Jim and James, thanks much for your detailed and insightful
responses on Halliday--much appreciated.
James:
Davis Dresser, who also wrote under
the pseudonyms Matthew Blood
(two novels co-authored with Ryerson
Johnson)
After a bit of digging on the 'net, I discover these (for the
record) to be THE AVENGER (1952) and DEATH IS A LOVELY DAME
(1954). I'll add them to my "look for" list.
James:
To me Mike Shayne is really a
character who
belongs in the Forties, Fifties, and
early Sixties. Once the stories
get past that point, he seems sort of
out of place to me, which is
why I made my Shayne stories in MSMM
sort of vague as to their time
period. I was really writing Forties
and Fifties Shayne stories as
much as I could, even though it was
the Seventies and Eighties.
That makes sense--I've only read a few of the very early
ones, and it's almost impossible for me to imagine the
character in a later period. Much like the Shell Scott
stories: I devoured most of those as a teenager, but the
later ones felt "wrong" to me (just as "wrong" as the later
photo covers, especially after McGinnis!)
Jim, thanks for the very interesting remarks on the "house
name" topic and Dresser's role in the series. I only really
know the "house name" concept from the DOC SAVAGE pulp
series, or maybe "Franklin W. Dixon" and the Hardy Boys, so
I'm intrigued that there is indeed a fine point of difference
I was missing between "house name" and "nom de plume."
And next time I read a Mike Shayne, I'll make it A TASTE FOR
VIOLENCE or FOURTH DOWN TO DEATH (I'm a big NFL fan, so that
one should be fun).
In closing, I did not make the connection previously between
"James Reasoner" on this list and DUST DEVILS, which is close
to the top of my to-read pile. Cool--I'm really looking
forward to that one.
I recently finished Vicki Hendricks' MIAMI PURITY--I believe
she also posts here. It was highly enjoyable to me to read a
re-take on a lot of the "noir" conventions re-told in a
(convincing) female voice--I found the novel a fascinating
exercise in style that was additionally a really enjoyable,
lean, mean, and sweaty tale.
At the risk of "outing" people who don't wish the attention,
is there a list of RARA-AVIANS who are also published crime
authors?
Best, Mark Nevins
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