Hard Case Crime’s latest pulp offering comes from 1958, and from a writer who’d published the book under the pseudonym, Steve Brackeen. Today, however, John Farris is known more for his novels of unrelenting suspense and horror offerings. The book is dressed up in lethally sexy new cover by Robert McGinnis, the absolute master of paperback covers in the 1960s and 1970s. The cover caught my eye first and I knew it was a Hard Case Crime novel.
Most of those reprints are incredibly short by today’s novel standards, and this one is no different. The book begins fairly quickly, showing our hero – Peter Mallory – in his present life with no indication of his violent past. Except for the back cover copy on the book, of course. He’s quickly approached and strong-armed into working for his old boss/mentor, Macy Barr (and yep, the names sound like they come straight from old Perry Mason reruns).
Farris’s tale is simple and straight-forward, though he does throw in the odd curveball or two, like having Macy taking care of an adoptive daughter. But the first-person narrative drives from Point A to Point B without pause or distraction.
Macy’s group was involved with a heist that went sour and ended up killing a family. They died in the fire that resulted in the aftermath. And now the butcher’s bill has come due. Someone is methodically tracking down the men responsible for that heist, and they’re saving Macy Barr for dessert. Macy’s got a houseful of people, none of whom he particularly trusts, and the few he does trust aren’t smart enough to figure out how to stop the unknown killer.
Mallory hits the bricks like a traditional gumshoe and tries to figure out who is behind the murders. He applies pressure indirectly and directly, never trusting anyone – including Macy – more than he needs to.
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