Mon 10 Nov 2014
Reviewed by Dan Stumpf: RICHARD GLENDINNING – Terror in the Sun.
Posted by Steve under Reviews[7] Comments
RICHARD GLENDINNING – Terror in the Sun. Gold Medal #237, paperback original, 1952.
From the back cover:
She swept through that swamp town like original sin.
Johnny Clayton looked at her and kissed his life good-by.
Because of her, he suffered jail for a crime he didn’t commit.
Because of her, he risked his life in a battle with incredible evil.
And she cursed him for it.
Well, I’ve had relationships like that, so I picked up Richard Glendenning’s Terror in the Sun with some interest and anticipation. And found it enjoyably routine. All the Gold Medal staples are here: working-class hero, willing women, corrupt cops, noble Indians, tough feds and loathsome furinners.
They all strut and fret their appointed hour on the page, full of spit and vinegar, signifying a pleasant and forgettable read.
November 10th, 2014 at 6:51 pm
This is another of those books that’s been in my house for 40 years or more but that hasn’t been read. One of these days . . . .
November 10th, 2014 at 7:15 pm
This one only took about half an hour to read, but it is quite good for what it intends to be. It’s competent, a bit racy, a bit violent, almost publisher guidelines for GM.
I don’t know if I would have remembered the plot without Dan’s review, but it was memorable enough that and the cover triggered it.
November 10th, 2014 at 7:47 pm
Glendinning was a close friend of John D. and allegedly learned how to craft paperback originals from him. Probably true; as David writes, this and his other Gold Medal (and Pop Library) books are almost publisher guidelines for the 50s ppbk crime novel. Not a bad writer, sort of in the middle of the GM pack.
November 10th, 2014 at 7:53 pm
Are you quoting Hammett or Hamlet?
November 10th, 2014 at 8:54 pm
Like Bill Crider, I’ve had this one for a very long time without reading it. Making my way through my shelf of Gold Medal paperbacks would be a good way to spend the winter, wouldn’t it, hunkered down, as it were, waiting for spring.
For completists, here’s a complete list of Glendinning’s criminous output, thanks to Al Hubin:
GLENDINNING, RICHARD (Edwin, Jr.) (1917-1988)
Terror in the Sun (n.) Gold Medal 1952 [Florida]
Who Evil Thinks (n.) Gold Medal 1952 [Florida]
Mission to Murder (n.) Gold Medal 1954 [Germany]
Retreat Into Night (n.) Gold Medal 1954
-Too Fast We Live (n.) Popular Library 1954 [U.S. South]
Passion Road (n.) Popular Library 1955
-Carnival Girl (n.) Popular Library 1956
November 11th, 2014 at 10:55 am
I haven’t read this book but just wanted to give a reminder that Dan’s (under the Daniel Boyd alias) new novel EASY DEATH comes out today from HARDCASE CRIME.
November 11th, 2014 at 1:27 pm
I’m about half way through a copy sent to me for review, and all I can say right now is that everyone reading this comment should go out and buy one of your own.