crime and spy fiction from Poe up to 1950

Lawrence Block's Borderline (a very early book written in 1962) is either a sleaze novel with significant noir fiction overtones or a noir novel with signifiant sleaze overtones. It should satisfy hardboiled noir fans.

Here's the link to my full review.

Richard Matheson’s Fury on Sunday (published in 1953) is a crime thriller with as much perversity and twisted psycho-sexual energy as you could possibly ask for.

Here's the link to my full review.

Matthew Head's The Congo Venus, published in 1950, is a murder mystery that benefits from its tropical setting and an interestingly discursive narrative. And lots of sexual tensions.

Here's the link to my review.

Seishi Yokomizo’s The Honjin Murders, published in 1946, is one of the early masterpiece of honkaku (Japanese puzzle-plot mysteries). And it's a locked-room mystery as well.

Christopher St John Sprigg's The Corpse with the Sunburned Face (published in 1935) might not have a plot that will satisfy golden age detection purists but it's actually a thoroughly enjoyable book.

Ray Gaulden’s Rita is a 1959 noir novel with perhaps just the slightest touch of sleaze. But mostly it's just a pretty good noir tale with plenty of paranoia as a man on the run is caught in a trap by psychotic thugs and a beautiful dangerous woman.

Here's the link to my review.

Some recent posts on my Vintage Pop Fictions blog:

G.G. Fickling's A Gun for Honey, the third of the excellent thrillers featuring glamorous lady private eye Honey West (published in 1958).

Harry Whittington's A Haven for the Damned, published in 1962, a good pulp noir suspense tale.

From my vintage pop fictions blog, some recent posts, with links to my full reviews.

Stephen Marlowe’s Model for Murder (published in 1955), an excellent hardboiled ”reluctant amateur detective” novel.

E. Howard Hunt's very entertaining 1967 spy thriller One of Our Agents Is Missing. And yes, this is the E. Howard Hunt of Watergate infamy and he was a pretty good writer.

John Burke’s Moon Zero Two, the novelisation of the extremely interesting 1969 Hammer sci-fi movie of the same name. And it's pretty decent.

It’s that time of year again - the time for making lists. These were the vintage crime books I most enjoyed during 2020:

Erle Stanley Gardner’s wonderfully plotted 1936 Perry Mason mystery The Case of the Stuttering Bishop.

Charles Forsyte’s 1968 tale of murder in the British Embassy in Ankara Murder with Minarets. It captures the distinctive feel of diplomatic life extremely well.

Bert and Dolores Hitchens’ splendid railway mystery End of the Line (and you know how much I love railway mysteries).

James O. Causey’s dark paranoid 1957 noir tale Killer Take All!

John McPartland’s 1953 noir pulper Big Red's Daughter.

And two from Wade Miller (rapidly becoming my favourite noir writer) - Kitten with a Whip and Kiss Her Goodbye, both emotional roller coaster rides into nightmare.

Recent vintage crime blog posts.

Peter Cheyney's Dames Don’t Care (1937), more fun with the hardbitten wisecracking Lemmy Caution.

Norbert Jacques' Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler (1921). Immensely influential (and extremely strange) diabolical criminal mastermind story.

Erle Stanley Gardner’s The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (1936). A classic (and very very good) Perry Mason mystery.