The Big Bundle (Nate Heller #18) by Max Allan Collins

In 1953, six-year-old Bobby Greenlease, the son of a multi-millionaire auto dealer was kidnapped from a Catholic pre-school located in Kansas City, Missouri. The ransom demand was the largest in American history at the time, $600,000 (the titular “big bundle”). Enter private investigator Nathan Heller, who’s worked with movie stars, mob bosses, and presidents and been on the periphery of some of the biggest national secrets and scandals of U.S. history. Heller quickly works the case on behalf of young Billy’s parents, following the money to solve it and find some sort of justice for Billy’s family.

But not complete justice as it turns out. Five years have passed and less than half of the ransom money has been recovered. It’s now 1958 and Nathan Heller once again finds himself working the case, this time to try and discover what happened to the missing dough. Can it be tied up in Jimmy Hoffa’s exploits even as Robert Kennedy seeks to find some way to charge Hoffa with a crime? Or perhaps a cab driver who took one of the original kidnappers to the Coral Court Motel had tipped off local mobster Joseph G. Costello. Or maybe a couple of dirty cops are behind it all.

This is the eighteenth book in Max Allan Collins’ Nate Heller series. The very first novel, True Detective, was written back in 1983 and won the Shamus award for best PI novel that year. While there might be some benefit in reading them in order, they were not written/published in chronological order so each novel can easily stand alone. These books are hard-boiled, true-crime detective novels with a fascinating protagonist. Indeed, Heller himself, doesn’t always take the high road but tends towards shades of gray. Regardless, he’s a man seeking justice, even though, just like in history, he doesn’t always find it. These novels are extremely well-researched and to read one is to absorb real history of the middle of the American 20th century in a very readable and enjoyable way.

Despite this being the eighteenth novel in the series it is the first to be published by Hard Case Crime which seems like the perfect match. I had a wonderful time reading it and am now kicking myself for not having read each and every one of the others in the series. But, I will be sure to remedy that.

King of the Mountain (Wilderness #1) by David Thompson (David Robbins)

In the year 1828, 19-year-old Nathaniel King is slaving away at an accountant’s job in New York City, struggling to earn enough to keep his fiancée happy and living the kind of luxurious life to which she has grown accustomed. Afraid he will never earn enough to please her, he jumps at a chance to gain a vast treasure. Seems his Uncle Ezekiel (Zeke), a man who moved to the great unexplored West some ten years previously had found this treasure and now wants Nate to have it. Nate travels to St. Louis, meets his uncle and together they make the adventurous trek to the cabin in the Rocky Mountains where the treasure awaits.

I’ve long wanted to begin this series of western/frontier novels. The prolific David Robbins, writing under the name David Thompson did not disappoint. He packs this novel with one adventure after another, from a thief ambush in a dark alley, to a ferocious grizzly bear attack, to several hair-raising (pun-intended) encounters with various Indian tribes. Along their journey, Nate and his uncle share experiences and Nate learns as much as he can, learning of the beauty of his surroundings as well as the violent kill-or-be-killed nature of life in the wild.

The novel works very well as an origin story of Nate King, an unlikely Mountain man but a true hero of frontier fiction. The end of this novel sets up the next and it's easy to see this lends itself to a lengthy series. Robbins does add some social commentary at regular intervals, especially in pointing out the characteristics and foibles of civilized life in the Eastern US appearing less attractive and less honest than what is experienced by the hard-working frontiersman. The novel is easy reading and harkens back to the pulp style of ending each chapter in a cliffhanger.

A fun read to be sure. I now have yet another long series to pursue but that is the sort of problem I like to have.

Murder Knocks Twice (Speakeasy Mysteries #1) by Susanna Calkins

In 1929 Chicago, Gina Ricci is the newly hired cigarette girl at the Speakeasy known as The Third Door. It’s not her ideal job but she is struggling to earn money for her ailing father and so she casts her concerns aside and plunges into the job. But when she learns the girl she replaced was actually murdered, her concerns mount. And then a photographer, hired by the speakeasy to take pictures of customers having good times with celebrities, is murdered right in front of her. His dying words to Gina are to safeguard his camera at all costs.

I thoroughly enjoyed this historical mystery. The setting of a 1920s Chicago speakeasy was enough to draw me in and that setting along with the colorful characters and the page-turning mystery plot kept me reading right past my bedtime. Gina makes for a nice amateur sleuth, more the type that finds herself in a tough situation than the poking-her-nose-in-where-it-doesn't-belong type. The atmosphere was great, with the spot-on language of the depression, the ongoing prohibition enforcement efforts, all on the edge of the mobster scene. Various celebrities like Clarence Darrow, Amelia Earhart, Babe Ruth, and Lou Gehrig, and several references to Al Capone pepper the scenery. This is not a hard-boiled crime novel by any means but it's not exactly a cozy either. Everything was just as I hoped for when I first picked up this book and considered it to read.

This is the first mystery I’ve read by this author but I already have book #2 on my TBR list and may well pursue her Lucy Campion series as well.

The Mask of Fu Manchu (Fu Manchu #5) by Sax Rohmer

After discovering the tomb of El Mokanna aka “The Veiled Prophet” in Egypt, and retrieving the historical relics buried therein, the famous archaeologist Sir Lionel Barton blows up the tomb. This has repercussions as the heretic sect faithful to Mokanna choose to interpret the resulting fireball as the second coming of their prophet. A violent uprising begins. The insidious Dr. Fu Manchu senses an opportunity to use the powerful relics for his own evil goals which include fostering an Islamic uprising that he hopes will sweep across the globe.

The fifth novel in the Fu Manchu series, written by Arthur Henry Ward under his Sax Rohmer pseudonym, is once again told from the first-person perspective of Shan Greville. (For the uninitiated, the first three books were from Dr. Petrie's perspective) This one is a direct continuation of the previous novel, The Daughter of Fu Manchu so I would urge that book be read first. Of course, Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie are major characters as is Greville’s fiancé Rima, the niece of Sir Lionel. The action stretches from Persia to Cairo, then back to London.

When our heroes first encounter Dr. Fu Manchu this time around they are startled by his youthful and vigorous appearance. It seems his genius has discovered a way to harness the essence of an essential oil of a rare Burmese orchid and he now has a new lease on life. His daughter makes a couple of appearances, mostly to administer mind-control drugs to poor Greville resulting in his full cooperation and adoration of Fu Manchu and his evil deeds. Fortunately, that doesn’t last for more than a few hours, but it is enough to cause significant damage to any attempts to forestall Fu Manchu’s plans as well as the successful kidnapping of Rima. The ransom scene deep inside the Great Pyramid to get Rima back is extraordinary and a real highlight of the entire novel.

This is another fun read in the Fu Manchu saga although not all is explained. For example, after the ransom scene in the pyramid, Fu Manchu is effectively trapped by Nayland Smith and company. There is no way out. However, there is never any explanation provided for how he escapes, simply that he has done so. Such are the mysterious ways of Fu Manchu.

The Lance Thrower (The Camulod Chronicles #8) by Jack Whyte

The final two novels in the Camulod Chronicles (this one and book #9, The Eagle) form a duology within the larger series and are told from the point of view of the young Frank, Clothar. We know him as Lancelot but in keeping with the realistic and historically appropriate method in which this entire series is written, the name Clothar is much more appropriate.

This novel is mostly a coming-of-age novel for Clothar, written in his first person perspective, telling the tale from the viewpoint of his later years as a way to make sure his children understand their own familial history. About a third of it takes place when he is just 10 years old and a student under the tutelage of Germanus (a great character we’ve encountered before) while the rest is from when he is 16-18 years old. It is not until the end that Clothar finally meets up with Merlyn and Arthur, himself.

This overall series has become one of my all-time favorites (of all genres) and so it is with some reluctance that I divulge that this is my least favorite of the series. There is nothing particularly “wrong” with it but to my mind much of it seemed somewhat unnecessary to the overall series. In essence it is very much a stand-alone novel within the larger set, and can be read as such…but the most satisfying parts are where it does intersect with the rest of the series and familiar beloved characters. Alas, these parts are few and I confess I was hoping for more of that, and sooner. However, it does a great job of setting up the important character of Clothar and letting us see how he developed his approach to life, and provide some insightful teasers, all of which will ultimately pay off in the concluding volume, I’m sure.

So now I look forward to The Eagle, albeit with mixed emotions. That’s always the way it is with a truly great series, knowing there is only one left to experience, but I will force myself, somehow, to undertake the task. After all the build-up I’ll finally get to experience the heart of Arthur’s story, in the amazing way that only Jack Whyte can tell it.

The Dagger Affair (The Man From U.N.C.L.E. #4) by David McDaniel

The fourth in the series of Man From U.N.C.L.E. novels is also the first to be written by David McDaniel who would go on to write five more plus an unpublished finale called “The Final Affair”.

Having read a number of these now, I must say this one is easily among my favorites. Sure, it’s another story about preventing an evil genius with a new invention from destroying the world, but it’s the method of telling that story that is unique. The U.N.C.L.E. agents are forced into an alliance with arch-enemy THRUSH in order to prevent the evil plot.  After all, THRUSH doesn’t want to see the world destroyed; they want to take it over and wield power over it. It’s in everybody’s best interests to call a temporary truce and work together.

The characterization of both Solo and Kuryakin this time around is much closer to what was shown in the television series than the first three books in the series. They are very effective as a team, and in tough situations they are each able to read the actions of the other like a well-oiled machine. They also display a playful banter with each other which is both endearing as well as serves to hi-light their different natures. Even Mr. Waverly gets to have some time in the field. The author includes a fair bit of humor, including one scene in an airplane where the movie to be shown is the newest James Bond picture. While Solo is quickly absorbed in the opening sequence, Kuryakin just shakes his head, not understanding how people could enjoy such rubbish.

But the best part of this novel is that we finally get to understand the nature of THRUSH, not only learning what that acronym stands for but also to learn of its history and what its primary goals are. That sure beats the vague “bad guy organization” we’ve known about up until this point (if you're reading them sequentially in publication order). The higher-up THRUSH characters of Ward and Irene Baldwin are not only nicely drawn characters but also work well as a way to put a face to the THRUSH organization and even almost become anti-heroes. It’s always nice to have educated, honorable (at least on the surface), and gentlemanly foes to work with. Working alongside THRUSH agents in life-or-death scenarios might be distasteful at first but we readers tend to get lulled into complacency right along with Solo, Kuryakin, and Weatherly, all the while knowing this won’t last and soon they would once again be enemies.

I’m glad to know there are more U.N.C.L.E. books still to come written by David McDaniel. Looking forward to them all.

The Golden Age of Murder by Martin Edwards

This non-fiction book won all sorts of awards when it came out in 2016, including the prestigious Edgar and Agatha awards.  It’s easy to see why.  I’ve dabbled in reading a few golden age detective novels, mostly Agatha Christies but a few others here and there. But I’ve never felt like I had a good handle on that era and how and why this sub-genre came to be so popular.  I was also interested in learning more about the authors involved.

The Golden Age of murder mysteries or detective novels is usually considered to be those years between the two world wars.  Big name authors were Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, G.K Chesterton (Father Brown mysteries), John Dickson Carr, John Road, Anthony Berkley, and many others. In the year 1930 a small group of these authors formed “The Detection Club”:

    an elite social network of writers whose work earned a reputation for literary excellence, and earned     a profound long-term influence on storytelling in fiction, film, and television.

This was a group of young writers from Britain (almost all living in London), whose impact continues to be felt even today.  This book focuses on their early years, from 1930 through 1949, which only involved a total of 39 members.   

The book does an excellent job of not only delving into their biographies and work, but also provides a solid understanding of how they influenced each other, criticized each other, and came to each other’s defense. I really felt like I got to know them, warts and all. Many of them got ideas from real-life murders, details to which we are also treated. But the real treasure here is in understanding how their work came to be so important and influential for later authors, whether in the mystery genre or beyond.  The author is, himself a crime writer as well as a noted authority on detective fiction which is very evident throughout the book.

Best of all, I feel like I absorbed all of the information that a textbook could offer and yet this doesn’t read like a textbook at all. In some ways, it is like reading a mystery story, especially considering all of the secrets these authors kept to themselves. Very entertaining to read.

The bad news is that I now have a whole list of authors I want/need to try and a much longer list of their books to get my hands on.

Highly recommended.

Once Upon a Star: The Adventures of Manning Draco, Volume 1 by Kendell Foster Crossen

Manning Draco is the chief insurance investigator for the Greater Solarian Insurance Company, "Monopolated", in the 35th century.  He is called upon to work the most difficult cases of fraud, scams, and circumvent con artists of all types.  This book contains four sequential novellas that feature humorous/zany situations where Draco must exercise his considerable intellect to come up with creative solutions in order to prevent huge inappropriate monetary payouts from his company.  Frequently he rescues his company from poor decisions.

These stories are filled with funny situations and Draco’s snarky, yet friendly personality makes these stories really fun to read.  Since they take place in the far future, the author pulls out all the stops when creating alien species and planetary/cultural governments and cultures.  In fact, it often goes to the point of being absurd but that’s entirely consistent with the zany tone of the stories and just adds to the fun. It’s a bit like combining The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy with the Flashman novels but with an insurance investigator plot.  Fun stuff indeed.

These stories were originally published in the early 1950’s in “Thrilling Wonder Stories”.  Author Kendell Foster Crossen may be familiar to readers as the author of the Milo March detective novels under the pseudonym M.E. Chaber. Crossen was incredibly prolific and actually wrote over 400 radio and television dramas, some 300 short stories, 250 non-fiction articles and approximately forty-five novels. He also found the time to write reviews, edit several science fiction collections, and serve as editor for Detective Fiction Weekly.  He was responsible for the creation of  private eyes Brian Brett and Pete Draco, although he's probably best known for creating “The Green Lama”, a costumed vigilante who appeared in the pulps from the forties.

Shoot-Out at Sugar Creek (Caleb York #6) by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins

This sixth book in the Caleb York series directly follows the events of book #5, Hot Lead, Cold Justice, in which a killer blizzard swept across the Southwest putting lives and whole ranches in peril. Trying to recover from that experience has proven no easy task. Wealthy widow and cattle baroness, Victoria Drummond, has seized the opportunity to snatch up most of the smaller ranches in the area of Trinidad, New Mexico, and now has her sites set on the vast Bar-O spread, owned and managed by Willa Cullen, the getting-close-to-fiancé-status girlfriend of one Sheriff Caleb York.

There is no level to which Victoria will not stoop to get what she wants, to include hiring an army of hard case gunfighters from nearby Las Vegas, setting up ambushes, and even sacrificing her own sons to the effort. She has the upper hand against the Bar-O due to controlling Sugar Creek, the only water supply that’s not fouled by dead cattle from the massive blizzard. So, when Sheriff York is forced to shoot and kill Victoria’s son for raping and beating a saloon trollop, a full-on range war is ignited.

Some readers expect the character of Caleb York to be simply a western version of Mike Hammer but I find Caleb to be a much more sympathetic character. He is loyal to the law and to maintaining the peace, but he is a firm stand-your-ground kind of man and never backs down from a fight. He’s an excellent shot, of course, and always manages to find plenty of action to test his skills, but he would prefer that was not the case.

The plot of this novel tests not only Caleb York’s skills with a gun but also his hot-cold-warm-hot relationship with Willa Cullen, once again. The stakes have never been higher, and the body-count is stratospheric. With the title of this novel being what it is, a lot of gunplay is expected but man-o-man was that spectacular! I was fully invested in these characters after the very first book in the series, The Legend of Caleb York, and the rest of the series has only increased that for me. So, when one of them gets such a raw deal as we see here, I’m all in for revenge in the purest sense of the word.

I really hope there are more Caleb York novels still to come. Please let it be so.

Doc Savage - The Red Terrors by Kenneth Robeson (Lester Dent/Harold Davis)

A sailor on a ship in the South Atlantic eats an apple contaminated with diphtheria and infects the rest of the merchant vessel’s crew. One passenger, a deep-sea diver, tries to survive by diving into the water with his suit on, only to experience something incredible. We readers aren’t privy to exactly what that is until much later in the novel, but a clue is provided in the form of a torn piece of red suit material.

Meanwhile strange attacks are occurring in New York City involving red humanoids. And then word reaches Doc Savage's headquarters of a criminal doctor getting dragged off his ship by another red creature. But when Long Tom and Renny go missing, and then Johnny is severely injured (two broken legs and a broken arm!) Doc pulls out all the stops to get to the bottom of whatever’s going on. Doc, Monk, and Ham follow the trail that leads them to an extraordinary under-the-sea civilization, a civilization connected to one they’ve discovered before in Mystery Under The Sea, published two years previously in 1936.

This is the 67th Doc Savage novel to be published (number 83 in Bantam edition order). It was co-written by Lester Dent and Harold Davis. The year was 1938 and the yearning for technological adventure was in full swing. The Doc Savage novels have always been on the cutting edge of technology, thanks to creator and primary author, Lester Dent who liked to have Doc using all the latest gear. Frequently, he used items that weren’t even in existence yet, projecting what would be logical advancements in the near future. In this novel, however, the tech speculation goes beyond mere projection and into pure fantasy. While some explanative science is provided for how the humans can live and breathe under water using pills and a specialized gas, today's readers must really suspend their disbelief and just go with it. 

Putting that observation aside, this was a fun entry in the Doc Savage series. Lots of action sequences but balanced with a straightforward mystery plot. No Scooby-Doo ending this time; the bad guys and the good guys are identified early on with no double-crossing to be found. The real focus here is on the underwater society and how it developed and operates despite the obvious barriers. Good pulpy fun. And the Boris Vallejo cover art on the Bantam edition doesn't hurt.

The Long Short Cut by Andrew Garve (Paul Winterton)

Michael Bliss, handsome, charming, and polished man about town is beginning to run a little low on funds. He’s not particularly worried though as he’s been in this position many times before. A new job always seemed to come his way. It was just a matter of finding the right opportunity. These things had a way of taking care of themselves, especially for a professional confidence man like Bliss.

Sure enough, an opportunity does, indeed, come along when Bliss witnesses a shooting. At first, he is reluctant to come forward as a witness but then he realizes he can make use of the goodwill he would generate from the police. He can use that to smuggle a criminal financier out of the country and use those same police to assist him in the smuggling operation. He enlists his new friend, the lovely Corinne in a masterful scheme and together they plan and execute all the details while at the same time, earning a hefty paycheck, albeit grudgingly from the financier.

Author Andrew Garve is a pseudonym of Paul Winterton, a former journalist in Britain and a well-respected crime writer. He was, in fact a founding member of the Crime Writers’ Association. He’s written a number of engaging mystery/crime novels and if this one is an indication of his work, then I will be happy to pursue as many others as I can.

That said, this is not a perfect novel by any means. The scheme developed by Bliss and Corinne wasn’t really all that complex, nothing like an Ocean’s 11 sort of scheme. There are a few risks with their plan but, given the state of technology in 1968 when this novel was first published, those risks seem minor. Most of the novel is devoted to the day-to-day and even hour-by-hour planning while much less is devoted to the actual carrying out of the plan. But that was Ok with me because something about these two characters resonated with me, and I enjoyed spending time with them. I kept waiting for something to go wrong but it all unfolded without a hitch…until the very end. I’d been expecting one of the pair to turn on the other, having conned them all the way along. Whether or not I was right...well, I won’t spoil that but I will say the end provided a nice surprise twist and another in the very last paragraph.

An enjoyable read and a nice entry into more works of Paul Winterton which I will be seeking out in the future.