Crime Fiction Alphabet: Letter E

I decided to contribute to a meme. This meme will feature crime fiction that relates to the letters of the alphabet. We will pick up with the letter E. My contribution will by the Carter Brown title The Exotic.

1963 Horwitz Cover

The corpse came by cab. It was delivered as ordered, right at Sheriff Lavers' front door. And the Sheriff did not get the gag at all. Neither did Al Wheeler because it halted his progress with a blonde and started his chase for a murderer. As he tagged the trail of a phoney detective, a couple of strong-arm boys and a pompous practical joker. Al found the case growing more intriguing. Then he had to slow down for....

• a cool-eyed heiress dripping with ice;
• a fluffy blonde with a special talent;
• a sleek sexy career girl, terribly sincere about money, but not about how she got it;

And a second corpse.

Robert McGinnis Cover

Pine City Police Lieutenant Al Wheeler plays dangerous games with three dangerous dames, and one cunning killer. The blonde was glamorous, like high-class fashion boutique she owned. But she did not want any part of the scandal her father's murder revived. But Al was all cop who bars no holds, whether he is hunting a beautiful women or a dangerous killer. He bluffed her into revealing plenty at a riotous basement party. But that was only the prelude to another murder.

Printing History

Horwitz Publications Inc.

Numbered Series #94 1961

International Edition Series #30 1963

Bolinda Publishing  (Audio) 2001

New American Library

Signet Books

#S2009 October 1961

You can read the original post from April 2011 below.

The Exotic

And here.

The Exotic (Audio)

And you can find other related meme posts like this below.

Crime Fiction Alphabet: E