Murder in the Raw by Bruno Fischer

Murder in the Raw by Bruno Fischer.
Gold Medal #694, Copyright 1957

"The first time I saw her she was in trouble" opens this Bruno Fischer novel and the vacationing Clem Prosper gets his own troubles throughout the 157 pages. Fischer uses his standard plot that made him successful with Gold Medal-average man relaxing away from the city, trouble falls in his lap and before he knows it there are tough guys pulling guns, a voluptuous widow, a wacko family and murder. This works again for the author. People are not what they seem to be and events in the past are not what we thought they were. Clem Prosper is not the strong hero type we see in books from this era. He has his flaws, comes across scared at times and has trouble understanding events that should be clear to him. Hey, Just like an average guy!

Not up to Fischer's best Gold Medal books: "House of Flesh" and "Fools Walk In". But still an enjoyable novel. If you read "The Lady Kills" or "Run For Your Life", this is on par.

I hear nice things about his last novel "The Evil Days." I have a copy and will give it a read in 2008. I've never been disappointed having read a Bruno Fischer novel.