Review: Some Must Die

Some Must Die by Gil Brewer
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Gil Brewer is renowned for his over-the-top noir paperback originals, all brimming with violence and sexual obsession. His lone attempt at writing a Western proves to be a drawn-out and aggravating novel that tells the story of six unlucky characters snowbound in a cabin with a saddlebag full of stolen money. This trope provides the conflict and forwards the minimalist plot. The characters showed illogical restraint when it came to violence when a killing or two could have resolved the conflicts and ended this dirge fifty pages early. This may have worked better as a short story or novelette. Stick with Brewer's crime novels, which may be inconsistent, but often burn as brightly as the best of the crime fiction of the era.

Review: The Thousand Mile Case

The Thousand Mile Case by J.R. Roberts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Clint Adams, The Gunsmith, helps out a stranger in an unfair shootout, killing a few men, although the stranger and the men hunting him all end up dead too. Clint wonders why the men chased the stranger 1000 miles across the country, and why he was forced to kill men that he didn’t even know. Clint journeys to the town were the men came from and starts investigating, although his efforts are initially rebuffed by the cautious townsfolk. The Gunsmith books are all heavily dialogue driven and are typically action-packed mystery stories. This is a good one. An enjoyable and easy read - perfect escapist fare.

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Review: Lament for Julie

Lament for Julie by Robert Colby
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A past love triangle finds Julie married to Steadman, with Corwin the odd man out. Tough guy Corwin holds no grudge and they remain close friends. Steadman goes to sea and when he returns he finds that wife Julie has been killed in a suspicious hit-and-run. Steadman starts investigating and ends up dead in an apparent suicide. Corwin assumes that they have both been murdered and comes back to town for answers and vengeance. Corwin turns out to be a proto-vigilante type, driven and violent, who suspects and then ingratiates himself with the rich and corrupt Vollmer family that runs the town, and then proceeds to get laid and kick some serious ass. A propulsive plot with several interesting characters and plenty of sex and violence are my low-brow expectations for a great book and this one covers all the bases. Recommended.

Available as an inexpensive ebook from Wildside Press

Review: The Wrecking Crew

The Wrecking Crew by Donald Hamilton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Matt Helm is assigned to work undercover as a photographer with an attractive journalist in Sweden in order to locate and assassinate a man called Caselius. The first two thirds of the book mostly sets the stage for the final third, which really kicks into high gear with plenty of action, clever twists, and double crosses. Hamilton’s writing is superb, chock full of clever observations and a dazzlingly intricate plot. I would have liked a little less of Helm and the journalist endlessly taking photos and trading barbs in the middle third, which I found only mildly amusing, but not enough to detract from the terrific novel as a whole.

Review: Rails West

Rails West by Logan Stewart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Logan Stewart is a pseduonym of Les Savage Jr., a notable and prolific writer of pulp western stories and novels. This novel is 160 pages of Gold Medal goodness telling the story of Scott Walker. a civil war soldier, presumed dead, searching for his family only to find them robbed of their land, his father driven insane with vengeance, and his girlfriend married to his brutal brother. A shoot out with the land baron sends the family on the run as outlaws. Scott, who is separated from the rest, gets work building the rails going west before becoming sheriff of the last boom town on the rail line, where his family, the rowdy rail workers, and the land swindlers all come together for an explosive climax. A fast moving and very entertaining read.

Review: So Fair, So Evil

So Fair, So Evil by Paul Connolly (Tom Wicker)
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"So Fair, So Evil" is an ambitious Southern Gothic and psychological thriller narrated by main character Frank Sinclair, an engineer and northerner, who marries into a rich, old-wealth family in the American Deep South. Frank goes off to the Korean War and ends up in a mental hospital where he learns that his wife Dolly has been killed in an apparent suicide. Determined to prove that his wife was actually murdered, Frank returns home causing an enormous disruption amongst the large cast of idle rich folks populating the grand Southern family estate. These pretentious snobs never accepted Frank as one of their own, and they alienate him, perhaps to distance themselves from his lowly heritage, or to keep hidden the deep secrets that they themselves harbor. The novel does a nice job of portraying the rich and powerful families of the mid 20th century American Deep South while providing a good murder mystery. Kinds of reminds me of a Jim Thompson story as if written by William Faulkner.

Review: Valley of Skulls

Valley of Skulls by John Benteen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Fargo series tell the tales of early 20th Century adventurer and solider of fortune Neal Fargo. They aren’t Westerns as the covers suggest. In this installment Fargo is hired by a rich old blowhard to rescue some Mayan treasures and the excavation team, which includes his son, from the jungles of Central America. Fargo forges an uneasy alliance with old friend Darnley and his team of ruffians who Fargo thinks are likely to kill him and keep the fortune, which he now realizes includes a solid gold cannon of priceless value, for themselves. The well-oiled plot rolls along at breakneck speed with colorful dialog and plenty of action. The Fargo adventure books are perfect escapism for our times, easily consumed and tasty as a hot delivered pizza.

It's now a available as an inexpensive ebook from Amazon.