Pulp Masters

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Book Reviews of Pulp Masters

Book Review: Very appealing collection
Summary: 4 Stars

As I said, I don't know much about written crime stories, though I have seen my fair share of the films from this era. There's something very enticing about these stories of gangsters, cops and private eyes. Every woman is a blonde and every case has a solution. These aren't the most realistic stories in the world, but you'll have to go far to find more enjoyable ones.

"The Embezzler" by James M Cain, 1938 - This is quite an interesting story set in and around a city bank. Money is missing, and a bank employee must figure out who is embezzling the money and how. A nicely realized romance between the protagonist and the wife of the suspect helps break up the action pleasantly. The ending feels a bit contrived, as if the author was forced to tack on a happy ending, but the story itself is very entertaining.

"Ordo" by Donald E. Westlake, 1977 - An interesting character study of a woman who leaves town and becomes a world-famous movie star. It's told through the eyes of a man she was married to before she became famous. It's a great story that will keep you intrigued the whole time. Fairly simple concept, but the execution raises up the quality of the entire piece.

"Stag Party Girl" by Lawrence Block, 1965 - A whodunit that doesn't quite live up to its full potential. The premise and investigation are fairly interesting, but the ending falls a bit flat.

"College-Cut Kill" by John D. MacDonald, 1950 - This one seems to be structured very similar to the previous story, though it has the advantage of being slightly better executed. The killer's motivation is far too similar to that of the murderer in "Stag Party Girl". It was probably a mistake to include these two stories next to one another in a collection. Placing a story or two in between them would helped to shadow the similarities.

"Everybody's Watching Me" by Mickey Spillane, 1953 -- A story of established gangsters who fear news of the arrival of one of the deadliest hit-men in the country. I didn't care for this story. While the premise is sound enough, there are far too many factions to keep track of in such a small space. There are two difference police departments, several groups of gangsters, a drug supplier, a hired killer, a newspaper reporter, the narrator, the narrator's love interest and his mysterious informer. Perhaps if this was a longer piece there would be more room to develop all these characters and sub-plots, but as the story is, they are just too underdeveloped and confusing. The ending is a surprise, but, unfortunately, it falls apart once you start putting some thought into it.

"So Dead My Love" by Harry Whittington, 1953 - This is the only full novel in the collection though it was a relatively short one. This was quite an enjoyable read. The story is set in a small town in the South, featuring a man who grew up there but then left to become a private investigator in New York. When he's called back to his roots, he must locate a missing person while avoiding the old feuds and power politics that caused him to leave in the first place. This was probably the most entertaining read in the collection. I couldn't wait to see what the protagonist was going to uncover next in this small town. All the characters and their relationships were well explained, and by the end of the story I was able to completely understand how the hero felt about the place he grew up in.

All in all, this was a very appealing collection. I hadn't read much of the genre before this anthology, but now I have a few more authors that I think I will be looking up to read more of. Recommended.

Mystery & Thrillers Books