April in Peril by William Campbell Gault

April in Peril by William Campbell Gault
Short Story in Mean Streets, Ed. by Robert J. Randisi
Copyright 1986

I'm a huge fan of Gault's work, especially the novels that feature P.I. Brock Callahan. The ex-L.A. Ram tackle appeared in seven excellent novels between 1955-63. Reading all, I quickly discovered that this might be the finest written P.I. series during that period. Callahan had a return in the 1980s, when Gault penned seven more novels. (Gault passed away after the last novel was written) After a twenty year absence, Callahan inherited money, moved out of L.A., and finally married his longtime girlfriend Jan. He's a bit more involved in the social scene than in the earlier stories. A little less "dark alley" fare, but he is the same old compassionate Brock "The Rock" Callahan making things right in Southern California.

I believe "April in Peril" is the only short story that Gault wrote featuring Brock Callahan. It's a good one and I liked two things about it. One is that it's a flashback story about one of Callahan's first cases and the other is that it includes the presence of Gault's other P.I., Joe Puma. Puma was a big, handsome, tough, Italian-American detective out of Los Angeles. All the beautiful ladies fall for him and he has no trouble bedding a couple of them in every investigation. Joe Puma had his nose to the street in seven P.I. novels from 1953-61 and in a handful of short stories.

Taking place in 1986, "April in Peril" starts with Brock and Jan reading the morning paper over breakfast, when Jan comes upon an article about the famous actress April Fielding having her hands imprinted in cement on Hollywood Boulevard. That's when Brock tells the story of his early case, years ago, involving the voluptuous April Fielding. On that day the young rising starlet arrives at Callahan's Beverly Hills office to hire him after first offering the case to Joe Puma. Puma was picked because he carries a .38 and doesn't hesitate to use it. Though fully competent, the horny Puma seemed more interested in laying his paws on the Fielding girl. This turns her off and her next option is P.I. Brock Callahan. The story is about blackmail. Before reaching star status, April Fielding acted in a few "dirty" films to earn a living. Even after being paid off, the blackmailer continues to find copies of these films and demands more money. To avoid any harm to her career, she needs protection and someone to put an end to this. Between a couple of meetings with Joe Puma and April Fielding's agent, Callahan makes progress in the case. But he doesn't solve it. Some one else comes up with a plan to permanently end the blackmailing scheme. A double murder takes place, Callahan figures out what happened, and then lets it go for the good of everyone.

This crime yarn is quick and neatly packaged. As a fan of both private detectives, this is another William Campbell Gault story that I was hunting for. And I'm glad I did, I enjoyed it.

There are plenty of excellent stories in this second collection edited by Robert Randisi. Though good, the Gault story is not the best of the bunch. Max Collins has an exceptional one, I really liked Kaminsky's Tobey Peters story, and Loren Estleman's Amos Walker tale is terrific. (I also loved the title of that one) Here is the complete list:

House Call (Nate Heller) by Max Allan Collins
Body Count (Joe Hannibal) by Wayne D. Dundee
I'm in the Book (Amos Walker) by Loren Estleman
April in Peril (Brock Callahan) by William Campbell Gault
The Parker Shotgun (Kinsey Millhone) by Sue Grafton
Busted Blossoms (Toby Peters) By Stuart Kaminsky
Fly Away Home (Ben Perkins) by Rob Kantner
The Thunder of Guilt (Alo Nudger) by John Lutz
Missing in Miami (Jacob Asch) by Arthur Lyons
At the Old Swimming Hole (Warshawski) by Sara Paretsky
Ace in the Hole ("Nameless") by Bill Pronzini
Wrongful Death (Henry Paige) by Dick Stodghill

A quick note: Joe Puma's name comes up a few times in the Brock Callahan novels. He even met his demise in one. Early in "The Cana Diversion" (1984) the two detectives meet and exchange pleasantries at a police station. The next day Puma is murdered and Callahan is determined to find who killed him. (Sort of a professional ethics thing- he can't standby and let a fellow sleuth's murder go without a private investigation into it) What's interesting is that Gault paints Joe Puma as a struggling P.I. who is married and has a son. Having trouble making ends meet, he even resorts to taking slimy divorce cases. There is no mention of his good looks, his brazenness, or his virility. A moderately different character than seen in the Puma novels of the late 50s.
It's an excellent novel and worth a read.

Vein of Violence by William Campbell Gault

Vein of Violence by William Campbell Gault
Award Books, Copyright 1961

"Two are already dead," I said. "A vein of violence has been brought into life. The first murder is always the hardest one; a killer gets hardened quickly after that."

Gault's Brock Callahan P.I. series is one of the best ever written. The novels are like a magnet; once you finish one, you're looking forward to the next. For those who are not familiar with "The Rock," he's a retired L.A. Rams defensive guard, level-headed, lives modestly, and likes to play poker with his old teammates. He has a fondness for Einlicher beer and is content driving his old groaning flivver. A practical guy, who you would love to have as a friend or on your side if you need help. Also, his on/off relationship with Jan Bonnett is always a welcomed enrichment in the stories. This is Gault's fifth Brock Callahan novel and he gives us another first-class murder mystery story with the honest California P.I.

Callahan's newly married Aunt Sheila pays the P.I. a visit with her new husband, Texas oil man Homer Gallup. We get the impression that the aunt likes to marry rich men. (she had a few) Anyway they would like to have Brock's girl, Jan Bonnet, help them find a house and help design the interior, which is her profession. They come across a dated mansion estate which belongs to an old silver screen scarlet named Mary Mae Milgram. Homer loves the place and purchases the property, despite the disapproval of Jan and Aunt Sheila. Brock has taken a liking to Homer for that. Homer throws an open house party and Mary Milgram is found dead, poisoned. Homer hires Brock to find the killer, and the cops let him assist as long as he keeps them informed. The road leads Brock into a world of blackmailers, greedy heirs, and other faded stars from a bygone Hollywood era. He stumbles onto another murder and discovers a family scandal that numerous individuals are determined to keep hidden.

No dark alleys or heavy gun play here, this is good honest detective work. The novel appears to be divided into two parts. The first having Brock and the group interacting with the real estate deal, the murder, and possible motives for Homer's mysterious interest in the property. There is the continual friction in the relationship between Brock and Jan, which heats up when Callahan is caught spending the night with the beautiful assistant to the murdered victim. The second half has Brock Callahan digging into the case with Aunt Sheila, Homer and Jan rarely around. The P.I. covers a good part of Southern California in his old flivver, uncovering leads and giving the cops just enough to keep them off his back. Eventually he puts the pieces together and just as he figures it out- we do too. And as readers, we get the privilege to go with him to lay it all out. -Wonderfully done by Gault.

As in all of the Brock Callahan novels, Bill Gault fills this story with terrific lines:

Brock describing his girl:
She is a fairly complex girl, loving both beauty and money. She is a girl of many moods, but I love her in all of them. She is the beginning and the end. She is Jan; what can I say?

Brock describing himself:
"I'm always for rent but never for sale."

Brock describing Hollywood:
I turned into the bright lights and swirling carbon monoxide of Sunset Boulevard, the street of stars, the treadmill of tourists, the winding, grinding, noisy street that leads where all streets lead -to the grave.

Brock describing L.A.:
The smog was behind and we were back in California. Los Angeles is not California, not in any way. Los Angeles is a fungus that will some day destroy California.

Brock describing reporters:
Small men working for big papers and it gave them a false sense of their own importance. Meaningless men with powerful weapons.

And one of my favorites, describing himself to the cops:
"I'm not a lecher, I said. "I'm not Joe Puma. I'm a square, Lieutenant, poor and honest. Occasionally, I am a victim of my strong romantic compulsions, but I have never accepted a dishonest dollar."
(Of course all Gault fans know about P.I. Joe Puma)

I'll say it again, the Brock 'The Rock" Callahan P.I. novels are some of the best ever published. To me he's right up there with Philip Marlowe, Lew Archer and Paul Pine. William Campbell Gault's "Vein of Violence" is a fine example of the huge talent he had as a mystery author. We find Callahan a little more upbeat in this novel. He has less worries and seems very content with his life. Highly entertaining, interestingly suspenseful, and as in all of Gault's novels- a damn good mystery.

Note: Don Siegel directed an 30 minute Adventure Showcase T.V. episode in 1959 called "Brock Callahan." Synopsis on TCM states: "The exploits of Brock Callahan, a retired Los Angeles Rams guard turned two-fisted private detective working out of Beverly Hills. The story relates Brock's attempts to find the killer of an interior decorator." Sounds interesting!

The Canvas Coffin by William Campbell Gault

The Canvas Coffin by William Campbell Gault
Dell 795, Copyright 1953

Thanks to William Campbell Gault's fondness for sports, readers have been rewarded with a handful of wonderful stories that use a sport as the backdrop for mystery, murder, and detective work. Boxing is on tap here and the main event has an aging middleweight boxer who is a suspect in a murder case and he's determined to prove his innocence.

"Twice, he started that overhand right; both times I beat him to the punch. It would be unfair to Western Union to say he telegraphed it; it was more in the nature of a night letter."

Luke Pilgrim wakes up the morning after taking some serious punches in his title fight the night before; and can't remember if he killed a girl he was seen with after the victory party. He's no palooka; Pilgrim is a sympathetic, caring, middleweight champion. Puzzled and confused, he becomes tormented by what he may of done. Pilgrim realizes that to clear himself as a suspect, he must piece the events together and find out what occurred that night. But, justice is breathing down his neck and closing in, so he must continue to slug out of his lost memory any vague thought that could prove beneficial to solve the mystery.

The setting is the 1950s L.A. boxing scene, with its cynical atmosphere of smoky ringsides, mobsters, fixed fights, and and an assortment of characters with names like Muggsy, Noodles and Patsy. Between bout after bout, the Champ spends his time hunting down clues and people, to fit together what really happened that night and what his involvement was. It climatically comes down during his last big title fight, where Luke Pilgrim finally gets all the dots connected and confronts the men involved.

Written a couple of years before Gault introduced his compassionate P.I. Brock Callahan, it is obvious that the Luke Pilgrim character planted the seed for Callahan. The story has the same feel as those excellent early Callahan novels-in its pervasive mood, dialog and characters. Pilgrim even has a sophisticated girlfriend named Sally, who is essentially the Jan character in the Brock Callahan series. If you enjoyed those early Gault novels, you'll want to strap the gloves on for this one. It's wonderfully done.......

"Murder is more important than that; it's a double death, killing the killer as well as the killed, ending the dream and staining the soul. The newspapers love it, especially if one breast or more can be exposed, along with the inside of the thigh. "

Boxing has been the backdrop in other William Campbell Gault stories. In the excellent "The Hundred Dollar Girl," (1961) Tough wise-ass P.I. Joe Puma tackles murder and broads when a contenders' voluptuous wife hires him to investigate her husband's manager.





Gault boxing stories that were published in pulp magazines:

A Dilemma for Danny (1943)
Slug the Man Down (1948)
The Longest Count (1949)
Wake for a Warrior (1950)
Chop-’Em-Down Kid (1950)

The Convertible Hearse by Bill Gault

The Convertible Hearse by Bill Gault.
Bantam 1927, copyright 1957.

To begin 2008, I thought I would start with one of my favorite authors, favorite P.I series and favorite books....

William Campbell Gault was one of the best. During the 50s, he created two popular P.I.s . -Brock Callahan and Joe Puma. Some readers favor one over the other, but I never met anyone that didn't like both. If you are in the mood for a tough, angry, Italian stud PI, that the ladies swoon over-you read a Puma novel. If you want the strong, understanding, caring type, with a steady girl and a real life-you read a Callahan story. I lean to the Brock 'The Rock" Callahan novels, but it's a close race.

The excellent first chapter of "The Convertible Hearse," starts off with Jan (Brock's girl) looking to trade in her car for a convertible Cadillac. Callahan is not keen on the idea. It really captures their up and down relationship that Gault makes prevalent throughout the series. Callahan discovers that the Cadillac is hot, and the owner of the dealership can't be found. The dealer's attractive ex-wife hires Callahan to locate him. Brock finds him-with a bullet hole in his head. Along the way we have a stolen car racket, organizations muscling in on each other, embezzlement, suspicious dames and more shootings. Callahan even gets to pull out his .38 in this one.

It's the third Brock Callahan novel and for me the best from the series. The streets, alleys and estates of 50s Southern California are well depicted. The plot is excellent, with many "smelly" characters. Callahan's relationship with Jan is turbulent throughout the novel. There is more loneliness in him, but he keeps plugging along. Callahan followings the leads, takes his lumps and thinks his way through it-eventually beating the cops and figuring it out.
At the end, I had the wrong suspect.

A marvelous, versatile writer and a great P.I. series.

"Callahan. Nice work, for a private man." "Thank you, Sergeant," I said humbly, and went out to my own '54 Ford Victoria with the recapped tires, the burned-out muffler and clean, unmortgaged title. I felt kind of noble as I headed her back toward the office.

I have yet to read the Callahan books that came out in the 80s, after Gault stopped writing mysteries for 20 years. I believe I have the ones published by Raven House. Just another thing I have to do in 2008.