A Review by Sam Wiebe The sanitized, bland, and distinctly un-evocative covers for the newest iteration of Black Lizard inspired me to read a few more old pulp novels recently—the kind that usually feature lurid covers by artists like Robert McGuinness. It’s my small, silent and utterly meaningless pushback against the “downplay the ugly and … Continue reading This is a Wild One: Solomon’s Vineyard by Jonathan Latimer
Tag: Jonathan Latimer
Jonathan Latimer
Pseudonyms include Peter Coffin(1906-1983) "Jonathan Latimer is the best kept secret in noir fiction. One of the great unrecognized masters."-- Max Allan Collins Born in Chicago, Illinois, JONATHAN LATIMER was educated in Arizona and Illinois. He worked as a reporter at the Chicago Herald Examiner for a few years before he started writing fiction. His first book, … Continue reading Jonathan Latimer
Karl Craven
Created by Jonathan Latimer (1906-1983) "From the way her buttocks looked under the black silk dress, I knew she’d be good in bed." -- one of the great opening lines in detective fiction. A true hardboiled classic, Jonathan Latimer's Solomon's Vineyard, featuring hard-as-a-rock St. Louis private eye KARL CRAVEN (at least, that's what he claimed … Continue reading Karl Craven
Mollé Mystery Theatre
Radio Anthology Series (1943-48, NBC) The competition in the forties and fifties between various mystery radio shows was fierce... and confusing. How confusing? All three major networks had crime or detectives shows titled Mystery Theater (or Mystery Theatre). But the first and arguably the best (and the one under discussion here) was NBC's version, the only real … Continue reading Mollé Mystery Theatre
Mystery Playhouse
Radio Anthology Series (1944-46, AFRS) MYSTERY PLAYHOUSE was a radio anthology series of reruns (and possibly a few original) crime dramas. The show aired on the American Forces Network from July 1944 to June 1946, specifically for the purpose of entertaining the troops serving during the war. Because it was mostly repeats, the producers had … Continue reading Mystery Playhouse
Bill Crane
Created by Jonathan Latimer Pseudonyms include Peter Coffin (1906-1983) Jonathan Latimer's first book, 1935's Headed For a Hearse, was one of the first hard-boiled screwball comedies, following closely on the heels of the previous year's The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett. But where Hammett only toyed with the idea, contenting himself with cocktails and banter, … Continue reading Bill Crane
Don Corey, Jed Sills, Chris Devlin & Dr. Carl Hyatt (Checkmate)
Created by Eric Ambler In Checkmate, a fondly-remembered television show from the early sixties, DON COREY and JED SILLS run a very fancy, very expensive, high-tech San Francisco detective agency whose aim is "to thwart crime and checkmate death (by) stopping the slide downhill to tragedy." It was a lofty and intriguing concept, arguably ahead … Continue reading Don Corey, Jed Sills, Chris Devlin & Dr. Carl Hyatt (Checkmate)