Bücher veröffentlicht von Stark House Press

THE UNFINISHED CRIME Andrew Branscombe has been courting Hilda Patrell in his old-fashioned, priggish way.  He doesn’t realize that, though separated from her husband, she is still married.  So when Charles Patrell returns and begins to interfere with his plans, Andrew accidentally kills him in a fit of rage and fear.  At first panicked, his terror turns to exhilaration as he realizes that he can get away with the deed.  All he has to do is keep everyone from the truth. First there is his sister Eva, who is trusting enough to believe everything he tells her.  And there is Hilda and her thirteen-year-old daughter, Coralie, Charles’s daughter.  And Charles’s old friend, Vincent Colton, who shows up looking him.  And Charles’s young live-in girlfriend, Blanche, who must be dealt with.  And of course there’s Jerry, who unfortunately appears at exactly the wrong moment, but ends up helping him get rid of the body—and now won’t go away.  Fortunately for Andrew he is up to the task—daring and clever fellow that he is—because a lesser man would surely be caught.        THE GIRL WHO HAD TO DIE “I’m going to be murdered,” she said in her muffled, sad little voice.  Jocelyn is only nineteen but is convinced that she is going to die.  She meets John Killian on a cruise ship heading back to New York.  And when later than night she falls over the rail and into the ocean, it looks like her prediction had come true.  Imagine Killian’s surprise when the rescued Jocelyn insists that he was the one who had pushed her. She’s poison, he thought. She can’t help that, anymore than a rattlesnake can help it.  But you have to get away from her.  When they dock, Jocelyn convinces Killian to accompany her to the Bells for a visit.  She’s claims that she is in love with Killian, and will keep his secret.  And then one of the passengers, Elly L’O, and the ship’s purser, Chauverney, also show up at the Bells, followed by Angelo, who had been their ship’s waiter.  Each one seems to have a connection to Jocelyn—even Mr. and Mrs. Bell--and it soon becomes clear to Killian that they are bonds of hate.  But Jocelyn claims innocence.  Is he being groomed to be her next victim—or her murderer?

THE SUN WORSHIPPERS Gamage is on his way to Thebes, the Southern California desert town that Colonel Martinka built-up with his date plantations. Now the eccentric Colonel is building a pyramid in the desert and the land boom is ready to begin. Gamage is an ex-newspaperman-turned-film-writer who’s burned a few bridges in Hollywood. He’s been hired to write Martinka’s story for the family and prepare the world for the coming land grab. How was he to know that Ginny would be there, married to the Colonel’s son Frank. He thought he’d seen the last of her in Europe, the night she ran out on him. How could he know he’d meet Conny, who would become his Girl Friday, and perhaps something more. And how could he know he would find respect for the old recluse himself, trapped behind the layers of family fear and fabrication. Thebes is waiting like a desert mirage and Gamage is on his way to find it—and himself. YELLOWLEG Yellowleg rides into town with Turk and his sidekick Billy. He’s got a bullet in his shoulder that needs tending—he can barely shoot straight. But Yellowleg carries more than a bullet—he’s got the scars from a scalping he received from a drunken Confederate soldier, and nothing but hate in his heart. Turk and Billy are there to rob the local bank but another group beats them to it, and that’s when Yellowleg accidentally kills a young boy thanks to his bum shooting arm. Now, filled with guilt, Yellowleg is on a journey through Apache country with the beautiful widow, Kit, who is determined to bury her son next to his father. Turk and Billy have other plans. Turk wants the bank money. Billy wants the widow. And Yellowleg still wants his revenge. It’s going to be a long, hard ride.  

LIZ Liz Allen isn’t going to take it anymore. Men have been trying to victimize her all her young life. But that ends when the fat local sheriff strips her and whips her alone in a cell. It ends with a dead sheriff and Liz on the run. She soon finds Gunson, a pretty-boy hood, and together they create their own little crime spree. But you don’t turn your back on Liz for long, and Gunson soon discovers that he’s as expendable as the next guy—who turns out to be a hood named Lew Barker. Trouble is, they all figure they know more than Liz. They all figure they’re more ruthless than a woman. They know the score. But they all learn the hard way—Liz makes it on her terms, and she’s got nothing to lose. SYNDICATE GIRL Jackson City is owned by the Syndicate. Everyone knows it. Step out of line, you get a bullet courtesy of Zito’s men. It’s Captain Marcy Lewis’s job to keep it that way. But now District Attorney Mal Waters has decided to step in and do something about it. And he’s got the city’s only respectable newspaper behind him. But Waters is up against the men who put him in office, the men in Zito’s pocket. He’s also up against his fiancé, who has her own plans and doesn’t want him rocking the boat. Zito and the Syndicate have got all the aces in this game, and all Waters has got is his determination. They’ve framed him, and they’ve humiliated him. Then he meets Mary Lister, the syndicate’s girl, and he sees a way out….

 KITTEN WITH A WHIP You could always blame it on the heat… David Patton wakes to a real San Diego scorcher. His wife Virginia and daughter Katie are visiting her mother in San Francisco, giving him a wild sense of freedom for the weekend. What he doesn’t expect this overheated morning is a teenage runaway who has broken into his house while he is sleeping. Jody Drew is just 17 but is very aware of her power over David as he tries to be the gentleman and help her out. Jody doesn’t want David’s help—she wants David. She wants him, she wants his home, she wants to kick back at life. And she knows just what buttons to push to keep one step ahead of him. Jody’s got the whip. David is headed for a weekend in Hell.  KISS HER GOODBYE The first time it happens they are living in Oregon. She hits a kid with a rake when he tries to get fresh with her. The next time is in Bakersfield. A man must have grabbed her, because when Ed gets home, Emily has blood on her, but it isn’t hers. Now they’re on the run. All Ed wants to do is settle down. But it isn’t easy when you’ve got a sister that is mentally a child, with a body that is all woman. Ed is the only family Emily has. Headed East, looking for a new home, they stop in Jimmock, and that’s when they meet Tubbs, a large man with an even larger heart…and Marge, who is looking for something, too. And Cory, who is just looking for trouble.    

RAPTURE ALLEY No one needs Lora. Ken claims to love her, but he is married to Lora's wheelchair-ridden sister, Chris, and he doesn't really need her. And all Lora wants is to be needed. Lora feels alone, defeated by herself. Then Arty comes along. He helps her fill this hole in her heart with something better than love—escape. Through him she meets Boyd, the nightclub singer, with his own brand of addicting salvation. Soon drugs become Lora's cushion against a hurtful world. They allow her to float above her problems. But they can't keep the pain away forever. And when Lora's own needs cause her world to come crashing down around her, all the drugs in the world can't save her.  WINTER GIRL “An hour after I met Lu Ann again that winter, I knew I was headed for deep, serious trouble. Only I had no idea how deep, how serious...” When Calder Fenton first saw Lu Ann that day at her rich daddy’s hunting field, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. He’d seen her every year growing up, but she’d never looked like this before. Soon, he’s sitting in her jeep, being taunted by her, trying to figure her out. Lu Ann is only looking for thrills, and doesn’t care that Calder has problems of his own—like being dirt poor, like having a pa who drinks and whores around town. But Calder likes what he sees, and he wants more. Pretty soon, he’s got so much Lu Ann he doesn’t know what to do with himself. And that is just the beginning of his troubles.  STRICTLY FOR THE BOYS Amy can’t help the way the boys look at her. It isn’t her fault. But Burt doesn’t see it that way. He is convinced that Amy is cheating on him and as her husband, he has a right to knock some sense into her. Burt doesn’t mean to hurt her, he just can’t control himself. So when Amy runs back to her mother, she expects a little sympathy. But Stella’s got problems of her own and no time for Amy’s change of heart. She lets her move back home but does everything she can to get Amy and Burt back together. Amy takes a new job, and still Burt follows her around, trying to find out who the new man in her life must be. And this time he’s right—this time there’s Terry, and a new chance at love. But for Burt, Amy belongs to him and him alone, and he will kill any man that gets in his way.

DEAD DOLLS DON’T TALK They didn’t have a body, but all the evidence proves to the jury that Harry L. Cotton murdered Bonnie Deering on her husband’s yacht. Doc Hart is so sure, he even persuades the one holdout on the jury to change her vote. After the trial is over, Hart picks up a young lady outside the courthouse and allows himself to be seduced by her, only to find himself in bed with Cotton’s wife. That’s when he realizes a mistake has been made. Because though Peggy Cotton has no intention of helping her cheating husband escape the death penalty, she has seen Bonnie alive and well. Hart leaves the room but when he returns he finds Peggy murdered. That’s when Hart learns just what it feels like to be an innocent man accused of a crime he didn’t commit—with almost no time at all to find the living Bonnie to prove otherwise! HUNT THE KILLER Framed by someone named Senor Peso, Charlie White has been sitting in Raiford Prison for the past four years, waiting to see who would be there for him when he got out—his faithful wife Beth, or his Cuban mistress Zo. If Beth is there, he promises himself to go straight. If Zo, well, he’d deal with that when it happened. And, of course, it is Zo who shows up, with a fast car, a bottle of rum and a rented cabin. Later that evening, he finds the letter from Beth, asking him to come to her. But before he can leave, someone crashes their little love nest, smashing him over the head—and shooting Zo! Before Charlie can get used to freedom, he is on the lam, framed for the murder of Zo, with no where else to go but back to the arms of Beth. But who would want to kill Zo? And where—and who--is Senor Peso? TOO HOT TO HOLD If only Lew Dix hadn’t picked Linda Lou to carry the payoff money, none of this would be happening and the cab driver would still be alive. It starts when Linda Lou takes the plane from Chicago to New York as planned. It’s raining when she gets there and she’s already plenty nervous with this pretty package in her hands. She manages to get a taxi but she stuffs the package between the seat cushions just to be extra careful. How is she to know that the big man who opens the cab door with his hand in his pocket isn’t carrying a gun, ready to blast her and grab the money? But all Jim Brady wants is a cab. When he opens the door, Linda bolts, leaving the package behind--and setting off a series of events that begins with murder and ends with worse. 

FELONY TANK “You’re just a youngster. What’re you doing in here?”“I’m old enough.”“Old enough for what?”“Old enough to take care of myself”“Kid, no one’s that old.” Doug is only seventeen when he hits town. He’s been on the run for awhile, and thinks he’s got it all figured out. But when he’s caught robbing a store, he finds that nothing has prepared him for the felony tank. Lying about his age, he is jailed with the adults, and here he meets Carl, the aging lifer with a steady supply of candy bars; Armando, who cuts first and talks later; Pesco, the big wheel from California; and Billy and his friend Agnes, two small-time hoods with big plans for escape…

THE PERSIAN CAT The aftermath of the war has left Gil Denby a cynical shell. So when Pinel comes to him with a mission to bring a Nazi traitor to justice, his only question is, “How much will it pay?” When he finds out that it involves Edmund Marlan, corrupt financier, it also becomes personal. And the job couldn’t be simpler. All he has to do is travel to Teheran, get close to Marlan, then convince the man’s mistress, Claire Fayne, to board a plane with him for Cairo, where she will be tried for the betrayal of her husband as a Nazi sympathizer. Simple as hell.   Helping Denby on his mission is young Gaby, a war child with worldly ways. Pursuing him is Berkeley, a British agent of questionable loyalties. And protecting the interests of Marlan are Grayle and Drexel, two dedicated young men who take their job very seriously. All Denby has with him is a little china cat to let his Teheran contact know he’s one of the good guys. But the more he gets to know Claire Fayne, the more he begins to question just where his loyalties lie…

THE YELLOW CLAW Writer Henry Leroux’s receives a late-night visitor, a scantily-clad woman who suddenly dies while Leroux is getting help from the doctor who lives in the flat above. A torn message is found in the dead woman’s hand with the hastily scribbled words, “Mr. King.” Inspector Dunbar is suspicious of Leroux, whose wife is supposedly visiting a friend in Paris—who hasn’t seen her in months. Could this be a lover’s tryst gone wrong? And what of Leroux’s butler, Soames, who has suddenly disappeared? Famed Parisian detective, Gaston Max, is called in, but even Max finds the case particularly baffling. One thing for certain—drugs are involved, and probably opium. The elusive trail leads him to the genial Mr. Gianapolis and the Cave of the Golden Dragon, where addicts seek the solace of the pipe, and where the beautiful and imperious Mahâra holds sway. But who is the elusive Mr. King, whose hand reaches out to bring death—as the yellow claw? THE GOLDEN SCORPION Dr. Keppel Stuart is awakened in the night and sees a cowled figured outside his window. Convinced the next morning that this had all been a dream, he has no idea that he has come under the surveillance of a nefarious Chinaman, the Scorpion, and his followers. Dr. Stuart is an expert on toxicology, but is no match for the feminine whiles of Mlle. Dorian, known to detective Gaston Max as Zâra el-Khalâ, “Flower of the Desert.” Max has followed her group from Paris to London, disguised and thought dead by the police. But Max is very much alive, and this time “the foremost criminal investigator in Europe” is on the trail of a mastermind so cunning it takes all of Max’s resources to ferret him out. With the help of Dr. Stuart and Inspector Dunbar, Max pursues Zâra and her mysterious servant, Chunda Lal, little knowing that their master has plans that include the subjugation of the Western World!

JACK O’JUDGMENT Colonel Dan Boundary runs a very efficient gang of London blackmailers. They find a business owner’s weakness—clandestine lover letters, a compromised situation--and demand to buy him out for a pittance. It’s all quite legal—money changes hands, a business moves from one name to another. And Boundary’s gang grows a little bit richer. Pinto Silva, Swell Crewe and Lollie Marsh--Boundary’s trusted accomplices--do their job well. Until the death of gang member Snow Gregory from an apparent drug overdose puts them in the spotlight. Until the disappearance of Boundary’s trusted partner, Solomon White, sparks the interest of Stafford King of Scotland Yard. And that’s when the mysterious Jack o’Judgment first makes his appearance, interrupting a Boundary meeting with fearless bravado. Who could this masked character be? A friend to the law, or a new foe, even more lawless than the Boundary Gang?   CAPTAINS OF SOULS Ambrose Sault has lived a rough life. He himself admits to being in a Caledonia jail for murder when he was rescued years ago by his partner, Moropulos. But inside him resides the gentle soul of a poet and philosopher. This is what draws to him the disparate lives of Christina Colebrook, cynical invalid of his landlady, and Beryl Merville, the esteemed doctor’s daughter, now under the sway of the ruthless Jan Steppe. Moropulos works for Steppe, and so too the young cad, Ronald Morelle. Steppe’s group have been manipulating the market, compromising Dr. Merville. When Christina’s sister Evie comes to the dishonorable attention of Ronnie, their lives intersect, and soon Beryl is pulled into the compromise. Will Evie allow her reputation to be ruined? Can Sault save Beryl from the callous intentions of both Steppe and Morelle? And whose life will become forfeit when a clash of wills creates murder?

SPEAK OF THE DEVIL When Karen Peterson first meets Mr. Fernandez on the cruise ship, he is so charming.  Still, when he offers her a job as hostess at his new island hotel, she accepts with a great deal of reluctance.  After all, charm can hide a multitude of flaws.  And when she meets her predecessor, the very young and headstrong Cecily, Miss Peterson is sure that she seems more than a mere employee.  Even the guests have their secrets—Mrs. Fish tells her that she is looking for her husband’s murderer at the hotel. But that first night Cecily surprises them all by announcing that she has just killed a man who had attacked her in Mr. Fernandez’s room.  Later, one of the clerks tells Miss Peterson that he had seen the devil that night, stalking the hotel halls.  Then Mrs. Fish shows Karen a photo of her dead husband—who looks like the devil himself!  But nothing prepares Miss Peterson for murder, and that, of course, is just what comes next. THE OBSTINATE MURDERER Emilia Swan calls Van Cleef at his club and begs him to come to her aid.  Someone is blackmailing her.  Though he’d rather have another drink, he agrees to visit her.  But before he can leave he runs into the son of an old friend.  Russell Blackman, a supercilious young man with a gifted intellect, has the unfortunate habit of alienating everyone around him.  But he has always idolized Van Cleef, and agrees to drive him to Emilia’s country home if he can tag along. When they arrive, they walk into a house filled with tension.  Since the death of her husband—some say suicide—Emilia has let out rooms in her house.  Staying with her are Major Bramwell, an irascible old gent who demands that they leave immediately; Annie and Harry Downes, neither of whom seem to like their hostess one bit; and Lizzy Carroll, a pale, sharp-featured girl who drives the Major to distraction with her loud music.  That night Harry is stricken with a serious stomach illness.  Russell thinks he’s been poisoned, but no one takes him seriously.  The next night, Van Cleef himself is nearly poisoned.  There is certainly more going on than mere blackmail, but will Van Cleef live long enough to figure out what it is?   

PAPERBACK CONFIDENTIAL: Crime Writers of the Paperback Era by Brian Ritt These are the authors who turned out the dark noirs and hardboiled thrillers, private detective puzzles and psychological suspense, police procedurals and backwood melodramas, stories of passion… and cold-blooded murder. 132 profiles of the men and women who wrote the books that became the backbone of the Pulp and Paperback Era from the 1930s through the 1960s. Here you will find information on the acknowledged masters like Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain and Cornell Woolrich….and the rack mainstays like Gil Brewer, Brett Halliday, Day Keene and Charles Williams…plus the more obscure, ripe for rediscovery, like Malcolm Braly, Elisabeth Sanxay Holding, Ennis Willie and Douglas Sanderson. Each profile contains details about the author's life and explores key works, with special attention paid to series characters. Also covered are screenplay and teleplay work, as well as movies based on the authors' stories. Paperback Confidential also includes a handy PseudoDex with all the various names these authors wrote under, and a section for each author with further recommendations for the reader’s consideration. 

“California Cornerstone” began as a semi-weekly column in The Daily Democrat in Woodland, California, where Bill Shepard worked as a reporter in the 1960’s. In these vignettes, Bill wrote about the early California settlers in the 1800’s, before and after the Gold Rush. Here are the stories of the miners and the Native Americans, the saloon gals and prostitutes, the financiers and the laborers; the bandits and claim jumpers, the pioneers and the proprietors, the con artists and entrepreneurs. They came on horseback, by ship, overland in wagons. They came to stake their claim in paradise. For California is rich in tales, each small town a nugget of history--each ghost town a sad reminder of sudden success and faded glory. These are the cornerstones of California history.

BAT WING Occult detective Paul Harley is presented with his toughest case when he is asked to investigate a case of Voodoo magic at an estate in Surrey. He and his partner, Malcolm Knox, are contacted by wealthy land baron, Colonel Menendez, who is convinced that his life is in peril. He is certain that an Obeah threat has followed him from Cuba when a bat wing is found nailed to his door. When Harley and Knox arrive at Cray’s Folly they find a household filled with vague menace. Mendendez’s cousin, Madame de Stämer, is putting on a brave front, but her companion, Val Beverley, knows that someone has been wandering the halls at night. And why does their neighbor, Colin Camber, hate the Colonel so much? Is there any significance in their shared ties to Voodoo? And can Harley find out what is behind these threats before this case ends in murder? FIRE-TONGUE Paul Harley is takes on a new client when Sir Charles Abingdon, a retired bone specialist, appears at his door one evening. Abingdon believes his life to be in danger and asks for Harley’s aid. He believes he is being followed though he can get no clear look at his pursuer. A manuscript of his has gone missing, and he has been recently attacked in the street. He asks Harley to dine with him that night and upon arriving, Harley senses an atmosphere of danger but can pick up nothing specific. Sir Charles further confesses that he is distressed by the attentions a distinguished Persian gentleman has been showing his daughter, Phyllis Abingdon. And now, as they sit to dinner, Sir Charles is gripped by a sudden seizure, rasping out the words, “Fire-Tongue….Nicol Brinn,” before collapsing into his chair. Harley discovers all too soon that Sir Charles’ sudden death isn’t from natural causes, and that a larger mystery looms over them all.