Gifford, who has hooked up with a bizarre cult run by a man named Trammel. Now, for anyone who has read Jonathan Latimer’s SOLOMON’S VINEYARD — aka THE FIFTH GRADE — take a wild guess who else has read it. That’s right: Prather.
I’m not saying this is a direct rip-off, but there are way too many ideas that both share. Prather at least puts enough of his own ideas into this story that it might just be a coincidence. Anyway, Shell starts his investigation where Felicity worked, and the trouble starts. She worked at Greenhaven Hospital — anyone want to guess what kind of hospital it is? Here’s a hint: There are very large men who work there and some patients like to play tennis with invisible balls.
Shell’s downfall is being friendly to a patient to the point that the doctors think he is a new admission, so they drug him and crack his skull. It only gets better for the readers from here, since Shell tries to escape, only to stumble upon a dead body being carried out by the head doctor. But also he witnesses the death of the cult leader in a dramatic fashion, only for this guy to come back to life three days later. Shell has to not only prove he is not crazy, but solve the missing person case, which has a lot to do with this supposed sex cult.
Sorry, folks, but the sex is barely touched upon — another in the long line of Gold Medals promising titillation, but never delivering. But I knew going in this would be tame. This being a Shell Scott story, of course it’s hinted at the end that Shell is about to get it on. I mean, did any of his books not end that way? Prather is a fun read throughout, even when Shell figures it all out, but still leaves the readers guessing, which is sort of frustrating. But I’ll keep going back since it’s like a treat that goes down so well.
SUDDENLY BY SHOTGUN by Norman Daniels — I went into this 1961 novel flying blind, since it was sent to me by one of my fellow contributors. The story opens with a funeral for a young, attractive, famous actress named Roxanne Royal. We follow Jordan Mace, who works in the netherworld of Hollywood.
He’s a troubleshooter and a hired man for Desmond Cabot, whose interests seem to be in the criminal world. It’s never spelled out for the reader, but enough hints are given, especially when Mace is pulled into a police station for getting into a fight, only for all charges to be dropped once Cabot is contacted.
But that is nothing for what lies at the center of this tale: the reveal early on that Roxanne is still alive. It was her stand-in who is dead, thanks to a shotgun blast to her face. But why would Roxanne not make it known she is still alive? That is what drives the story, with Mace falling head over heels for her, and Cabot pulling strings the whole time.
Daniels’ style is just breezy enough for a super-quick read. It’s sort of a proto-Carter Brown, with the idea of these troubleshooters running around Hollywood, fixing all these little incidents. If you can find this book at a cheap price, take a chance on it. It’s not going to be one that will tax your time, and it delivers in spades at the climax.
THE TERRORIZERS by Donald Hamilton — This 1977 book is the last of the taut and tight Matt Helm adventures. We wouldn’t get another Helm adventure until five years later, in a super-sized read. This story is a bit of a departure for a latter-day Helm, since it opens with the reader finding out Helm has amnesia and has no recollection of the past six months. He’s supposedly engaged and living in Seattle, but why is he in Canada and everyone seems to know better?
At the start, Helm acutely finishes his assignment of a killing bush pilot Herbert Walters. The problem is that Helm killed him in mid-flight, causing a plane crash and his new case of amnesia. This information is slowly doled out to the reader. But once Matt gets a phone call from Mac, whom he does not recognize, that is when the major trouble starts. Namely, Helm being shanghaied to another hospital of sorts where the name of the game is torture and information extraction.
Anyone who has read any Helm books before know full well they are messing with the wrong man, which becomes quite apparent once he not only knocks out a guard, but kills him without realizing his own power. There are plenty of twists along the way in this gripping adventure, including Helm dealing with some homegrown terrorists who are bomb-happy. Not even those who never read a Helm novel before will be lost, and new fans will be on the hunt for all the other ones.
Next time: Essential reading. —Bruce Grossman
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF DONALD HAMILTON:
• THE AMBUSHERS by Donald Hamilton
• THE BETRAYERS by Donald Hamilton
• THE DEVASTATORS by Donald Hamilton
• THE INTERLOPERS by Donald Hamilton
• THE INTIMIDATORS by Donald Hamilton
• IRON MEN AND SILVER STARS edited by Donald Hamilton
• LINE OF FIRE by Donald Hamilton
• THE MENACERS by Donald Hamilton
• THE MONA INTERCEPT by Donald Hamilton
• MURDERERS’ ROW by Donald Hamilton
• NIGHT WALKER by Donald Hamilton
• ON GUNS AND HUNTING by Donald Hamilton
• THE POISONERS by Donald Hamilton
• THE RAVAGERS by Donald Hamilton
• THE RETALIATORS by Donald Hamilton
• THE REVENGERS by Donald Hamilton
• THE SHADOWERS by Donald Hamilton
• THE TERMINATORS by Donald Hamilton
• TEXAS FEVER by Donald Hamilton
• THE VANISHERS by Donald Hamilton
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF RICHARD S. PRATHER:
• DANCE WITH THE DEAD by Richard S. Prather
• DIG THAT CRAZY GRAVE by Richard S. Prather
• JOKER IN THE DECK by Richard S. Prather
• THE PEDDLER by Richard S. Prather
• THE SHELL SCOTT SAMPLER by Richard S. Prather
• THE SWEET RIDE by Richard S. Prather
• WAY OF A WANTON by Richard S. Prather
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Three gems, for sure! The Daniels book was unknown to me. Now I’ll be on the look out for it. Thanks for the lead.
Daniels’ Man from A.P.E. books are really good too.
I have all the Man From A.P.E. and Baron of Hong Kong books by Daniels. I was surprised at how much fun both series were, after passing them up for 40 years!