Review: Shield for Murder - William P. McGivern

A couple of weeks ago when I reran my review of William P. McGivern’s novel ROGUE COP, my friend Jim Doherty suggested that I read McGivern’s SHIELD FOR MURDER, a novel about a cop with even less of a moral compass than the protagonist of ROGUE COP. It was an excellent suggestion, and I appreciate the recommendation.

SHIELD FOR MURDER gets down to business right away. It opens with Philadelphia police detective Barny Nolan murdering bookmaker Dave Fiest and stealing $25,000 that the bookie had on him. This is considerably more than Nolan expected to get from the killing and robbery, but unfortunately for him, the 25 grand was intended to pay off a bet made by a local gangster, and the guy wants his money back.

Nolan’s life is also complicated by young newspaper reporter Mark Brewster, who senses that there’s something fishy about Nolan’s story. Then there’s Linda Wade, the beautiful nightclub singer Nolan’s in love with. His stormy relationship with her is also a constant distraction. And Nolan, like a lot of guys who get in over their heads in noir novels, isn’t the brightest fellow in the world. Combine that with his hair-trigger temper, and it’s inevitable that his troubles start to pile up.

SHIELD FOR MURDER is a slow burn of a novel, alternating between Brewster’s investigation into the bookie’s murder and Nolan’s violent background, and Nolan’s efforts to navigate through the walls that seem to be closing in around him. Not all that much actually happens until late in the book, but McGivern’s writing is so good that it doesn’t really matter. It’s hard to say who’s the protagonist in this book, Nolan or Brewster, and to be honest, neither of them is very likable. At the same time, you can’t help but sympathize with them, at least a little.

I will say that there were times when I felt McGivern’s low-key, realistic prose could have used a bit more drama, and I wasn’t that fond of the ending. However, I raced through the book and that’s always a good thing. The police procedural bits reminded me of the 87th Precinct novels, and I can’t help but wonder if Evan Hunter ever read this. Dodd, Mead published it in hardcover in 1951, several years before the first of the 87th Precinct books. Pocket Books did a paperback reprint in 1952, there was a movie version starring Edmond O’Brien, well-cast as Barny Nolan, in 1954, and Berkley did another paperback reprint in 1988, the edition I read.

SHIELD FOR MURDER is out of print, but copies of both paperback reprints are available for reasonable prices on the Internet. Despite a few misgivings, I think it’s a very good novel and well worth reading if you’re a fan of noir crime fiction.