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!)

Review: No Harp for My Angel - Carter Brown (Alan G. Yates)

NO HARP FOR MY ANGEL is the fourth novel in the long-running Al Wheeler mystery series by Carter Brown (Alan G. Yates). It’s one that was never published in the United States after its original appearance in Australia in 1956 until a few years ago when Stark House included it in the second volume of its Al Wheeler series. As a long-time Carter Brown fan, it’s great that Stark House is making it possible for us to read, or in some cases reread, these very entertaining novels.

Al Wheeler is a homicide detective in Pine City, California, but in this novel, he’s on the other side of the country, taking a well-deserved vacation in Ocean Beach, Florida. Naturally, things can’t go smoothly while he’s there, and before you know it, he’s doing a favor for a local cop and going undercover to investigate the disappearances of several beautiful female tourists. In order to do this, he has to pretend to be a gangster from Chicago, and of course, things go from bad to worse when some real gangsters show up.

Al’s first-person, wisecracking narration is fast and funny, as usual. There’s a murder in this one, but it’s not a typical whodunit as the tone of this novel is much more that of a thriller. Between getting hit on the head and taken for a ride and bantering with luscious babes, Al doesn’t have much time for actual detection. It’s all a lot of breathless fun, and NO HARP FOR MY ANGEL is also historically important because this is the book where Al acquires his Austin-Healy sports car that he’ll drive for the rest of the series. I’m a little surprised that Signet didn’t reprint this one during the Fifties and Sixties when the Carter Brown books were so popular. Maybe they didn’t because it’s not as much of a traditional mystery as some of the others.

It's certainly worth reading, though. If you’re a Carter Brown/Al Wheeler fan, you’ll enjoy it, I don’t doubt that at all. The Stark House reprint, which includes two more Al Wheeler novels, by the way, is available on Amazon in print and e-book editions. Recommended.

Delilah Was Deadly - Carter Brown (Alan G. Yates)

It’s been too long since I read a Carter Brown novel, so I decided to pick up where I left off in Stark House’s reprinting of the original versions of the Al Wheeler novels published in Australia. DELILAH WAS DEADLY is the third book in the series and was never reprinted in the United States until this collection from several years ago.

In this one, Al is still developing into the character known so well to those of us who grew up reading the Signet paperback versions of the novels in the Sixties and Seventies. He still works for the police department of the unnamed city where the story takes place, and he reports to Commissioner (not Sheriff) Lavers. We have Sergeant Podeski giving him a hand instead of Sergeant Polnick. And Al is actually in charge of the Homicide Bureau in this one, having been promoted since the previous book.

Those differences are fairly minor. The case is the same sort that Al has tackled before and will again, many times. The body of a man who works as the social editor for a fashion magazine is found stuffed in a safe in the magazine’s office. He’s been strangled with a girdle. (If you’re wondering why a fashion magazine has a safe on the premises, it’s so that top-secret dress designs can be locked up.) Al decides to investigate the killing himself when one of the detectives assigned to the case is also murdered when he goes to search the victim’s apartment. More killings follow, as Al navigates a complicated plot involving a nightclub owner, a department store tycoon, an eccentric artist, and, of course, numerous beautiful young women, some of whom succumb to Al’s attempts at seduction.

Then, fairly late in the book, author Carter Brown, who was really Alan G. Yates, springs a pretty effective plot twist. The Carter Brown books were nearly always well-plotted, especially considering their length (around 40,000 words, I’m guessing). This one isn’t quite as complex as some but works well. Everything rockets along with lots of snappy banter, plenty of sexy hijinks, and enough action to keep things interesting. The title isn’t really justified until very late in the book and comes off as a bit of an afterthought by the author, but that’s it’s biggest weakness and it’s nothing to quibble about.

I had a fine time reading DELILAH WAS DEADLY and getting reacquainted with Al Wheeler. Luckily, I have plenty more of those Stark House triple volumes on hand, so I plan to get back to the series without much delay this time. These days, short, entertaining books are just what I’m looking for most of the time. If you want to give these a try, they’re available in e-book and trade paperback editions.

Forgotten Books: Blonde Verdict - Carter Brown (Alan G. Yates)

The original edition

BLONDE VERDICT (the title of the original Australian edition) is the second book in the Lt. Al Wheeler series by Carter Brown, who, as you all know, was really English ex-pat Alan G. Yates. A revised version was published in the U.S. by Signet under the title THE BRAZEN, but the real deal is available in Stark House’s great series of omnibus reprints of the Al Wheeler series, from the start in chronological order.

This is still not quite the Al Wheeler those of us who grew up reading the Signet editions know and love, but he’s pretty darned close. Or rather, Al is the same guy, but his supporting cast is slightly different. He works for Captain Parker, and the police commissioner is named Lavers. In the Signet editions, Al is a sheriff’s department investigator working for Sheriff Lavers. There’s a Sergeant Mcnamara mentioned, but no Sergeant Polnick.

A later, retitled Australian edition

Doesn’t matter. Al is still the same wise-cracking hotshot with an eye for beautiful babes, of whom there are plenty in this book, starting with the blonde Al is with in a nightclub when one of the other patrons drops dead at his feet. Turns out the guy is a lawyer with a beautiful wife who hates him, a beautiful mistress who’s really in love with somebody else, and a partner with a good reason to want him dead. Oh, and there’s the gangster who was being represented by the dead man in a murder trial, and the even bigger gangster that guy works for, and . . . But you get the idea. Lots of suspects for Al to interrogate and cheerfully insult, and plenty of babes to come back to his bachelor pad and listen to his hi-fi with him, as well as giving him an alibi when he’s accused of one of the many murders that take place.

An early Signet edition

It’s hard to believe any book could race by faster than this one. It’s like an early Sixties Warner Brothers private eye TV show several years before there even was such a thing. Great pace, funny lines, a very likable protagonist, and a workable plot. I’ve been reading Carter Brown books for more than fifty years now and still really enjoy them. Thanks to Stark House for reprinting these original editions, and I hope there are many more to come. (A second collection is already out, and a third one is coming soon.)

Later Signet edition with Robert McGinnis cover

Coming Soon From Stark House: Carter Brown, Volume 3

Al Wheeler was Carter Brown's most popular mystery series, and these are his seventh, eighth, and ninth adventures, reprinted from the original Australian editions. The first two were revised for their U.S. Signet editions as THE BODY and THE BOMBSHELL, but CHORINE MAKES A KILLING has never been published in the U.S. before.

NO LAW AGAINST ANGELS
In which Lt. Al Wheeler investigates the murder of two young ladies--
both of whom worked at the Haven of Rest Mortuary--
both of whom had a tattoo on their upper shoulder in the shape of a dollar sign that turns into a snake--
and both of whom worked at part-time call-girls for the mysterious fellow known as Snake Lannigan, a man no one has ever seen.

DOLL FOR THE BIG HOUSE
In which Lt. Al Wheeler is reassigned to the Eighth Precinct under Captain Bligh in order to--
find Lili Hertz, whose sister has reported her missing--
track her to the big house of Absolem Kirch, despotic owner of a newspaper empire and the man behind a lot of dirty politics--
and crack the kidnapping ring that provides Kirch with the young girls he keeps in his mansion against their will.

CHORINE MAKES A KILLING
In which Lt. Al Wheeler turns in his badge to become a private investigator for a lawyer's firm in order to--
investigate an open-and-shut murder case involving Walter Byrne, friend of the lawyer and now married to the lawyer's ex-wife--
determine just who really did kill the chorus girl, who was also Byrne's mistress--
and figure out who is trying to kill Byrne's wife Myra, while fending off the advances of the man's sexy daughter.

(I'm really glad Stark House is reprinting these original Australian editions. They're fast, funny, well-plotted, and great fun to read. This collection will be out in March and is available for pre-order now.)

Forgotten Books: The Deep Cold Green - Carter Brown (Alan G. Yates)

I've seen Robert Barnard's books around for many years but never read any of them. So with this being Robert Barnard Week on Forgotten Books, I gave one a try...then another, and another. I didn't like or finish any of them, so sadly I have to say that Barnard just isn't an author for me. However, I thought that I still ought to read a mystery novel by a British author, and Alan G. Yates was born in England, right?

So that brings us to THE DEEP COLD GREEN, another entry in the long-running series written by Yates (and possibly a few ghosts) under the name Carter Brown. The Carter Brown books feature several different characters, and this one stars the one who's probably my favorite, police lieutenant Al Wheeler. As a bonus, it has a nice McGinnis cover, as most of the Carter Brown books from that era do.

As the book opens, Al is in Reno, Nevada, on his way back to his hometown of Pine City from a vacation. A beautiful redhead named Tracy barges into his room looking for a ride back to Pine City, but hot on her heels are a couple of bruisers who have come to take her back to her husband, professional gambler and casino owner Dane Tenison. They back off when they find out Al is a cop. Al and Tracy leave Reno together, but Tracy promptly disappears after they spend one night together. According to the motel clerk, she left on her own in a rental car, so Al doesn't think there's anything suspicious about her departure.

Back in Pine City, though, a body washes up on the beach a week later, and wouldn't you know it? The dead woman is Tracy Tenison. Or is she? Al quickly discovers that Tracy has a lookalike sister named Louise. It appears that Louise was only pretending to be Tracy back in Reno, because in actuality she was carrying on an affair with her sister's husband.

After that, things start to get a little complicated.

The Carter Brown books don't have much of a reputation anymore, but they usually featured complex plots that provided a genuine challenge for whichever detective was in that book to figure out. Most of the time, they even made sense. This tale involving several beautiful women, a murder frame-up, and the world of professional high-stakes gambling races right along in Yates' smart-alecky prose to an action-packed finale at sea. He even tries to put in a few poetic touches here and there and for the most part succeeds. Al Wheeler is a likable narrator/hero, and I always enjoy his adventures.

THE DEEP COLD GREEN was published in 1968, and it's a little more graphic sexually than the earlier Carter Brown books but not as pornographic as the ones from the Seventies. The whole Swinging Sixties atmosphere makes it read a little like a historical novel now. It's hard to believe more than forty years have passed since then. One thing hasn't changed, though: I read and enjoyed Carter Brown books back in those days, and from time to time I still do. This one's worth checking out if you're a fan and haven't read it yet.