Review: The Temptress

The Temptress by Carter Brown
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

If you've read any of the other books in the Lieutenant Al Wheeler series (there's 51) you know what to expect from this one, which is number fifteen. Wheeler is tough talking and a smart ass and takes the piss out on everyone he interacts with, although less so the women he beds in his apartment equipped with the "hi-fi machine" and booze. Not a lot of action here. Couple of murders, but minimal police procedural, if that is your thing. Wheeler roughs up a couple of bad guys, but that's about two pages of description total. Mostly it is pages and pages of "witty" repartee and questioning leading up to a quick and thin whodunit reveal of the blackmail plot and the murderer. For collectors, the cover art in this third printing is by Ron Lessor, which was the first of four Carter Brown covers he did. The first edition (S1817) has cover art by Barye Phillips. Not certain on this, but there does not appear to be an edition with cover art by Robert McGinnis, who did most of the Carter Brown covers between 1961 and 1972.

View all my reviews