Review: Queen of the Gangsters, Volume 1: Boardwalk Empire - Margie Harris

A while back I mentioned Margie Harris, the prolific, well-regarded pulpster who contributed many stories to the gang pulps during the Thirties and whose true identity remains a mystery to this day. I wondered if any of her stories had been reprinted. Turns out that not only have several stories been reprinted in various places, there’s even a collection of her work entitled QUEEN OF THE GANGSTERS: BOARDWALK EMPIRE, published by Off Trail Publications in 2011. I’ve been meaning to read more from the gang pulps, so I got my hands on a copy.

The book leads off with a pair of introductions by editors David Bischoff and John Locke. Bischoff, a well-known science fiction writer, seems an odd choice to be editing a pulp collection like this, but his introduction reveals a genuine fondness for the author and her work. Locke, the man behind Off Trail Publications, provides as much biographical information as we have on Harris. As far as I can tell, nothing else about her has turned up in the 13 years since this book was published.

The first story, “Cougar Kitty”, from the June/July 1930 issue of MOBS, was Harris’s second published story, but it reads like the work of a seasoned veteran. It’s a revenge yarn, as the beautiful, redheaded Kate Dever heads for Seattle and gets a job as a hostess in the speakeasy run by brutal gang boss Scar Argylle. Kate has a hidden agenda (not a spoiler, since Harris doesn’t keep this a secret from the reader) and things race along as she puts her plan into action. This is a very entertaining tale, fast-paced and full of colorful characters.

“The Night Before Hell” (GANGLAND STORIES, August/September 1930) is Harris’s fourth story. This one finds a gangster convicted of murder and facing a death sentence breaking out of jail to seek revenge on the rival gang leader who framed him. It’s almost all action as the protagonist battles his way into the heart of his enemy’s stronghold, although there are a few heartstring-tugging moments. Not quite as strong a yarn as “Cougar Kitty” but still well-written and enjoyable.

In addition to having a great title, “Hellcat Buys a Stack” (GANGSTER STORIES, November 1930) is a good yarn with a fine protagonist. Hellcat is a gangster who earns that nickname for being such a fierce fighter despite his mild appearance. Surprisingly, his best friend is a crusading newspaper reporter whose life he saved during a battle in the Great War. It probably helps their friendship that the reporter lives in New York City while Hellcat is based in Chicago. But when Hellcat visits the Big Apple and tries to get together with his buddy, the reporter is murdered right in front of him. This proves to be a mistake since Hellcat sets out to avenge his pal and will stop at nothing to do it. Lots of fast-paced action and intrigue in this one.

“The Raspberry” is a novelette that appeared in GANGLAND STORIES that same month, November 1930. In it, mob boss Shane Stevens decides to get out of the rackets (for the love of a good woman, of course) and take the fortune in loot he’s amassed to Europe. When his lieutenants get wind of this, they don’t like the idea and double-cross him, resulting in Shane having to hole up in his heavily fortified penthouse while his former minions lay siege to it. This battle goes on high above the streets of Manhattan with the teeming populace below having no idea what’s happening. Shane finally conceives a daring escape plan that has almost no chance of succeeding, but he has to try it anyway if he wants to get away with the girl and the loot. This yarn is almost non-stop action, and Harris does a great job of making the reader sympathize with Shane and forget the fact that he’s a criminal and probably got that loot in all sorts of sordid ways. We don’t care, we just want him to defy all the odds and make his getaway. This is a fine story and a beautiful example of breakneck pulp pacing.

“While Choppers Roared” (RACKETEER STORIES, February 1931) is an action-packed tale that finds two daring undercover cops infiltrating a vicious gang and setting them up for a raid, while at the same time, a tough Irish cop on the verge of retirement tries to save the son of an old flame from a life of crime. This one has a few more touches of sentimentality and melodrama than the previous stories, but it certainly doesn’t skimp on the shootouts, either. I lost track of how many guys on both sides got gunned down in this blood-soaked yarn.

Just when you think Harris’s work can’t get any darker, here comes “The Angel From Hell”, which appeared in the April 1931 issue of GANGSTER STORIES. A mob killer whose face is paralyzed from a war injury discovers that his boss is setting him up to take the fall for a murder he didn’t commit. He goes on a vengeance spree in advance that includes torture, shootouts, and grisly deaths carried out with an acid gun. This is the most violent yarn of Harris’s so far, and the reader doesn’t have a shred of sympathy for any of the characters except for maybe one, and that’s not revealed until the last-second twist ending. This is potent stuff.

In “Understudy From Hell”, a novella from the July 1931 issue of GANGSTER STORIES, a mob boss is rubbed out by a rival gang, leading his beautiful blond moll to swear vengeance. She gets it, too, in another yarn in which Harris spills seas of blood. The big twist in this one is obvious very early on, but it probably came as a real shock to readers in 1931. Knowing what’s coming doesn’t keep this from being a suspenseful, action-packed yarn that has some truly poignant moments as well. Is it a little melodramatic? Sure, but it’s still a superb story that had me engrossed from start to finish.

The final story in this volume is “Twisted Vengeance” from the January 1934 issue of GREATER GANGSTER STORIES. It’s the shortest story in the book, but that doesn’t mean it packs any less punch than the longer yarns. The protagonist is a crippled former gangster known as Gimpy the Bum, who has a bad leg from bullet wounds suffered when he was just starting out in the mobs. When a female settlement worker who helped him recover from his injuries is murdered, Gimpy sets out to avenge her death, and of course that involves plenty of brutal violence. Gimpy’s bad leg doesn’t slow him down much as he tackles the underworld. This is another fine story that really had me flipping the pages.

Overall, QUEEN OF THE GANGSTERS is one of the best pulp collections I’ve read in a while. These stories are really powerful, and while Harris may not have been the most polished writer you’ll ever read, she could sure tell a riveting tale, and without shying away from any of the ugliness of the subject matter, either. I’ve read a few gang pulp stories here and there over the years, but this is my real introduction to the genre and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m sorry it appears to be the first and only collection of Margie Harris’s stories. It’s still available on Amazon and I give it a high recommendation.