A Gentleman Called by Dorothy Salisbury Davis

A Mrs Norris Mystery

 

Cover by Victor Kalin

As housekeeper to James Jarvis’s recently deceased father, a retired major general of the US Army, Mrs. Norris has raised Jimmie since boyhood. Now the Wall Street lawyer faces a challenging case. The son of one of the firm’s old blue-blood clients has been slapped with a paternity suit. But Teddy Adkins swears he never slept with the woman.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Norris is miffed when her gentleman friend Jasper Tully, the widowed chief investigator for the Manhattan DA’s office, cancels one dinner date after another because a real estate magnate has been found strangled in the bedroom of her Upper East Side apartment. Jewelry was stolen, but there are no signs of a break-in. Tully’s investigation turns up a trail of strangulations that extends all the way to the Midwest. As Mrs. Norris pursues her own unorthodox investigation, she uncovers a shocking link between the cases that threatens her very life.

Printing History

Written by Dorothy Margaret Salisbury Davis (1916-2014)

Charles Scribners

1958

Dell Publishing Co

2850

September 1962

The Lineup by Frank Kane

Novel based upon the 1954-1960 CBS-TV series of the same name, starring Warner Anderson and Tom Tully

 

Cover by Victor Kalin

  Lieutenant Ben Guthrie and Inspector Matt Greb are investigating a robbery that has turned into a double homicide. Dead at the scene, a gambling den in Chinatown, are the operator of the house, killed in a blast of mustard gas, and a patrolman outside, hit by the getaway car. Guthrie and Greb, aided by associates within the department, begin a thorough search for clues. They soon discover the vehicle involved, but the owner and his wife, Sam and Em Walters, claim to know nothing about how it got out of the garage. Meanwhile, Sarge Kurtz convinces the other members of his mini-gang, Mike Newman and Doc Lawrence, that it’s not the time to leave town or lie low. So the robberies continue.

Printing History

Written by Frank Kane (1912-1968)

Dell Publishing Co

B125

April 1959

Get Real by Donald E Westlake

Get Real

 

A reality-show company aptly titled Get Real recruits the delightfully understated John Dortmunder and his merry men for a heist in this clever Dortmunder novel. The producer of the prospective series, Doug Fairkeep, reveals himself to be both cynical and naïve, a combination that makes him an excellent foil for the guys. Naturally, the gang has to make this gig pay more than what's offered, as much for the fun of it as for the extra cash. While Get Real helps them map out a “real” robbery, the boys are mapping out a real robbery—of some of the company's “hidden assets.” The thinking is that Get Real can hardly come after them to retrieve cash that it can't admit that it has. The game plan changes nearly hourly, and the outcome is anything but certain.

Printing History

Written by Donald E Westlake (1933-2008)

Hatchet Book Group

Grand Central Publishing

June 2010

ISBN 446-56663

Two To Tangle by Frank Kane

"I'm  not the the girl you're looking for, Johnny," the brunette purred. "But won't I do?"

Cover by Ron Lesser

It Couldn't Have Happened To A Nicer Girl

...a nicer girl would have kept her mouth shut. This one never learned that sexy brunettes should be seen and not heard, until she sang for the wrong party. By the time Johnny Liddell got to the apartment her recital days were over. Someone had gotten there first. Someone who knew the score and wanted her tune changed permanently, leaving Johnny the key suspect for murder.

Printing History

Written by Frank Kane (1912-1968)

Dell Publishing Company

#9213

February 1965

Homicide Trinity by Rex Stout

Anthology consists of three novellas

Eeny Meeny Murder Mo.
There were several times before when a dead body was found in or around Wolfe's home: one time on the front steps, and another was right in his office. Both times the detective took it as a great personal insult. Imagine his reaction when a dead body not only made a surprise appearance in his office, but his own necktie was used to strangle the victim. Usually Wolfe is fairly impersonal in his investigations, but in this case he gloated at the murderer when he finally nailed him or her. 

Death of a Demon.
A woman became obsessed with shooting her husband.  Her solution? She went to Nero Wolfe and paid him for just listening to her about this with the promise that in case her husband is really shot he would disclose the conversation to the police. His reasoning was she would not want to do it as in this case she would not be able to avoid being caught. There is a really big hole in this logic which Wolfe spotted right away. Later events confirmed his arguments. Wolfe uses interesting psychological play to uncover the culprit. 

Counterfeit for Murder
An old unattractive lady came to Wolfe for consultation. Usually this is not the type of people who need his services considering the fees for said services, but Archie Goodwin decided to teach his boss a lesson and let her in. Before both detectives knew it they had a dead body, a bunch of counterfeit money, pissed off police, and equally pissed off Secret Service (Department of Treasury) on their hands.  

Printing History

Rex Todhunter Stout (1886-1975)

Viking Press, Inc: April 1962

Bantam Books: February 1966

Reissue: August 1993

The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler

The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler

Movie Tie-In

Marlowe befriends a down on his luck war veteran with the scars to prove it. Then he finds out that Terry Lennox has a very wealthy nymphomaniac wife, who he's divorced and re-married and who ends up dead. and now Lennox is on the lam and the cops and a crazy gangster are after Marlowe.

Printing History

Written by Raymond Chandler (1888-1959)

copyright 1953

Ballantine Books

ISBN 345 02396

First Printing October 1971

Second Printing October 1972

Third Printing March 1973