Dennis McMillan has recently published Walter Satterthwait's
DEAD HORSE, which I think all of you would enjoy. It's about
pulp writer Raoul Whitfield, one of the BLACK MASK boys,
whose wife, as some of you might know, died under mysterious
circumstances. Whitfield was a fascinating character, and
Satterthwait does a fine job of recreating the era and
fleshing out the story of his wife's death. The writing, as
always in a Satterthwait book, is top-notch. Great stuff all
around.
And speaking of great stuff, PointBlank has reprinted OF ALL
THE BLOODY CHEEK, the first of Frank McAuliffe's novels about
Augustus Mandrell. There's nothing else like these books,
which are a series of "commissions" undertaken by Mandrell.
It's impossible for me to explain just how the commissions
are connected, not only with one another but with all the
other commissions that Mandrell has in other books in the
series. I find these books hilarious, ingeniously
constructed, and irresistible. If you've never read them, you
really should give them a try.
PointBlank has also reprinted one of the seminal P.I. novels
of the '70s, Fred Zackel's COCAINE AND BLUE EYES. I loved
this book when I read it back in 1979 or so, and I even
watched the TV movie with O. J. Simpson. I highly recommend
the novel, which I just finished re-reading. It's a
down-and-dirty tour of San Francisco in the '70s, with a plot
as complex as anything Chandler ever dreamed up. It's sharply
written and observed, and as a holiday bonus, it's set during
the week between Christmas and New Year's Day. It's great to
have this one back in print. Check it out.
Happy holidays to all you hardboiled rare birds.
Bill Crider
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