> I was thinking about reading 42 DAYS FOR MURDER, but
then when someone
> else read it I thought I pick up something else, for
the sake of
coverage.
> I'm reading HEADED FOR A HEARSE (1935), by Jonathan
Latimer, one of
his
> Bill Crane books.
>
> There's a fellow who's in jail for murdering his
wife, and he's going
to
> be executed in six days. There are a few points of
evidence that
might
> clear him, and some people get together to work on
it. Now, this is a
bit
> like Cornell Woolrich's PHANTOM LADY (1942). Its
first chapter is
"The
> Hundred and Fiftieth Day Before the Execution." A
man's on death row
and
> the only thing that can save him is finding the
mysterious woman of
the
> title. The vise is tightening from the first line
and doom is
imminent.
>
> In the Latimer book, on the other hand, the convict
bribes the warden
to
> have meetings in the jail. The first day, Bill
Crane, his partner,
and
> two beautiful women, all go have a nice lunch, which
is described in
> detail. Then they break and reunite for dinner,
where a witness may
talk
> to them. They go to a fancy club and what they eat
and drink is
listed
> again. Then the witness is shot in the face in the
middle of the
club,
> but no-one's particularly concerned.
>
> I read SOLOMON'S VINEYARD (1941) a while ago and
can't remember
anything
> about it except it was tough and good. This one's
described as being
a
> screwball hardboiled locked-room mystery. It's a lot
more relaxed
than
> I'd expected. All the meals keep making me hungry,
too.
> Bill
> --
I've recently read Latimer's "The Dead Don't Care" featuring
Bill Crane. Crane & his partner's m.o. while working on a
job seems to consist mainly of consuming large amounts of
expensive food & liquor (at their client"s expense),
chasing any women within proximity (including their client's
girl) & punctuating their strenuous efforts with daytime
spells swimming on their client's private Florida beach.
While they do this, Crane & his partner gossip about
their client & his friends, eventually cracking the case.
Nice work if you can get it. A light, reasonably entertaining
read but it doesn't live up to its noirish, hardboiled title.
My copy, from No Exit, has a typically grim photo cover,
courtesy of the legendary photographer, Weegee - again,
implying a much more brutal read than eventuates.(The photo
is of a corpse lying on a street, gun lying nearby).
Rene
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