Forgotten Books Not Yet Read

A couple of years ago I did a post on some forgotten books I had recently bought but not yet read. Lacking any other subject for a blog post this week, I thought I would try that again. This time I am featuring recent reprints or omnibus editions of older books.

Death Brings a Storke / 
Cradled in Fear  by Anita Boutell

From the back of the book....
In not at the birth but not long after the death is Dr. Archibald "Archie" Storke, when during a pleasant breakfast one morning with his wife Janey he receives a urgent call from the housekeeper at Whiteleaves,  home of Andrew Herrick, informing him that her employer has been discovered dead in his sitting room, with a ghastly gunshot wound to his head. It is thought Herrick committed suicide, but the doctor is doubtful... A classic tale of detection, Death Brings a Storke (1938) was the first published crime novel by Anita Boutell, an American expatriate chosen by mystery fiction scholar Howard Haycraft in his book Murder for Pleasure (1941) as one if the rising stars of British manners mystery, and has now been reprinted for the first time in nearly eighty years.

In Cradled in Fear. . . After a whirlwind courtship of three weeks, young Molly Nash, mostly alone in the world, married Sheridan "Sherry" Prescott. Now she has traveled with her handsome new husband to the old family mansion at Prescott's Point, Connecticut, a gloomy Victorian edifice clinging to a forbidding cliff overlooking Long Island Sound. But what did Molly really know about Sherry, and just what grim mysteries are hidden behind the walls of the house at Prescott's Point? What Molly does not know could be the death of her. . . .

Cradled in Fear was Anita Boutell's fourth and final crime novel and her only one set in the United States.

In 2014, I reviewed one of Boutell's other two books, Death has a Past. I was thrilled to discover this double volume, with a very detailed introduction, including biographical information, by Curtis Evans. See the post at The Passing Tramp about this book and lots more information about the author.

Poor Poor Ophelia  by Carolyn Weston

Next up is the book that was the basis for the pilot episode of the TV series, The Streets of San Francisco. Poor, Poor Ophelia was the first book in a brief series by Carolyn Weston. The series featured a pair of homicide detectives but in the books they were based in Santa Monica, California. Brash Books has brought these novels back into print. 

Just about a year ago I reviewed the second book in that series, Susannah Screaming. Now I plan to read this book and then re-watch the pilot of The Streets of San Francisco. We are big fans of this show. We have watched all the episodes of the first four seasons over the past year or so.

See this detailed post at the Rap Sheet, and the review at Col's Criminal Library.



David Goodis: Five Noir Novels of the 1940s and 50s  Edited by Robert Polito

Last but far from least is this omnibus of novels, which includes Dark Passage, Nightfall, The Burglar, The Moon in the Gutter, and Street of No Return.

I purchased this book because I have been wanting to read Dark Passage for years... and then watch the movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Every time I look for a copy, everything I find is more expensive than I want to pay. Including this volume. What I really wanted was a vintage paperback, but those were even more expensive. So I finally gave in and now I will have access to four other novels by Goodis. Books that gather several novels in one book are not my favorites because they are heavy and unwieldy to read, but I will admit that the Library of America series of books are very nicely done.

Check out these very interesting posts on this volume:
At Criminal Element
Reviewed by Martin Walker at Mystery*File

The Last Good Place: Robin Burcell

Summary at the publisher's web site:

Sgt. Al Krug and his younger, college-educated partner Casey Kellog are investigating a string of strangulation killings when another victim is found at the Presidio…but a surprising, violent incident at the crime scene makes them wonder if everything is what it seems. The two mis-matched cops, with sharply conflicting approaches to detective work, are under intense pressure to get results. It’s a race-against-the-clock investigation that propels them into the deadly intersection of politics, real estate, media and vice… the fertile, fog-shrouded killing field of a ruthless murderer.

This book is a continuation of a police procedural series from the 1970s, written by Carolyn Weston, which formed the basis for the TV series The Streets of San Francisco. When Brash Books acquired all the rights to Weston’s books from her heirs, they also decided to continue the series and they chose Robin Burcell to write it for them.

The original series was set in Santa Monica, California. I read the 2nd book in that series, Susannah Screaming. In my review, I described the two police officers:

Casey Kellog and Al Krug are two homicide detectives working for the Santa Monica Police Department. Kellog is young and has a college education; Krug is older, cranky, and curmudgeonly... and very resistant to new ideas.

The first book in the series, Poor, Poor Ophelia, was the basis for the pilot of the TV series. Both the book and the TV series were released in 1972. In the TV series, the older cop, Lieutenant Mike Stone (played by Karl Malden), is a kinder and gentler character, a mentor to his younger partner; the younger cop, Steve Keller (played by Michael Douglas), is much like the character in the book, headstrong and brash but intelligent.

As Burcell says in J. Kingston Pierce's excellent article and interview at Kirkus Reviews, this novel is not so much a continuation of the original series by Carolyn Weston as a complete reboot. The route to this new series is circuitous due to the fact that it is drawing on both Weston's books and the TV series.

In the new series, Burcell keeps the names and general relationship of the cops from Carolyn Weston's books. She bases the story in San Francisco like the TV series, but she has updated the story to the present day. It works very well, and the story is accessible to readers who have no familiarity with either Weston's books or the TV series.

A quote from the interview at Kirkus Reviews, re the character of Al Krug in The Last Good Place:

In the end, I made the command decision to bring in the best of both worlds. I took the qualities of Krug that I could live with (grizzled, old-school cop, doesn’t always operate by the books, but knows when it is necessary to do so), then added a dash of Karl Malden and ended up with the modern-day Krug from my book.

Our family are great fans of The Streets of San Francisco and have watched the first two seasons of that show over the last couple of years. As we began watching the shows, we noticed the credit given to Carolyn Weston on each episode, but I never followed up until I noticed that Brash Books was putting out new editions of her books. And I was very interested to hear of a new continuation novel coming out.

The biggest draw that this novel has for me is the setting and the connection to the TV show. But as I have already mentioned, it is a fine police procedural in its own right, and readers don't need to have any knowledge of either the prior series or the TV show.

Other aspects of the book that I like:

• Burcell does a great job of portraying San Francisco, and that only makes sense as she has lived in the area and has a previous series set in that city.
• Burcell sticks with the framework used in both Weston's series and the TV show, where we follow the investigation but also get detailed glimpses of the other participants in the story: neighbors, co-workers, investigative reporters. This makes for a complex story with unexpected twists, especially near the end.
• The story has a good pace without feeling rushed. 

I do hope Burcell continues with this new version of the series. I would like to see her flesh out the characters of Krug and Kellog more.

I will end with a few quotes from other authors:

"Robin Burcell, both a writing and law enforcement veteran, takes hold of novelist Carolyn Weston's baton to create a twisty mystery worthy of the iconic team's homicide investigation. The streets of San Francisco come alive in this new installment, and I hope that there are more to come. A definite winner!"
 -- Naomi Hirahara, Edgar Award winning author of Murder on Bamboo Lane

"Robin Burcell has expertly updated the Krug & Kellogg series for old and new readers alike. She knows her stuff and puts it to good use in this entertaining and authentic police procedural,"
 -- Alafair Burke- New York Times Bestselling Author of All Day and a Night.

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Publisher:   Brash Books, 2015
Length:      289 pages
Format:      e-book
Series:       Casey Kellog and Al Krug
Setting:      San Francisco, California
Genre:       Police Procedural
Source:      Provided by the publisher for review via NetGalley

Susannah Screaming: Carolyn Weston

Casey Kellog and Al Krug are two homicide detectives working for the Santa Monica Police Department. Kellog is young and has a college education; Krug is older, cranky, and curmudgeonly... and very resistant to new ideas.  Their partnership has its ups and downs. Their latest case involves a hit-and-run death and centers around two witnesses to the crime, whose testimony does not agree. Paul Rees, new to town, was doing his laundry in an all-night laundromat; Susannah Roche is an actress and a free spirit.

This book was published in 1975 and was the second in a three book series about Kellog and Krug. The first book, Poor, Poor Ophelia, was published in 1972 and a new TV series, The Streets of San Francisco, was based on that book. The pilot for the series came out in 1972 also.

I always enjoy a police procedural, but this story also includes a closer look at the witnesses and how the crime affects their lives. That same scenario is also often used in The Streets of San Francisco episodes. We have watched episodes from the first two seasons of that show over the last two years, so I have seen a lot of them.

Kellog is an idealistic policeman. His parents wanted him to be a lawyer, but he feels his job is important. On the other hand, it is not glamorous.

Kellogg is waiting in the squad room, dealing with paperwork:

The clock on the squad-room wall said eleven-thirty. He yawned to cover his unconscious groan. Another hour to go yet, at least, before he could possibly finish typing the day’s reports. They never told you at the Academy how much time you’d spend parked in front of typewriters. How many hours you’d waste waiting for developments. Or how many girls you’d lose because of the damned waiting.

The depiction of Santa Monica in the 70's felt realistic. Some reviewers noted that the story was dated. It does reflect the time it was written in, and I find that charming, not irritating. Of course I was around in the 70's, and maybe that is the difference. I often read books from previous decades to learn (or remember) what those times were like. Or to hear about them from a different perspective or point of view.

All in all, this book was a pleasant read and I will be following up with the other two in the series. Brash Books is releasing new editions of all three books.

Other resources:

• Col's review at Col's Criminal Library
• J. Kingston Pierce at the Rap Sheet covers the first novel and the pilot of The Streets of San Francisco.

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Publisher:   Brash Books, 2015 (orig. pub. Jan. 1, 1975)
Length:      224 pages
Format:      e-book
Series:       Casey Kellog and Al Krug, #2
Setting:      Santa Monica, California
Genre:        Police Procedural
Source:      Provided by the publisher for review via NetGalley

New (to me) Authors: April through June 2015

Today I am joining in on the meme for the best new-to-me crime fiction authors at Mysteries in Paradise. This meme runs at the end of each quarter. Check out other posts for this quarter.

This quarter I have read books by seven authors that I have never read before.

White Heat by M. J. McGrath
Double Indemnity by James M. Cain
Tainted by Ross Pennie
The Case of the Dotty Dowager by Cathy Ace
The Ways of the World by Robert Goddard
See Also Murder by Larry D. Sweazy
Susannah Screaming by Carolyn Weston

I have reviewed all of these book except for The Ways of the World and Susannah Screaming. I will be reviewing both books soon.

Robert Goddard has written over twenty mystery thrillers. They cover various periods in history. Per the author's website: "What they all have in common is the infinite capacity for intrigue and conspiracy in human nature - and the lengths to which some at least will go to combat them."

Publisher's Weekly describes The Ways of the World:

The Paris peace talks of 1919 provide the backdrop for Edgar-winner Goddard’s enjoyable first in a trilogy featuring James “Max” Maxted, “late of the Royal Flying Corps.” When Max’s father, aging diplomat Henry Maxted, is found dead outside his mistress’s Montparnasse apartment building, the police and some members of the British delegation maintain Henry simply fell from the roof or jumped. Yet the doggedly curious Max and his sidekick—former plane mechanic Sam Twentyman—spot a pattern of suspicious circumstances indicating otherwise.

Per Brash Books, Carolyn Weston is the author of the three, ground-breaking police procedurals that became the hit TV series The Streets of San Francisco. Susannah Screaming was the second book in that series. As a fan of the TV show starring Karl Malden and Michael Douglas, I was eager to give the books a try. Brash Books is releasing new editions of all three books.