Tue 25 Oct 2016
BRETT HALLIDAY – Murder in Haste. Torquil/Dodd Mead, hardcover, 1961. Dell 5970, paperback, 1962. Reprinted several times.
If my count is correct, this is the third of twenty-three Mike Shayne novels that were ghost-written by author Robert Terrall under the Brett Halliday byline, and to me, it’s far from the best in the series. It’s easy to speculate in retrospect, but I never had the sense that the author had more than a surface feeling for the characters, that it may have been too early.
The well-known antagonism between Shayne and Miami Beach’s Chief of Detectives Peter Painter is emphasized over and over, for example, and that Shayne’s fondness for drinking cognac, is demonstrated more times than I’d care to count.
Nor is the story any great shakes, though it does redeem itself in a semi-satisfactory way by the time Shayne wraps it up at the end. The telling is far too complicated, for one thing, with at least two different threads of the plot going at the same time, and one of those not very interesting:
(1) The wife of a murdered bank employee is contacted by the wife of the man convicted of the killing, asking her to retract her testimony against her husband. The former is willing, but would like Shayne to investigate further. (2) A convention of union delegates is in town — one of those organization with all kinds of crooked behavior going on at the top. (3) Peter Painter, who seems to have been holding his cards close to his vest, has disappeared. Unfortunately no one seems to know what game he was even playing.
OK, so maybe that’s three. Number two didn’t interest me at all, and I never cared all that much about Peter Painter. Neither does Mike Shayne, but he figures he has to save the guy if he can.
There’s a lot of mostly meaningless action going on in th early going, mostly to give the impression that something is going on, when it isn’t. There are also way too many characters involved, and one unfortunate continuity goof that slowed me down to a crawl for a while. The ending, when it comes, is a decent one, as I previously mentioned, but as you can probably tell, my recommendation for this one is no better than so-so.
October 26th, 2016 at 8:58 am
Some readers really like the Terrall Shaynes. I always found them hit and miss and never liked them as well as the ones by Davis Dresser, Dennis Lynds, and Ryerson Johnson.
October 26th, 2016 at 11:22 am
I just read – and did a Friday Forgotten Book on my blog – the 5th in the series, Bodies Are Where You Find Them. I liked it better then you liked this, but it wasn’t one of the best in the series.
October 26th, 2016 at 12:54 pm
I’ll make a point of not reading this one, which sounds terrible. That said, a few observations from a reader who’s been so gone for so long on Mike Shayne that my first two novels were actually published as by “Stephen Brett,” a tribute to Mr. Halliday. Of course, I came to learn that there were several “Mr. Hallidays.” Dave Dresser, the originator of the series, is the best because, well, he created the series. And he was a damn good pulp writer. “Bodies Are Where You Find Them” is one of his best. I’ve long enjoyed the Shayne stories by my good friend, Mr. Reasoner, but personally was most influenced as a writer by Robert Terrall’s entries in the series. Terrall’s Shaynes fall into two periods, and this one is from the first when Terrall was still using Dresser’s cast. Wouldn’t be surprised if he was working from Dresser outlines. Terrall comes into his own with “Michael Shayne’s 50th Case” where he eschews most of the supporting cast (Peter Painter, Lucy Hamilton) and the stories, while true in spirit to Dresser’s concepts, become pretty much his own work. Terrall’s a superb writer. While some of his nShayne novels are better than others, if you have a Shayne checklist, I’m referring here to the dozen or so he wrote beginning with “Mermaid on the Rocks.” Great stuff and highly recommended.
October 26th, 2016 at 2:24 pm
James and Stephen
I’ve gone back and checked out the reviews of Tarrall Shayne’s that have appeared on this blog.
FIT TO KILL was the first one that he did, from 1959, and in the first line, I said it was a disappointment:
https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=33099
LAST SEEN HITCHHIKING, from 1974, I liked quite a bit more:
https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=540
It’s a sample of size of only two, but reading between the lines of what I had to say, it suggests to me that rather than hit or miss on writing the Shayne books, Terrall came into his own over the years, as Steve says, and began to make the characters his own.
October 26th, 2016 at 2:29 pm
Rick
I missed your Shayne review this past weekend. Here’s the link to it, in case anyone else would like to go back and read it:
https://tipthewink.net/2016/10/20/friday-forgotten-book-bodies-are-where-you-find-them-by-brett-halliday/
BODIES ARE WHERE YOU FIND THEM is from 1941, a prime year for Shayne. I see with amusement that Halliday (Dresser) managed to hustle Shayne’s wife out of town for most of the book, not knowing what to do with her otherwise.
Terrall did kind of the same with MURDER IN HASTE. Lucy Hamilton is back in New Orleans for the entire book, making a mile flirtation between Shayne and his client a little more possible.
October 26th, 2016 at 2:33 pm
Steve
Thanks for the long overview and speculative insight into the Shayne books from such an admirer of them as yourself. I have complete set of them, with duplicates of quite afew of them when they were reprinted with new covers, but so far have managed to read only s sad small fraction of them.
October 26th, 2016 at 8:50 pm
Can someone point me to a list of which titles were written by which authors?
And is there a consensus on the best ones?
I had no idea Reasoner was one of the writers…
I’ve only read a few of the early ones: I assume mostly by Dresser. Enjoyable but not what I’d call top shelf stuff.
October 26th, 2016 at 10:37 pm
Mark
Halliday’s listing in Hubin is as definitive as you’re going to get. Unfortunately if you look at the chronological list, you lose who the ghost writers are. James Reasoner never wrote one of the novels, only many of the long novelettes that appeared in MIKE SHAYNE MYSTERY MAGAZINE. As for which ones might e the better ones, I’ll leave to others to say. I haven’t read enough of them to be any kind of expert in that regard.
HALLIDAY, BRETT; pseudonym of Davis Dresser, (1904-1977); (about) originally a personal pseudonym of Davis Dresser, but later used as a house pseudonym for “Mike Shayne†stories.
[] *Armed…Dangerous… [ghost written by Robert Terrall] (Dell, 1966, pb) [Michael Shayne; New York City, NY]
[] *At the Point of a .38 [ghost written by Robert Terrall] (Dell, 1974, pb) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL]
[] _Before I Wake (Dell, 1955, pb) See: Dodd, 1949 as by Hal Debrett.
[] *The Blonde Cried Murder (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1956, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] Jarrolds, 1957.
[] *Blood on Biscayne Bay (Ziff-Davis, 1946, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] Jarrolds, 1950.
[] *Blood on the Black Market (Dodd, 1943, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] In Britain contained in: Michael Shayne Takes a Hand, q.v. Jarrolds, 1944. Revised edition: Heads You Lose. Torquil/Dodd, 1958.
[] *Blood on the Stars (Dodd, 1948, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] British title: Murder Is a Habit. Jarrolds, 1951.
[] *Blue Murder [ghost written by Robert Terrall] (Dell, 1973, pb) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL]
[] *Bodies Are Where You Find Them (Holt, 1941, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] In Britain contained in: Michael Shayne Investigates, q.v. Jarrolds, 1951. Film: Warner, 2005, as Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang (scw & dir: Shane Black).
[] *The Body Came Back (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1963, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL]
[] *Call for Michael Shayne (Dodd, 1949, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] Jarrolds, 1951.
[] *The Careless Corpse (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1961, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL]
[] _The Case of the Walking Corpse (Handi-Books, 1943, pb) See: The Corpse Came Calling (Dodd 1942).
[] *Caught Dead [ghost written by Robert Terrall] (Dell, 1972, pb) [Michael Shayne; Venezuela]
[] *The Corpse Came Calling (Dodd, 1942, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] In Britain contained in: Michael Shayne Investigates, q.v. Jarrolds, 1943. Also published as: The Case of the Walking Corpse. Handi-Books, 1943.
[] *The Corpse That Never Was (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1963, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL]
[] *Count Backwards to Zero [ghost written by Robert Terrall] (Dell, 1971, pb) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL]
[] *Counterfeit Wife (Ziff-Davis, 1947, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] Jarrolds, 1950.
[] *Date with a Dead Man (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1959, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] Long, 1960. Expansion of the novelet “Dead Man’s Diaryâ€, included in Michael Shayne’s Triple Mystery, q.v.
[] _Dead Man’s Diary and A Taste for Cognac (Dell, 1959, pb) [Michael Shayne] Reprints two stories from Michael Shayne’s Triple Mystery, q.v. (Contents)
[] _Dead Man’s Diary and Dinner at Dupre’s (Dell, 1950, pb) [Michael Shayne] Reprints two stories from Michael Shayne’s Triple Mystery, q.v. (Contents)
[] *Death Has Three Lives (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1955, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] Jarrolds, 1955.
[] *Die Like a Dog (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1959, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] Long, 1961.
[] *Dividend on Death (Holt, 1939, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] Jarrolds, 1941. Film: TCF, 1940, as Michael Shayne, Private Detective (scw: Stanley Rauh, Manning O’Connor; dir: Eugene Forde).
[] *Dolls Are Deadly [ghost written by Ryerson Johnson] (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1960, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL]
[] *Fit to Kill [ghost written by Robert Terrall] (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1958, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] Long, 1959.
[] *Fourth Down to Death [ghost written by Robert Terrall] (Dell, 1970, pb) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL]
[] *Framed in Blood (Dodd, 1951, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] Jarrolds, 1953.
[] *Guilty As Hell [ghost written by Robert Terrall] (Dell, 1967, pb) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL]
[] _Heads You Lose (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1958, hc) See: Blood on the Black Market (Dodd, 1943).
[] *The Homicidal Virgin (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1960, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL]
[] *I Come to Kill You [ghost written by Robert Terrall] (Dell, 1971, pb) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL]
[] _In a Deadly Vein (Dell, 1956, pb) See: Murder Wears a Mummer’s Mask (Dodd 1943).
[] *Kill All the Young Girls [ghost written by Robert Terrall] (Dell, 1973, pb) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL]
[] *Killers from the Keys [ghost written by Ryerson Johnson] (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1961, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL]
[] _The Lady Came by Night (Jarrolds, 1954, hc) See: One Night with Nora (Torquil/Dodd 1953).
[] *Lady, Be Bad [ghost written by Robert Terrall] (Dell, 1969, pb) [Michael Shayne; Tallahassee, FL]
[] *Last Seen Hitchhiking [ghost written by Robert Terrall] (Dell, 1974, pb) [Michael Shayne; Florida]
[] *Marked for Murder (Dodd, 1945, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] Jarrolds, 1950.
[] *Mermaid on the Rocks [ghost written by Robert Terrall] (Dell, 1967, pb) [Michael Shayne; Florida]
[] *Michael Shayne Investigates (Jarrolds, 1943, hc) [Michael Shayne] Contains: Bodies Are Where You Find Them, and The Corpse Came Calling, qq.v. (Contents)
[] *Michael Shayne Takes a Hand (Jarrolds, 1944, hc) [Michael Shayne] Contains: Murder Wears a Mummer’s Mask, and Blood on the Black Market, qq.v. (Contents)
[] *Michael Shayne’s 50th Case (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1964, hc) [Michael Shayne; Florida]
[] *Michael Shayne’s Long Chance (Dodd, 1944, hc) [Michael Shayne; New Orleans, LA] Jarrolds, 1945.
[] *Michael Shayne’s Triple Mystery (Ziff-Davis, 1948, hc) [Michael Shayne] Three novelets: “Dead Man’s Diaryâ€, “A Taste for Cognacâ€, and “Dinner at Dupre’sâ€. A Dell reprint combined #1 and #3 in 1950; a later Dell reprint, 1959, combined #1 and #2. #2, “A Taste for Cognacâ€, was reprinted separately as a Dell 10 cent paperback in 1951. #1 was later expanded into the novel Date with a Dead Man, q.v. (Contents)
[] *Million Dollar Handle [ghost written by Robert Terrall] (Dell, 1976, pb) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL]
[] _Mum’s the Word for Murder (Dell, 1953, pb) See: Stokes, 1938 as by Asa Baker.
[] *Murder and the Married Virgin (Dodd, 1944, hc) [Michael Shayne; New Orleans, LA] Jarrolds, 1946.
[] *Murder and the Wanton Bride (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1958, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] Long, 1959.
[] *Murder by Proxy (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1962, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] Mayflower, 1968.
[] *Murder in Haste [ghost written by Robert Terrall] (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1961, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] Mayflower, 1963.
[] _Murder Is a Habit (Jarrolds, 1951, hc) See: Blood on the Stars (Dodd 1948).
[] *Murder Is My Business (Dodd, 1945, hc) [Michael Shayne; El Paso, TX] Jarrolds, 1945. Film: PRC, 1946 (scw: Fred Myton; dir: Sam Newfield).
[] *Murder Spins the Wheel [ghost written by Robert Terrall] (Dell, 1966, pb) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL]
[] *Murder Takes No Holiday [ghost written by Robert Terrall] (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1960, hc) [Michael Shayne; Caribbean]
[] *Murder Wears a Mummer’s Mask (Dodd, 1943, hc) [Michael Shayne; Colorado] In Britain contained in: Michael Shayne Takes a Hand. Jarrolds, 1944. Also published as: In a Deadly Vein. Dell, 1956.
[] *Never Kill a Client (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1962, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL]
[] *Nice Fillies Finish Last [ghost written by Robert Terrall] (Dell, 1965, pb) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL]
[] *One Night with Nora (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1953, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] British title: The Lady Came by Night. Jarrolds, 1954.
[] *Pay-Off in Blood (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1962, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL]
[] *The Private Practice of Michael Shayne (Holt, 1940, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] Jarrolds, 1941.
[] *A Redhead for Mike Shayne (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1964, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL]
[] *She Woke to Darkness (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1954, hc) [Michael Shayne; New York City, NY] Jarrolds, 1955.
[] *Shoot the Works (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1957, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] Long, 1958.
[] *Shoot to Kill (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1964, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL]
[] *Six Seconds to Kill [ghost written by Robert Terrall] (Dell, 1970, pb) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL]
[] *So Lush, So Deadly [ghost written by Robert Terrall] (Dell, 1968, pb) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL]
[] *Stranger in Town (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1955, hc) [Michael Shayne; Florida] Jarrolds, 1956.
[] *Target: Mike Shayne [ghost written by Robert Terrall] (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1959, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] Long, 1960.
[] _A Taste for Cognac (Dell, 1951, pb) [Michael Shayne] In Dell’s 10-cent paperback series.
[] *A Taste for Violence (Dodd, 1949, hc) [Michael Shayne; Kentucky] Jarrolds, 1952; Phantom (Sydney, Australia), 1959.
[] *This Is It, Michael Shayne (Dodd, 1950, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] Jarrolds, 1952.
[] *Tickets for Death (Holt, 1941, hc) [Michael Shayne; Florida] Jarrolds, 1942. Film: Producers Releasing, 1947, as Too Many Winners (scw: Fred Myton, Scott Darling; dir: William Beaudine).
[] *Too Friendly, Too Dead (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1963, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] Mayflower, 1964.
[] *The Uncomplaining Corpses (Holt, 1940, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] Jarrolds, 1942.
[] *Violence Is Golden [ghost written by Robert Terrall] (Dell, 1968, pb) [Michael Shayne; Caribbean]
[] *The Violent World of Michael Shayne [ghost written by Robert Terrall] (Dell, 1965, pb) [Michael Shayne; Washington, D.C.]
[] *Weep for a Blonde (Torquil/Dodd Mead, 1957, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] Long, 1958.
[] *What Really Happened (Dodd, 1952, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] Jarrolds, 1953.
[] *When Dorinda Dances (Dodd, 1951, hc) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL] Jarrolds, 1953.
[] *Win Some, Lose Some [ghost written by Robert Terrall] (Dell, 1976, pb) [Michael Shayne; Miami, FL]
October 27th, 2016 at 10:24 am
Steve, you’re a superhero. Many thanks.
October 27th, 2016 at 10:27 am
If anyone has recommendations on the 2-3 “better” ones, I’ll dive in over the holiday break. I think I probably own most if not all of them. Many I bought just for the covers when I saw them cheap–I am sure I’m not alone in that. I’d always seen Mike Shayne as the Miami version of Shell Scott, but after reading a few I see that’s not quite a good comparison–Shane’s more straight. (I always liked Shell because they read to me as a fun parody of Mike Hammer–a series that is itself almost a self-parody–I read a few and they were really not my thing at all, and I’m kind of amazed they were so fantastically popular.)
October 27th, 2016 at 11:04 am
As a general recommendation, without coming up with specific titles, I’d suggest you go with Shayne books actually written by Davis Dresser first, rather than any that are ghost written. And given that, go for an earlier one to start with, from the 1940s or before. That way you’ll discover who the character really was, back at the beginning, rather than who he became later.
October 27th, 2016 at 11:53 am
Perfect — will do. That’s how I usually approach a series anyway: I am a bit anal-rententive about reading them in order. In some cases, it makes a huge difference: e.g., Block’s “Scudder,” and the culmination points of both the Stark “Parker” series (ending with BUTCHER’S MOON, prior to the reboot) and Fleming’s 007 (where the last few books really are an extended novel). In other cases, say Shell Scott, it probably doesn’t matter so much, though it can be interesting to see how the character and series evolve.
July 10th, 2020 at 11:55 am
Steve, I’ve just discovered your blogsite today; I appreciate your devotion to Shayne novels.
I totally agree with your comment #11 above; I too own all 70 titles and have read them in order #1-#36 and will hit #70 by December, 2020.
YOUR LIST ABOVE is wonderful; may I make a few suggestions/
1. “Murder and the Wanton Bride” 1958,is an expansion of “Dinner At Dupre’s”,1946. The former is set in central FL, the latter in New Orleans.
2. “Michael Shayne’s Long Chance” begins in Miami, but he arrives in New Orleans in chapter two; there is no L.A.
3. You have not indicated any ghost writers from 1960 to 1964. Any reason for that? (4 exceptions to my crankiness, ha ha. I suspect they are all Terrall books?)
In conclusion: As I read these novels, I am making detailed notes on writing style changes, history of Miami streets, phoney-bologny text, Shayne’s autos, Lucy’s kidnappings and personal danger, and the rising prices of cognac in bars and HOW the plots are affected by 1940-’66 current events in the USA and Central America.
August 16th, 2020 at 5:45 pm
Am I too late to comment on my last comment, last sentence, current events ??
Murder In Haste was written in 1961, and Ernest Hemingway had died tragically on July 2, 1961.
A major characters in this book were Mr. & Mrs. Heminway.
I don’t think this name choice was a coincidence… but current events.
August 16th, 2020 at 5:51 pm
It does not seem to be mere coincidence.
April 16th, 2023 at 6:55 pm
A collection of Michael Shayne book covers:
https://not.pulpcovers.com/image/714063606834249728