I was passing by a Half Price Books yesterday and had one of
those moments where I debated with myself whether I even
wanted to go in. I almost didn't. But I decided to look
around for a minute.
Here's what I came out with:
Harry Whittington -- HELL CAN WAIT, HEAT OF NIGHT, DESIRE IN
THE DUST, MOURN THE HANGMAN, HALFWAY TO HELL, THE WOMAN IS
MINE, A HAVEN FOR THE DAMNED, STRIP THE TOWN NAKED (as Whit
Harrison), SLAY RIDE FOR A LADY, MURDER IS MY MISTRESS,
SATURDAY NIGHT TOWN, SHACK ROAD GIRL, DON'T SPEAK TO STRANGE
GIRLS, and GOD'S BACK WAS TURNED. All in very good to fine
shape. Plus NAKED LUST, with Shep Shepard on the cover and
Whittington on the title page. I don't know if it's ever been
determined whether Whittington really wrote this one, but I
wanted it anyway. But that's not all.
Charles Williams -- UNCLE SAGAMORE AND HIS GIRLS, BIG CITY
GIRL, MAN ON THE RUN, HILL GIRL, GIRL OUT BACK, A TOUCH OF
DEATH, TALK OF THE TOWN, AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA, RIVER
GIRL.
Ed Lacy -- GO FOR THE BODY, STRIP FOR VIOLENCE, ENTER WITHOUT
DESIRE, IN BLACK AND WHITEY, HARLEM UNDERGROUND, and two as
by Len Zinberg(Lacy's real name, right?) WHAT D'YA KNOW FOR
SURE and WALK HARD--TALK LOUD.
Plus three Peter Rabes, assorted Gold Medels, Avons, Lions,
and Aces, and five of those Jules de Grandin collections by
Seabury Quinn. I tell ya, it was all I could do not to break
into the happy dance right in the store.
Now, the unfortunate thing is that I did NOT get these for
half price, like Bill Crider got those Gold Medals in Corpus
Christi a couple of years ago, but most of them were pretty
cheap, as in one to three bucks each. A few were $5 each, and
the Shep Shepard was $15. But I was still thrilled to get
them. I actually left some stuff there in the store, like a
couple of Whittington Westerns that I already have more than
copy of and some Ace Double mysteries, likewise. But I
couldn't pass up the others. You just don't find that stuff
much anymore, especially not in that quantity or
condition.
It occurs to me is that somebody probably died, and these
books that had been on his shelves for forty years got taken
to Half Price and sold for a quarter apiece. That's sort of
sad, but at least they wound up in a good home.
James
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