Steranko's G-8 Covers (1969-70)

 

Forgotten Books: Let Them Eat Bullets by Howard Shoenfeld

I think this is one of the coolest titles ever. Wish I'd thought of it. Anyway, I acquired this book long, long ago and just got around to reading it. It started out great! Here's a passage from the first chapter:

     "Supposing I do it," I said. "What happens if I get a tail?"

     "The deal's off," Guitierrez said.

     "I could shake him."

     "No dice. He'd know it was done, and I don't want that."

     I started to ask him why when I saw the ten one-hundred-dollar bills stacked on my desk. There was something about that money that interested me strangely.

     I knew what it was. I wanted it.

The wise guy patter holds up well for the first few chapters, and we meet P.I. Jerry Nelson's twin brother Danny, a high-minded sociology professor. Jerry asks Danny to impersonate him to ditch the tail. Of course Jerry quickly stumbles across a murder, and a couple of potentially deadly dames, and the story holds a lot of promise.

Along the way, there are some nice scenes, and a few amusing sequences with brother Danny, but the promise of the book isn't quite kept. Somewhere in the middle, the prose loses its sparkle and the story slows down. Worst of all, no one eats bullets. With a title like that, I expect some blazing shoutouts, or at least one bad guy sent to hell with a bellyful of lead. Doesn't happen.

In the end, as you'd expect, Danny catches the bad guy and traipses off with one of the babes. It's not unsatisfying. It just isn't great.

As usual, Patti Abbott's pattinase is your gateway to the gala event known as Forgotten Books.

Frazetta does Flashman

1973

1974

La Ronde Part 7: Mirror Image by Eric Beetner

Yikes! It's Week 7 of Patti Abbott's La Ronde - a round-robin tale of jealousy, envy, revenge, murder, venality and doggie-love. This time, Eric Beetner digs up attorney Adam Rubenstein's bloody past in a story called "Mirror Image." Read it if you dare. Click HERE!

Catch up with these links:

Part 1: The Dish Ran Away With the Spoon by Patti Abbott
Part 2: Blinded by the Brilliance of his Own Reflection by Dana King
Part 3: Provocateur by K.A. Laity
Part 4: Enter the Fat Lady by Sandra Seamans
Part 5: It's a Dog's Life by Rob Kitchin   

Part 6: The Lesser Evil by Evan Lewis

Next week: Part 8 from Nigel Bird, with Kassandra Kelly and Graham Powell on deck.

Just Looking: Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe - A Centennial Celebration (1988)

A Double Shot of Prosch

 

Here's great news.

Not only is Richard Prosch's blog Meridian Bridge back in business after a five-week hiatus, but he has a fine new crime tale called "Pretending" now playing over at BEAT to a PULP.

Check him out. Twice. And let's hope he's back to stay!

Art Gallery: The Spider - Reign of the Vampire King (1992)

The Lowdown on Charles Willeford

Portland crime writer Doug Levin has a fine new article on crime writer Charles Willeford on the Mulholland Books site. To check out "Charles Willeford's Portrait of the Artist as a Used Car Salesman," click HERE.

But before you go, take a gander at some of Willeford's many books: