Tag / Hard Case Crime

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Book 3 (of 52) – Understudy For Death

Understudy For Death – Charles Willeford

When a seemingly happy housewife kills herself and her two children, a reporter for the local paper is assigned to find out why. Along the way, he finds dissatisfaction with his own life, finally deciding that devotion to his wife and son are enough for him.

Originally titled Understudy For Love when it was first published in 1961, the work by Charles Willeford was not quite what I was expecting.  This wasn’t a crime novel, per se, but rather a character study of an unsure man trying to find his way while investigating a crime.  I’ve had good experiences with the output from Hard Case Crime in the past, but this was, at least for me, the first clunker.

 

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Book 21 (of 52) – The Count Of 9

The Count Of 9 – Erle Stanley Gardner

Originally published in 1958, The Count of 9 was the 18th installment of the Cool and Lam series Erle Stanley Gardner wrote under the pseudonym of A. A. Fair, and the 4th republished by Hard Case Crime.  When Cool and Lam are hired to protect the treasures of a globe-trotting adventurer, they are forced to confront an impossible crime.  But that’s nothing compared to the crime they face next: the impossible murder of their client.

These pulps bring you back to a different, simpler time, where the world wasn’t wired (in more ways than one) the way it is today.  It seems that reprinting episodes from this series is going to be a yearly event, so I look forward to the next installment sometime next year.

 

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Book 25 (of 52) – Turn On The Heat

Turn On The Heat – Erle Stanley Gardner as A.A. Fair

After the publishers of Erle Stanley Gardner’s Cool & Lam series rejected his second installment back in 1939, he came back with the manuscript for Turn On The Heat, originally published in January of 1940. Republished earlier this year by the fine folks at Hard Case Crime, the pulp novel tells the tale of a mystery surrounding a doctor, his missing socialite former wife, and a murder that may tie them back together again.  Cool and Lam try to untangle the mess and figure out what’s truly going on before they, and their client, take the fall.

That makes 3 of the 30 Cool and Lam offerings that Gardner wrote, under the name A.A. Fair, that have been republished by Hard Case Crime.  I don’t know if they have plans for more, but I’d be a willing participant if they do.

 

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Book 10 (of 52) – The Knife Slipped

The Knife Slipped – Erle Stanley Gardner as A.A. Fair

Intended to be the second installment of the Cool and Lam series in 1939, The Knife Slipped, by Erle Stanley Gardner writing under the pseudonym of A.A. Fair, was rejected by the publisher for being too crude.  Rather than rework the idea, Gardner moved on to others and the manuscript sat for more than 75 years until last year, where it finally saw print thanks to the folks at Hard Case Crime.

In this tale, the firm takes on a case of a woman who believes her daughter’s husband is cheating on her, which leads Lam on to police corruption, politics, and, of course, murder.  Blamed for the death of his target, Lam goes on the, well, lam to find out who was really behind the murder and how the corruption played in while Cool tries to work herself in to the corruption, getting herself a piece of the action.

My first experience with Gardner’s work, aside from watching Perry Mason on television, was a later book in this series which I read 2 years ago.  These pulps bring you back to a different, simpler time, where the world wasn’t wired (in more ways than one) the way it is today.  Another installment is planned to be published later this year, and I look forward to getting my hands on it.

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Book 7 (of 52) – Top Of The Heap

Top Of The Heap - Erle Stanley Gardner as A.A. Fine

Top Of The Heap – Erle Stanley Gardner as A.A. Fair

Six years after introducing readers to defense attorney Perry Mason, Erle Stanley Gardner, under the alias of A.A. Fair, began the Cool and Lam series, about a private detective firm in Los Angeles.  The 13th installment in the series, Top of the Heap, was reprinted as part of the Hard Case Crime series of books.  Having enjoyed my previous experience with the line, and seeing a name I recognized, I decided to take a leap of faith and see what Mr. Gardner had to offer to a 21st century readership.

This installment of the series focuses on Donald Lam, the junior detective at the agency, and moves him out of LA for the most part, which, from what I can tell online, was a departure for the series.  The firm takes on a case to provide a banker’s son with an alibi, and Lam, after following the leads that seemingly have been left for him to find, decides to investigate further, leaving him on the outs with both his partner and the SFPD.  What he finds, however, is a murder mystery, stock fraud, and gangster business all tied together in strange ways.

I found the tale to be pretty enjoyable, especially taking into account that it was written in 1952.  The harboiled detective speak takes a little getting used to, but it wasn’t long until I was taken away to a far away time, one which resembles the Los Angeles that James Ellroy employs so frequently.  This is the only entry of the series that was reprinted, so odds are that I won’t be revisiting the Cool and Lam crew, but if I happen to come across another of Gardner’s novels, I would certianly give it a look.

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Book 5 (of 52) – Joyland

Joyland - Stephen King

Joyland – Stephen King

Joyland, Stephen King’s second novel for the Hard Case Crime imprint, tells the tale of a young college student who takes a summer job at an amusement park in North Carolina, stumbling upon a murder mystery and a haunted ride in the process.  Mostly, though, this is a coming of age story, as the protagonist, Devin Jones, gets over his first heartbreak, finds a place where he truly fits in, at least for a while, and manages to solve the crime of who murdered the girl who haunts the Horror House.

The crime elements, along with the supernatural, take a back seat in this tale, which I gather is not quite the intent of the line.  But when a name like Stephen King offers to write a book for you, I guess you don’t let silly quibbles like that stand in the way.  I enjoyed this side of King’s work and might look to pick up his first novel for this line, the inspiration for the Syfy series Haven.