Now Available: The Hellcat/The Lady is Transparent/The Dumdum Murder - Carter Brown (Alan G. Yates)

THE HELLCAT:
In which Lieutenant Al Wheeler is expected to
—solve the mystery of the decapitated head
—investigate the Sumner family without ruffling any entitled feathers
—keep the two mob killers from wiping out the Sumners

THE LADY IS TRANSPARENT:
In which Lieutenant Al Wheeler is sent out on a stormy night to an old dark house
—where a ghost has just murdered someone behind a locked door
—where the whole family believes in a century-old curse
—where a tape machine holds the only evidence of death by avenging spirit

THE DUMDUM MURDER:
In which Lieutenant Al Wheeler responds to a call about a bloody murder
—in a house of old Vaudevillians and entertainers
—involving the shooting death of a former associate of an ex-bootlegger
—that sends him into the arms of an intimidating Amazon.

(I did the introduction for this new triple volume of Al Wheeler mystery novels, and I think it's one of the best intros I've written. I sure had fun revisiting my early days as a fan of the Carter Brown books, which I still love all these decades later. This new book from Stark House is available in e-book and trade paperback editions, and I give it a high recommendation!)

Coming From Stark House: Warped Desires/The Strangest Sin - Kay Addams (Orrie Hitt)

WARPED DESIRE

It has to be this way every weekend, Laura said as we lay side by side. How can it be? My father will be home. After he has gone to sleep I can come to you. What if he should catch us? He won't catch us. We'll be smart. He's a sound sleeper but if that doesn't work out we can always take a ride into the country. I sighed and closed my eyes. This was my father's wife. And my lover....

THE STRANGEST SIN

Sharon Doyle felt dirty when she woke up in Jimmy Slade's bed, but that wasn't unusual. She always felt dirty after a night of passion in Jimmy's cheap room... Sharon owns a bar and too often ends up blotto at the end of the evening, letting Jimmy take her back to his place. Her neighbor Carl Evans is a nicer guy, but he won't make a move. Between them is Bert Robinson, the local racketeer who wants Sharon all to himself, no matter what it takes. But Sharon is tired of them. She finds herself more attracted to her bartender, Lucy, who keeps the local guys satisfied in a room upstairs. It's a lit-fuse situation, and all it takes is a single act of violence to set it off.

I wrote the introduction to this double volume from Stark House that will be out later this fall, and I'm proud to have done so. Both novels are top-notch tales from a great storyteller, and I give this collection a very high recommendation.

Now Available: The Saint in Miami - Leslie Charteris (Introduction by James Reasoner)

Today's mail brought a fine Christmas present two days after the fact: a copy of the new British reprint of THE SAINT IN MIAMI, my favorite Saint novel, for which I was fortunate enough to write the introduction. When Ian Dickerson, the series editor, asked me if I'd like to do one of the intros and did I have a preference which volume it would be, I didn't waste any time in answering him. I've loved this book ever since I first read it, lo, those many years ago, an event which I go into in more detail in the introduction. I can't tell you how pleased I am to see my name on the cover of this book. It seems to be available through Amazon UK (here's the page) but not the American Amazon, but I'm sure that if you're in the U.S. and want to get your hands on a copy, there are ways that can be done. You'll just have to use your imagination, as the actress said to the bishop...