Death On The Downbeat by Carter Brown

1958 Horwitz Edition

The blonde was able. The brunette was willing. And Police Lieutenant Al Wheeler was ready for love. Until three cool corpses got in his way. The free wheeling unorthodox California cop found the first body in a jive joint run by a sultry blonde singer who called the tune when it came to music and men. The second corpse turned up in a back street rooming house that was a front for dope peddling. The third, smack on his own doorstep. Suddenly Al was up against a plug happy killer who was out to make a cop his fourth corpse. A cop named Al Wheeler.

1958 Signet Edition                                 1965 Signet Edition

Wine, women, and jazz. That's Al Wheeler's idea of a night out. So he takes Annabelle Jackson, the sheriff's/commissioner's secretary, to the Golden Horseshoe. The star was Midnight at midnight with a murder thrown in for good measure. So Al is the cop on the spot. On the sheriff/commissioner's orders he starts to solve the case in his unusual unorthodox way. He soon finds himself out of a job with another corpse to keep him company.

1975 Signet Edition                            1969 Horwitz Edition

Death On The Downbeat was published in 1958 by Horwitz Publication and was the 57th entry in Horwitz's Numbered Series. This title was published by New American Library under the title The Corpse in December 1958 under the Signet imprint. Horwitz published this title in the International Edition as number 62. A note. Al Wheeler's boss is either a commissioner (Australia) or sheriff (USA), depending on where read.

Printing History

Horwitz Publications

as Death On The Downbeat

Numbered Series #57 (1958)

As The Corpse

Long Story Magazine #13 (Aug 1960)

unknown (1961)

International Edition #62 (1969)

New American Library

Signet Books

1st Printing #1606 (Dec 1958)

2nd Printing (Canada)

3rd Printing #2714 (1965)

4th Printing #6468 (1975)