Clifton Adams is one of my favorite Western authors, and like a lot of Western writers in the Forties, Fifties, and Sixties, he also wrote hardboiled crime yarns, although not as many as some. His novel THE VERY WICKED was published by Berkley in 1960 under the name Nick Hudson, the only time he used that pseudonym as far as I know. The cover on this edition is by Charles Copeland.
In this novel, a serial killer is targeting prostitutes, and circumstances force him to go after some of their pimps, as well. There’s no mystery to it. We know the killer’s identity and his motivation fairly early on. Instead, this novel is pure suspense and characterization as we watch the killer continue his crimes while the police try to close in on him.
Adams was a great yarn-spinner who also had the knack of peopling his stories with flawed but compelling characters. All of that is on display in THE VERY WICKED. It’s one of those books that keeps you turning the pages. The fine folks at Stark House have just reprinted it in a double volume with one of Adams’ other crime novels, THE LONG VENDETTA, and this volume also includes an excellent introduction by Eric Compton about Adams and his career and a cover by Rudy Nappi. Available from Amazon in e-book and paperback editions, and highly recommended.
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