Arthur Lyons. _Other People's Money_. As usual with Lyons,
this is
excellent in all respects. Very vivid description of the
shady dealings
in the art world, including respectable museums. Alas, this
is my last
unread Lyons; I hope there are more Jacob Asch novels.
Talmage Powell. _Corpus Delectable_. A very good P.I. novel
set in
Tampa. Powell writes with economy, humor, and elegance - this
novel
reminded me of William Campbell Gault, a favorite author.
This edition,
published in Israel by Priory books, has no date, though it
mentions
that it was published originally by Pocket books. Powell is
still alive
and writing.
Wade Miller _Stolen Woman_ and _The Killer_. Two Gold Medals
from 1950
and 1951, respectively. These two novels are dynamite, fully
comparable
to the best of John D. MacDonald. In _The Killer_, set in
Africa, a
safari hunter goes after a dangerous killer. _Stolen Woman_
takes place
in bordertown Mexico, and is an exciting hardboiled melodrama
with
"exotic" locale - an uncharacteristic book for the authors,
but every
bit as good as their well-known Thursday series. The cover
art is great.
Fredric Brown. _Knock Three-One-Two_. A terrifying tale of
rape and
murder by a psycho. The action is compressed and, as always
with Brown,
the writing is impeccable.
James Lee Burke. _The Lost Get-Back Boogie_. I had read this
about seven
years ago and found it slow-moving. This time I read it in
two sittings,
and I can see why it has won its author so much praise. I now
think it
may be his best book. Very dark and depressing. Reissued on
mass
paperback by Hyperion. It's not a mystery, but fits well
within the
hardboiled genre, I think.
To be read soon:
_Hot Red Money_ by Baynard Kendrick
_The Whispering Master_ by Frank Gruber.
_Run Thief, Run_ by Frank Gruber
on which I'll comment some other time. I have become
something of a
Gruber fan...
Regards,
Mario Taboada
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