Forgotten Books: The Living End - Frank Kane

Frank Kane has been one of my favorite authors since I first read one of his Johnny Liddell private eye novels in high school, fifty years ago. I never read any of his stand-alone books until now, though. THE LIVING END was published by Dell in 1957, and it’s going to be reprinted soon by Stark House as part of its Black Gat Books line. That’s an excellent choice, because I really enjoyed this novel.

THE LIVING END is the story of Eddie Marlon, an ambitious, hustling young songwriter who winds up working as the assistant to a popular disc jockey at a New York radio station. This is early in the disc jockey era, and Marty Allen, Eddie’s boss, is one of the first really successful ones. The music industry is changing, and so is radio.

Eddie’s story is as old as the hills, though. He’s a heel, through and through, and will resort to any tactic, crooked or not, in order to advance his career. When a lucky break allows him to strongarm himself into a position of power, he uses his admittedly canny instincts to reinvent himself as the most influential personality in radio, and every bit of power he seizes just emboldens him to grasp for more. The question is when, not if, all this is going to catch up to him . . .

Although laws are broken and gangsters play a part in the plot, THE LIVING END isn’t really a crime novel. It’s more a character study of a sociopathic personality, as well as a vivid portrait of the music and radio industries in the mid-Fifties. Eddie seems to be loosely based on Alan Freed, who is sometimes referred to as the man who invented rock and roll. Other characters are based on real people as well, and some actual historical figures skirt around the edges of the story.

Even though there’s very little action, Kane keeps the pace in this book really racing along. His style is terse, hardboiled, funny at times, poignant at others. I really enjoyed THE LIVING END and am glad it’s being reprinted. I give it a high recommendation.