An Eye For An Eye by Leigh Brackett

An Eye For An Eye by Leigh Brackett
Bantam A2308, Copyright 1957

My introduction to the work of Leigh Brackett started by reading her pulp mystery short stories. After being knocked out by those, I had to read her first book, "No Good from a Corpse." The history around that novel and it's influence on director Howard Hawks is widely known. She wrote five crime novels, all masterfully written and hardboiled. In "An Eye for An Eye," Leigh Brackett gives us a psychological thriller that has a creepy bite to it.

Al said, "We got a little business to do between us, Forbes. I want you to listen and listen good and careful, because I'd rather have my wife living than your wife dead."

Lawyer Ben Forbes is waiting for his wife to pick him up from the office, time passes and Carolyn doesn’t show up. Worried, he heads home and quickly discovers that she has vanished. Cop Ernie MacGrath, a neighbor and friend of Forbes, gets involved with the missing persons case. A few days go by without anything turning up, when Forbes gets a phone call from the man who kidnapped her. His name is Al Guthrie and we learn that Forbes was the lawyer for Guthrie’s wife Lorene during their hostile divorce. Al Guthrie is a violent and unstable man, who has a history of abuse towards Lorene. Guthrie tells Forbes that he is going pay for taking his Lorene away, and then offers the lawyer a deal; convince Lorene to come back to him and Forbes will get his own wife back. Guthrie makes it clear that Carolyn will be killed if the cops are told about him, the kidnapping, or the exchange of the women. Guthrie gives him four days to convince Lorene to return to him. His hate for Forbes is so intense, that he plans to kill him during the exchange. Panic and fear escalates, as Forbes is thrown into a nightmare ordeal. He secretly attempts to locate his wife by himself, he makes some progress and then stumbles. This results into getting Lorene totally terrified, she fears Guthrie will kill her and now Ernie MacGrath is suspicious of Forbes because of his erratic behavior. Finally Ben Forbes has an emotional breakdown and he tells the cops what has happened to his wife. Irate at him for wasting valuable time, the police struggle to formulate a plan for the rescue of Carolyn. But first they have to locate where she is being held and little time is left.

Ben Forbes is on a downward slide, and through him Leigh Brackett takes us on this hellish journey. The strain is too much for Forbes, he mentally tumbles and is left tattered as we move through the pages. This is a fast paced novel, with events unfolding after every turn of the page. It’s a race and the author keeps us in doubt as to how it will turn out. An interesting character in the story is Lorene, a girl who finally finds contentment and freedom, and then after one visit by Forbes she is whirled back into a world of fear and panic. Leigh Brackett writes some of the best dialog through her and we feel her pain (which is almost torture) as she spirals into a child-like state. And then there is the mind of Al Guthrie, a confused violent man who lost reality and hungers for the return of Lorene. The psychological strains of Forbes, Lorene and Guthrie intertwine in the story, which gives the novel a dark, eerie texture. This is enhanced by the disconsolate feel of the story, which takes place during the dreary, empty, cold days of November. The kidnapping and captivity scenes are descriptively raw for it’s time, Guthrie treats Forbes’ wife quite horribly. And the ending is highly climatic, as Leigh Brackett takes us back into the thoughts and actions of Al Guthrie for the final paragraphs.

A skillfully written crime novel, full of bleak terror and arousing suspense.

I savored the bits of Brackett’s hardboiled dialog that appear in the story. "The dame had a voice like a hack saw and she didn't care who heard it." There are numerous little gems like these throughout the novel.

Doubleday Crime Club
Hardcover Edition

The Friends of Eddie Coyle by George V. Higgins

The Friends of Eddie Coyle by George V. Higgins
Bantam, Copyright 1972

Before George V. Higgins' debut novel about a small-time Boston hood came out, it could be argued that fictional crime stories took place in a world that was inaccessible to the reader with characters that were distant and in most cases not thoroughly authentic. With "The Friends of Eddie Coyle," he raised the bar and set the new standard for realistic crime fiction. We get a real world of small-time criminals, what they think and how they interact with others. The dialog is strong and gritty, and through this dialog George V. Higgins paints his masterpiece.

"Look," Coyle said, "I can't give him the guys he wants in New Hampshire. You got to call him up and explain that to him. If I do that I am dead, is all there is to it. He can't ask me to go out and commit suicide for him."

The story revolves around Eddie Coyle, a low level criminal who is stuck between a rock and a hard place. He's facing a few years in prison for a bungled illegal trucking job and realizes there is no way he can do the time. The Feds are forcing him to turn over some names, but as a disgruntled informant he has to be careful to avoid suspicion from the Irish-mob and his gun-dealing acquaintances.

Coyle is the central figure, but the story is told mostly through his "friends." It's about criminals and it's written so they come across very real, which helps create a believable story. We are privileged to sneak a look into their unglamorous lives. The way they conspire and converse with one another, delineates all the characters in the novel and this actually thrusts the plot and moves the story. It's stunning and remarkably done.

We are taken into their dark, violent, secretive underworld; through the dreary streets of Boston to its leafless surrounding areas. And along the way we witness Eddie Coyle's struggle with the opposing forces that are squeezing him into making deals he can't afford to make and hoping to avoid the consequences that await him. Things start to move too fast for Coyle and in the end, we discover there is only one way out for him.

An innovative novel and one that after published, changed the way crime fiction would be written from then on.

A Cry in the Night by Whit Masterson

A Cry in the Night By Whit Masterson
Bantam 1487, Copyright 1955

Whit Masterson is just one pseudonym used by the writing team of Robert Wade and Bill Miller. They also wrote novels and short stories penned under Dale Wilmer, Will Daemer, and the most recognizable name of Wade Miller. I first got hooked by the Gold Medal books published in the 50s. The settings were mostly around the borders of California and Mexico, with a femme fatal ready to throw a wrench into the guy's life. All are different and excellent, with not a bad one in the bunch. I then quickly treated myself to the earlier exploits of San Diego P.I Max Thursday. Six books in the series were published by Signet from 1947-51. These are outstanding and one of the finest written detective series of its day. They capture a believable picture in the day-to-day life of a P.I. working alone.

As for the books with the Whit Masterson tag, the most popular "Badge of Evil" was the basis for Orson Welles' 1958 film noir "Touch of Evil"; which is finally called "a classic." David Janssen started in the underrated 1967 "Warning Shot", from the novel "711-Officer Needs Help." Many of the Whit Masterson novels are exceptional, I found "A Cry in the Night" as one of the most suspenseful.

"I captured you, didn't I?" he told her aloud. "I won, so now I can do anything I want to you." He was boss. All that mattered was the girl. He patted her unconscious cheek and chuckled. "Relax, honey," he crooned. "You've got yourself a real sweetheart now."

The novel has five chapters each consisting of a hour in time. The whole story takes place in one night from 12:10am to 5:30am. A psychotic sex-fiend knocks out and kidnaps Liz Blossom, who was at a lovers lane location with her boyfriend. Police find the dazed boyfriend and they start a manhunt to locate the girl. Once her full name is known things really swing into action, because her father is Lt. Blossom who happens to be the duty officer on that night. This story is a quick pumping one, as we go on the hunt with the workings of a 50's police unit. The beginning of each chapter takes us into the thoughts of the warped kidnapper, Hill Loftus. He's not staying still, he is bouncing to different locations trying to find the right place to torment and rape the Blossom girl. The rest of each chapter is bang, bang police work, the pace is fast during the five hour period. Lt. Blossom fights to contain his worries as a father, to stay focused and help lead the investigation to get her back. Quality police work and cool heads allow the dragnet to close in.

Blossom didn't wait to hear the rest of it. If anything happens to her...Damn it, nothing was going to happen to her! He'd get her back safe if he had to tear the city apart, stone by stone.

The authors created this one to take us on a late night of high suspense. No mystery here, we know what happened and who did it. Its about grabbing the reader -with the demented psycho and his crime, and then rapidly joining with the law enforcement network to save the girl from him. Wonderfully executed by Robert Wade and Bill Miller.
(and considered a bit raw for its day)

"All Through The Night" is the title of the 1955 Hardcover First Edition, published by Dodd, Mead, New York.


Basis for the 1956 film noir "A Cry in the Night", starring Edmond O'Brien, Brian Donlevy, Natalie Wood and Raymond Burr.
(For excellent film noir reviews, check Steve's "Noir of the Week" site)

Guns of the Timberlands by Louis L'Amour

Guns of the Timberlands by Louis L'Amour
Bantam 1390, Copyright 1955

Continuing with some recent discussions on Louis L'Amour, (Steve Lewis has an excellent post on Mystery*File) I recently finished this early work by the author. "Guns of the Timberland" has your good guy vs. bad guy theme, with a subtle view on the impact of over foresting thrown in.

The novel is a battle between "good guy" Clay Bell, rancher who enjoys his land and free life; and wealthy Jud Devitt, who is a man who gets what he wants. Devitt is after the timber on Bell's land, he plans to make a large profit selling needed lumber to the railroads and no one is going to stop him. Devitt brings in gun-hands and lumberjacks to insure the stripping of the forest. Bell has his ranch hands, who are fairly seasoned and tough.

Louis L'Amour was a good writer and could tell a story, but you always knew the outcome. I usually don't mind that; but after reading many of the novels, I found I was just reading to finish them. "Guns of the Timberlands" is one of his finest westerns and he paints an excellent picture of the western landscape. In this one he has some good ol' barroom fights and good ol' cowboy killin' -one fight is pretty brutal involving a lumberjack smashing the face of one of Bell's men with his calks. But we know there will be a final one-on-one battle between Bell and Devitt, and we will know who will win, and we will know who gets the girl......


Note: I will always have a strong heart for Hondo, which is my personal favorite by Louis L'Amour. (and a damn good John Wayne movie)

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.