Robert Moore Williams' Somebody Wants You Dead is a very obscure pulp PI thriller. A PI is hired to find a girl. He has his problems - an escaped convict and a dead girl, and a key to something. Moderately entertaining with a high body count.

Here's my review.


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In Edgar Wallace's The Door with Seven Locks a retired cop has to deal with a burglar hired for a strange but legal job (picking the lock on a tomb), a stolen library book and keeping tabs on an errant lord. Hints of gothic creepiness. Hugely entertaining.

Here's my review.


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Asa Bordages' Murders in Silk is a fine 1938 thriller that begins with a murder on a train. There's a girl in a red hat, an unusual knife, a fire and three potential femmes fatales. A golden age puzzle-plot mystery with a few nice touches.

Here's my review.


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Fletcher Flora’s 1958 novel Park Avenue Tramp takes a classic noir setup with emotional intrigues and betrayals and infidelities which he develops in unexpected ways. This is truly a neglected gem by an underrated writer.

Here's my review.


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The Saint and Mr Teal AKA Once More The Saint is a 1933 collection of three Saint novellas by Leslie Charteris. With some lovely twisty devious sting-in-the-tail endings. This is the second version of Simon Templar, without his gang but with Patricia. Stylish fun.

Here's my review.


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Honey West, the original tough cookie action heroine. Dig a Dead Doll, from 1960, was the seventh Honey West novel. This time there's murder in the bullring in Mexico. As usual Honey loses her clothes. Hardboiled, violent, sleazy, stylish, fun.

Here's my review.


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Killer AKA Passion Killer, a 1965 sleaze/noir novel by Robert Silverberg (as Don Elliott). A man hires a hitman to kill his wife. Emotional and sexual betrayals follow. As sleaze it's good; as noir fiction it's OK. Has a good femme fatale.

Here's my review.


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170 Phantom Detective pulp novels appeared between 1931 and 1953. The Dancing Doll Murders dates from 1937. Like The Shadow he's a masked crime-fighter with a secret identity. There's a series of murders signalled by the arrival of dancing dolls. Pure pulp done with energy and flair.

Here's my review.


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Judith Rossner’s 1975 novel Looking for Mr Goodbar was a huge bestseller. Theresa likes rough dangerous sex. The rougher and more dangerous the better. This won't end well. Very flawed but provocative and much better than the 1977 film.

Here's my review.


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The Naked and the Deadly: Lawrence Block in Men's Adventure Magazines is a superb collection. For me the highlights are the three Ed London PI stories and the two Evan Tanner tales. So much pulp fun here. Early Lawrence Block is always a treat.

Here's my review.


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