Five Years of Blogging

Today I am celebrating the fifth anniversary of my first blog post.

In the last year I have blogged less but enjoyed it just as much as ever. I am basing this mainly on numbers of posts; my average number of posts on the blog in 2016 was 8 a month. In 2015 I posted on the average 11 posts a month. I have noticed that my posts are longer now, more verbose, even though one of my goals is to cut down on the length of the posts. But I will continue blogging as long as I enjoy writing up my thoughts on the books, along with including some background on the authors.

What do I like best about blogging?

• The community of book bloggers. It is wonderful to be able to learn from others who share my love for books and reading. 
• The process of organizing and writing down my thoughts about the books I read. 
• Reminders of authors I need to check out or get reacquainted with.
• Discovering new authors. I thought I knew a lot about older mystery novels (pre-1960's) before I started blogging, but I am constantly amazed at how much more there is to learn.

Two vintage authors that I just read about recently were Christopher Bush (at Vintage Pop Fictions) and Roy Vickers, specifically The Department of Dead Ends (at Tip the Wink).

And I will end with some lovely books covers of books I hope to read this year.

                                      Reviewed at The Thrilling Detective.

                                                  Reviewed at Clothes in Books.

                                                 Reviewed at The Dusty Bookcase.

                                      In the Spotlight at Confessions of a Mystery Novelist...

Grifters & Swindlers: edited by Cynthia Manson

Grifters & Swindlers is a collection of 17 short stories taken from Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. The stories all center on tricksters and con artists who are plotting to cheat someone of their money or valuables. Like most short story collections, there were several stories I liked a lot, some stories that seemed predictable, and the rest were in between.

All of the stories were well worth reading. My favorites in the collection:

The selection by William Campbell Gault, "The Cackle Bladder", was very close to the final con in the movie The Sting, except it had a different twist. Of course, Gault wrote his story in 1950, years before The Sting was produced.

This is what Publisher's Weekly had to say about this story:

William Campbell Gault's 1950 "The Cackle Bladder'" will appeal to readers who relished the central setup of the 1973 movie, The Sting , except that Gault's description of the phony betting parlor, the characters and the scam are even more vivid.

David Morrell's story, "The Partnership", concerns two partners in a contracting firm who can't get along and scheme to get rid of each other. I liked this one because the ending was truly surprising and entertaining.

My absolute favorite story in the book was by Robert Halsted. As "Hostile Takeover" opens, the con artist narrator and Joy Sue have recently escaped from her home town. She is a country girl with little formal education; they form a partnership of sorts. I liked that the story kept me off balance; I could not figure out where it was going or who was up to what. I loved the way the story unfolds and the ending.

A few of the stories in the book were between 20 and 30 pages. Donald Westlake's story,  "Just the Lady We're Looking For", was a very short one at less than 7 pages. It was different and had a nice twist.

The other stories in the collection are:

• "The Frightening Frammis" by Jim Thompson 
• "Passing for Love" by Bill Crenshaw 
• "One of the Oldest Con Games" by Robert L. Fish 
• "How to Trap a Crook'' by Julian Symons 
• "The Man Who Flim-flammed Hiwassee County" by William M. Stephens
• "The Big Bunco" by William Bankier 
• "Playing it Cool" by Simon Brett 
• "Thieves' Bazaar'' by W. L. Heath
• "T'ang of the Suffering Dragon" by James Holding 
• "The Western Film Scam" by Francis M. Nevins, Jr. 
• "A Left-handed Profession" by Al Nussbaum
• "The Messenger" by Jacklyn Butler

The only problem I had with this anthology was reading a lot of stories on the same theme in a relatively short period of time. I think I might have enjoyed some of them more if they had been in a mixed bag of stories with no theme, so that I was not expecting the con (or the twist on the con).


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Publisher:   Carroll & Graf, 1993
Length:       287 pages
Format:      Hardcover
Genre:        Mystery, Short Stories
Source:      I purchased this book.

New (to me) Authors, 1st Quarter 2015

At the end of every quarter, Kerrie at Mysteries in Paradise hosts a meme for the best new-to-me crime fiction authors. Check out other posts for this quarter. 

In January, February, and March 2015, I read three authors that were new to me per month. All of the books by new authors that I read were entertaining. And there was a good variety in the settings.

These are the books by new authors that I read this quarter:

The 39 Steps by John Buchan
Villain by Shuichi Yoshida
The Calling by Inger Ash Wolfe
Cookie's Case by Andy Siegel
Murder in the Raw by William Campbell Gault
Too Late to Die by Bill Crider
A Killing at Cotton Hill by Terry Shames
The Hanging Shed by Gordon Ferris
Death Was the Other Woman by Linda L. Richards

From this list, these two books made the most impression on me this quarter:

Murder in the Raw by William Campbell Gault was the first in a series of novels featuring Brock Callahan, an ex-LA Ram football player, who becomes a private detective in Beverly Hills, California. That novel was first published under the title Ring Around Rosa (which is more descriptive). The cover of my edition describes the book as a hard-boiled classic. This book seemed to have less sex and violence than I had expected in that genre.

Too Late to Die by Bill Crider is the first book in the Sheriff Dan Rhodes series, which now totals 21 books.  Dan Rhodes is up for reelection to the job of Sheriff of Blacklin County, Texas. His jurisdiction covers small towns and rural areas, where everyone knows everyone.

The pacing of the story is slow but steady, until towards the end when the action speeds up. Crider combines good characterization of the Sheriff, and his family, friends and enemies, with an interesting picture of rural Texas. The story is told with dry humor.

Reading in February 2015 and Pick of the Month

I started out the year reading nine books in January. In February I slowed down and read six books. Somewhat intentionally, but partly because work is a bear and my mind needs to rest more at night. Two of the books were non-fiction and four were mystery novels.

Guide to Writing the Mystery Novel by Barbara Gregorich is described thusly at Goodreads: "For those contemplating writing a mystery novel and those who have written one or more but are looking for fresh and invigorating insights into the approach, Guide to Writing the Mystery Novel provides an overall view of how to think like a writer in general and a mystery writer in particular." I have no plans to write a mystery novel but I am interested in the process, so when the author asked me to review the book, I agreed. It was an enlightening read and enjoyable too. Review to come soon.

What Makes this Book So Great by Jo Walton was also enlightening and enjoyable, so it was a good reading month for non-fiction. I love books about books and I have enjoyed reading some of Jo Walton's books. This book gathers a selection of Walton's posts at Tor.com between July 2008 to February 2011. The majority of those posts are about re-reading fantasy novels. But there are some wonderful pieces included here about reading in general. A review will follow (sometime).

These are the mysteries I read this month. Only two of them have been reviewed here. I still have reviews from December and January to catch up on.

Dancing with the Virgins by Stephen Booth

Cookie's Case by Andy Siegel

Murder in the Raw by William Campbell Gault

Too Late to Die by Bill Crider

I had a difficult decision picking a favorite between Murder in the Raw (1955) and Too Late to Die (1986). The two books were written about 30 years apart but there are some parallels between them.

Both books feature male sleuths with few hangups and fairly normal lives. OK, Brock Callahan is a former professional football star and he is setting up as a PI in Beverly Hills, California, but still he is a decent guy trying to make an honest living. The authors do a great job of evoking a sense of place. Too Late to Die features Dan Rhodes, who is up for reelection to the job of Sheriff of Blacklin County, Texas. The action takes in several small towns in that area. Each book is the first in a series and I am eager to continue reading both series. So both of the books will share the honor of Pick of the Month.


The Crime Fiction Pick of the Month meme is hosted at Mysteries in Paradise. You can go HERE to see other posts and choices for favorite crime fiction reads.

Books of 1955: Murder in the Raw by William Campbell Gault

William Campbell Gault started out writing stories for pulp magazines. According to the entry for this author in Paperback Confidential by Brian Ritt, he was writing for the "spicy" pulps and sports pulps in the 1930's and wrote for the detective pulps in the 1940's and 1950's.

Gault's first novel was Don't Cry for Me, published in 1952. It won the Best First Novel Edgar for that year. In 1955, he published Ring Around Rosa, the first in a series of novels featuring Brock Callahan, an ex-LA Ram football player, who becomes a private detective in Beverly Hills, California. That novel was later published under the name Murder in the Raw. The paperback edition I read had that title.

In this first book in the series, Callahan has just started his PI business and still wonders if he has it in him to go back to a year or two more of football. Although he has some contacts with the police in the area, in general they give him a hard time. Brock is doing his best to be an honest detective and stay within the law.

The basic story is that Callahan sets up his business and the first client who walks into his office is Juan Mira, a retired Filipino boxer. Juan wants to hire Callahan to find his missing girlfriend, Rosa Carmona, a dancer in a nightclub. Callahan does not want to take his money; he thinks Juan just wants him to make his girlfriend return to him. Juan talks Callahan into trying to find Rosa and things rapidly get more complicated.

Juan stood about five-four and would now weigh about a hundred and thirty. He wore a neat and creamy tropical weave suit and white buck shoes and a big-brimmed leghorn hat with an extremely colorful band. There are not many Miras in Beverly Hills; Juan was out of his league.

The cover of my edition describes the book as a hard-boiled classic. This book seemed to have less sex and violence than many books in that genre.

Brock often referred to his car as his "flivver." I am familiar with the word but haven't seen it used a lot, in books of any vintage.

My flivver is what is known as the Victoria model and it has really deluxe upholstery in white and green plastic. Tufted and buttoned and with beaded edges, I was so proud of it. 

I opened the door and turned sick.

Somebody had really worked the upholstery over with a knife. It was slashed viciously, both the front and rear seats. It was ruined.

The definition of "flivver" from the Urban Dictionary:

A 1930s (Great Depression era) slang term for a old, dilapidated, and/or otherwise ragged-out automobiles; appears commonly in 1930s literature like Jack Conroy's "The Disinherited."

Many of the books written by Gault feature sports. In addition to football, there is boxing, racing, and golf. In the mid-1960's and the 1970's he turned to juvenile fiction, often featuring sports, which was more lucrative. In the 1980's he returned to the Brock Callahan series and other crime fiction novels.

I enjoyed this book a lot, and I am glad I finally sampled this author's work. I will be looking for more in the Brock Callahan series and also plan to try some of his other mysteries.

Resources:

• Bill Pronzini wrote an overview of Gault's work, which is featured in this post at Mystery*File.
• A post at Davy Crockett's Almanack reviews this book and showcases other covers.

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Publisher:   Charter Books, 1988 (orig. pub. 1955 as Ring Around Rosa)
Length:       191 pages
Format:       Paperback
Series:        Brock Callahan, #1
Setting:       Beverly Hills, California
Genre:        Hard-boiled mystery
Source:       Purchased at Planned Parenthood book sale, 2013.