Sorry about that miss-send. Let me try it again.
I had just started reading Gruber's Pulp Jungle when I
decided to read one of his novels, too. I'd read some of his
shorts, but none of his longs. I flipped ahead in Pulp Jungle
and saw French Key was his first. He described it as his
attempt to merge the plotting of Gardner with the humor of
Latimer. Sounded good. I happened to have a copy (along with
Swing Low, Swing Dead), so I started it. Haven't gotten far,
but so far, so good.
It's a Belmont reprint from 1970. I just read a mention of a
man having a "Beatle haircut." Somehow, I doubt that's in the
1940 original. I'm wondering how much else was changed. For
instance, the following prices sound more like they're from
the 1940s than the 1970s: $35 for three weeks in a transient
hotel, fifteen cent subway fares, 50 cent lunches, I know
candy bars weren't still five cent in 1970. So why change
something as minor as the description of the haircut of a
passing character?
Then today I ran across three more of Gruber's Johnny
Fletcher mysteries
-- The Limping Goose, The Gift Horse and The Honest Dealer
(plus a non-Fletcher, The Etruscan Bull; he liked animal
titles, didn't he? I also have Buffalo Box and The Silver
Jackass).
So that made me wonder. Anyone know how many Johnny Fletcher
novels there are? Anyone have a bibliography of them?
Mark
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