Mike Ashley recently asked me for a list of mystery anthology publishers. As part of the process in generating that list, counts of the authors and stories in 2,244 anthologies were also produced.

   This was based on the latest edition of the Mystery Short Fiction Miscellany CD (available from Locus Press), excluding stories reprinted in single-author collections, round-robin novels, and magazines.

                Bill C.

    Authors with 40 or more stories that have appeared in mystery anthologies:

   Stories that have appeared in mystery anthologies 10 or more times:

  Bill,

   Thanks for generating those two lists.

   Hats off to Ed Hoch for topping the list as most anthologised — but then as the most prolific still active writer of short stories, maybe he ought to be up the top there somewhere. Still, it shows his work is sufficiently memorable, though clearly no single story stands out as he’s not in the second list.

   Conversely, Poe, Futrelle and Berkeley top the second list but don’t appear in the first. So we have a distinction here between writers who produce few major short stories but clearly a handful that hit the bullseye and those who produce many worthy stories but no individual one that stands out.

   Once we get to Ellery Queen and Agatha Christie, though, they hit both lists and evidently these are writers who can produce both quantity and quality.

   I think the first story that surprises me in the second list is Gardner’s “The Case of the Irate Witness”. It’s certainly not one that would have come instantly to mind and though I’m sure I’ve read it, I can’t bring it to mind at all! Intriguing to see Harry Kemelman’s “Nine Mile Walk” up there, too.

   I previously put forward the argument that many of those that will top the list will be because their work is out of copyright, but though this may be a factor in why Poe and Futrelle top list 2, it certainly doesn’t apply to most of the stories and clearly not the authors in list 1. I’m rather glad about that. Quality shines through rather than being able to use a story on the cheap.

               Mike A.

   Ian Covell has continued his attempts to track down some of the more obscure appearances of author Charles Runyon in print, adding to the bibliography established for him a few weeks ago on this blog. With the assistance of Victor Berch and Charles himself, a number of additional stories have been located and/or confirmed.

   These additions won’t be added to the blog version, however. I’ve set up a permanent webpage for the bibliography on the main M*F website, and this will be the “official” version, as complete as it is at the moment, and as it will be whenever any additional corrections are found.

   First, as relayed from Victor Berch to Ian and on to me:

   This information was then sent on to Charles, who replied:

MICHAEL KURLAND – The Empress of India

St. Martin’s Minotaur; hardcover. First Edition: February 2006.

   On and off over the period of nearly 30 years, Kurland has been chronicling the adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ most notorious nemesis, James Moriarty. In the process his primary intents seems to have been to clean some of the tarnish off the good (or not so good) professor’s reputation.

   Not that Holmes was entirely mistaken about him, but could it just possibly be that Moriarty was NOT responsible for all of the crimes Holmes suspected him of committing?

   Take this latest case, for example. When a fortune in gold is known to be on its way to the Bank of England from India, and Moriarty is known to be on the way to Calcutta, what other reason could he have other than the most obvious one? Wrong. Admittedly he has nefarious intent, but the gold is not why he is there.

   While Holmes himself has mysteriously disappeared, swept away in a London sewer, Thuggees seem to have re-emerged as an evil force in India, and Dr. Pin Dok Low and his gang of unsavory associates really do have gold on their minds.

   While Kurland is not terribly convincing when writing in the mode of Doyle, when he is left to tell his own rollicking story, what a glorious romp of a tale it is! His quick breezy style, interspersed with small jabs of wry humor, makes this particular caper move along in fine smile-provoking fashion.

   That there is also a locked room mystery to be solved is only the frosting on the cake.

FOLLOWUP: Rather than expand upon my (of necessity) shorter than usual review, which first appeared in the Historical Novels Review, I’ve decided to take a look instead at the complete list of Michael Kurland’s mystery and detective fiction, as much (as always) for my own benefit as yours, as many of these books I’d never been fully aware of until now.

   I’ll be working in somewhat chronological order, but also grouping the novels by theme and series character, with some comments or two scattered between. Not included are Kurland’s science fiction and fantasy novels with no criminous connection, but perhaps The Unicorn Girl (Pyramid, pbo, 1974) deserves a mention, as it partially takes place in the same alternative universe as Lord Darcy, about whom, keep reading.

         +++++

Mission: Third Force. Pyramid R-1578, pbo, 1967.
Mission: Tank War. Pyramid X-1876, pbo, 1968.
Mission: Police Action. Pyramid, pbo, 1969. [Scarce. No copies on ABE. It is quite possible that the book was never published.]     [UPDATE: This is correct. According to Mr. Kurland, the book became A Plague of Spies instead.]

   I have a copy of the second of these, but as usual, I don’t have it at hand and available for inspection. Here is a description taken from an online listing, however, one that will give you the essence of what kind of spy thrillers all three books are likely to be:

   It is not known if Peter Carthage, the “Man from WAR” is in either of the other two books or not. If he is, he is a series character not (yet) known to Al Hubin.     [UPDATE: Peter Carthage is indeed in all three books, the third being the one below.]

A Plague of Spies. Pyramid X2098, pbo, 1969. [Finalist for Edgar award.]

   Described by one bookseller as a “sexy spy thriller.”

         +++++

The Professor Moriarty / Sherlock Holmes novels:

The Infernal Device. Signet J8492, pbo, January 1979. [Finalist for an Edgar and nominated for an American Book Award.]

Death by Gaslight. Signet AE1915, pbo, December 1982.

The Great Game. St. Martin’s, hc, August 2001.
      St. Martin’s, trade pb, February 2003.

The Infernal Device and Others. St. Martin’s, trade pb, August 2001.

The Empress of India. St. Martin’s, hc, February 2006.

          +++++

The Last President, with S. W. Barton. William Morrow, hc, 1980.
      Critics Choice Paperbacks/Lorevan Publishing, pb, June 1988.

          +++++

Psi Hunt. Berkley 04664, pbo, September 1980.
Star Griffin. Doubleday, hc, March 1987.

   Science-fiction crime novels both, taking place in the future as constituted at the time of their writing.

          +++++

Ten Little Wizards. Ace 80057, pbo, March 1988.

A Study in Sorcery. Ace 79092, pbo, May 1989.

   The detective of record in both of these novels is Lord Darcy, a character created by SF author Randall Garrett. Darcy is a private security expert and chief investigator for Richard, Duke of Normandy, in an alternate world from ours in which magic takes the role of science. Garrett wrote one novel and several short stories about Lord Darcy, and after Garrett’s death, Kurland wrote the final two adventures.

         +++++

Too Soon Dead. St. Martin’s Press, hc, March 1997.
The Girls in the High-Heeled Shoes. St. Martin’s Press, hc, August 1998
       St. Martin’s Press, trade pb, August 2001.

   A traditional mystery series set in New York City in 1935, featuring New York World columnist Alexander Brass.

         +++++

   And I’d certainly be remiss if I failed to include the Holmes-related anthologies edited by Kurland:

My Sherlock Holmes: Untold Stories of the Great Detective. St. Martin’s Press, hc, February 2003. Stories about Holmes but told by characters from the canon other than Dr. Watson.
      St. Martin’s Minotaur, trade pb, November 2004.

Sherlock Holmes: The Hidden Years. St. Martin’s Minotaur, hc, November 2004. An anthology of original stories taking place while Holmes was believed dead after Reichenbach Falls.
      St. Martin’s Griffin, trade pb, January 2006.

  Steve,

   Thanks for a great tribute to Desmond Cory on your blog. It’s greatly appreciated by the Cory fan club members. I contacted some of them who run the [Desmond Cory] website you mention, asking if there are any aspects of his life left out.

   Well, although not really dramatic, below are some points not mentioned that you might want to consider:

      CHILDREN’S NOVELS:

   Cory wrote a number of novels for children. I am aware of at least:

1958. Ann & Peter in Southern Spain (The Kennedys Abroad). Paperback: Frederick Muller Ltd., London, using pen-name Theo Callas.

1960. Jones On The Belgrade Express: An Adventure Story For Boys. Hardcover & jacket: Frederick Muller Ltd., London; First Edition. The adventures of Jones in Macedonia; an irrepressible schoolboy. Used Desmond Cory pen-name.

      SHORT STORIES:

   Cory wrote quite a few short stories too. Below is a sample:

1975. “The Crime of Prince Milo.” Appeared in Winter’s Crimes 7; Macmillan: London; edited by Hardinge.

1976. “Story of Stumblebum, the Wizard.” Appeared in Winter’s Crimes 8; Macmillan: London; humorous detective story featuring the inane wizard, StumbleBum.

1980. “Song of Fariq.” Appeared in The Mystery Guild Anthology, edited by John Waite; Constable: London

1992. “Switchblade.” Appeared in Midwinter Mysteries #2; Little Brown & Co: London; Short story featuring Professor Dobie.

      RADIO PLAYS:

1956. “The Secret Metal,” by Norman Edwards — freely adapted from Desmond Cory’s The Phoenix Sings (1956).

1959, Oct 31. “Shaken Leaf.” BBC Radio Play produced by R.D. Smith — adapted by Daphne Laney from the novel by Desmond Cory

1960, March 26 9.15 pm. “Pilgrim at the Gate.” BBC Radio Play adapted by Norman Edwards

Unconfirmed date. “The Phoenix Sings.” BBC Radio Play

1961. “Orbit One,” based on novel High Requiem.

      CINEMA:

1958. The Mark of the Phoenix. Directed by Maclean Rogers, 1958, written by Norman Hudis; based on Cory’s novel The Phoenix Sings.

1972. England Made Me. Screenplay of Graham Green’s novel.

      ACADEMIC BOOKS & ARTICLES:

   Probably one of Cory’s best kept secrets was that he was a university professor of English. His academic works varied a great deal. Below is an inkling of his work here:

1977. “Language and Behaviour.” Article Incorporated Linguist

1980. “Modes of Comedy.” Hardcover (no jacket); Volturna Press

1981. “Antonio Machado and the Cycle of Life.” Article Bulletin Hispanic Studies

1981. “English Literature and its Backgrounds.” Paperback (thick edition) Routledge

1983. “Eliot’s ‘mythical method’ and the poetic image.” Article Comparative Literature Studies

1983. “Hemingway and the Pardoner’s Tale.” Article American Literature

   My thanks again for the blog entry.

                     — Best wishes, Jan

    Ian Covell, from a post he made to the FictionMags Yahoo group:

   The corrections and additions pointed out by Ian in the remainder of his post have already been incorporated into the bibliography. They include:

INCARNATE, the paperback from Manor, was published in 1977. (Previously “no date.”)

KISS THE GIRLS AND MAKE THEM DIE. Correct spelling of Runyan to Runyon.

I, WEAPON. The hardcover was published in July 1974, not 1971, which necessitated a change in the chronological order in the SF section. The paperback from Popular Library appeared in December 1977.

   Short Stories:

“In Case of Danger” F&SF, December 1975 — the actual title is longer and funnier, “In Case of Danger, Prsp the Ntxivbw”

      and add the following:

“Happiness Squad” – Fantastic, March 1967
“The Youth Addicts” – Worlds of IF, May 1967

   Charles also had a letter appear in F&SF, September 1975. [This does not appear in the bibliography, but it is certainly worth a mention here.]

   Ian also cited one British paperback reprint of one of Charles’ books, but since this means that other UK editions are omitted, I’ve decided not to include it for now, based on an “all or none” philosophy.

   Also from Ian: “I have a penned note of something called Hang Up from Gold Medal, circa 1969, but it really is just penciled in, not confirmed; may be an early title of No Place to Hide or even Power Kill.”

   And from Allen J. Hubin: “I’ve got the three Mark West titles listed in Addenda #14, each with a dash.” The dash, of course, indicating marginal crime content; the Addenda referring to the Revised Crime Fiction IV.

          —

   Thanks to Ian Covell in a followup email, and a judicious search of the Internet, I now have equal-sized cover scans for all of Charles Runyon’s novels. (One is a third printing, but other than that, it’s complete.)

   I’ve also cleaned up a couple of glitches that I created this morning. See the bibliography as it appears now on the primary Mystery*File website.

[UPDATE] 05-04-07. An email from Charles Runyon:

  Dear Ian, et al:

   Thanks for the kind words and the help in researching my past. You dug up some interesting material, not the least of which was that enigmatic Hang-Up which was supposedly published by Gold Medal in 1969. According to my wife’s Little Black Book, that was my original title for No Place to Hide.

   I sold a story entitled “The Day it All Hung Out” to Escapade Magazine in October 69. An amusing little tour de force, which I remember reading when it came out. I haven’t yet been able to find any copies of it in my files, but I’m keeping my eyes open.

   I sold a few other stories to the men’s magazines, such as Adam Yearbook, “There Must be More than This” and Knight, “The Appointment” but “The Day…” was the best according to my memory — not excluding “The Naked Bums,” which was the title Men put on their serialization of The Death Cycle. (If you’re looking for the Ultimate in Egregious Reprints, that’s gotta be IT.)

   I think the discrepancy in the number of books published arose from the fact that I counted foreign language editions at the beginning. Or maybe I was just exaggerating.

   Regards to you, Ian, and everybody else, Chas.

   I heard today from Charles Runyon, who’s been battling the flu. Going through his records, he’s come up with the following changes to his bibliography, posted here a couple of days ago.

   The book entitled Something Wicked (Lancer, pb, 1973) is included in Crime Fiction IV, by Allen J. Hubin, but tracking down a copy has proven to be a very difficult task. Both Victor Berch and I had come to the conclusion that it has never been published. The next comment from Charles confirmed my growing suspicion:

    So that it may be read more easily, I’ve moved the article entitled “The Curse of Dorian-7” to the primary Mystery*File website.

    All of these changes are now in place. Thanks again to Charles Runyon and Ed Gorman for helping put together all of the pieces on this project, as they have. And to Charles, it’s great to have you back!

JOHN WHITLATCH – Stunt Man’s Holiday

Pocket 77660; paperback original; 1st printing, May 1973.

    I don’t know very much about John Whitlatch, and I don’t know anyone who does. In many, many ways he was the last of the true pulp fiction writers, even though his first book was published in 1969. Between then and 1976 he wrote 11 novels in a wide range of categories for Pocket, ten of them in one four years period.

   All of them paperback originals – crime, adventure, westerns, war, motorcycle gangs, the whole gamut. The titles were not all that remarkable, but the covers – the covers were lurid and eye-catching, and the books were reprinted over and over again. One presumes that they sold well.

    Only three of them were listed in Crime Fiction IV, by Allen J. Hubin, but in Addenda #10 a complete revision of his entry now includes all of the books he wrote, as follows:

WHITLATCH, JOHN. No biographical information is known about this author of eleven popular pulp fiction paperbacks in the 1960s and 70s. While specific genres, settings and time periods vary widely, there is a criminous element in each of them. With Tom Power, one of the survivors of the event, John Whitlatch later co-authored Shoot-Out At Dawn (Phoenix Books, pb, 1981), an account of what took place at a remote Southern Arizona cabin in 1918. SC: John Gannon = JG; Captain Jamey Morgan = JM.

Gannon’s Vendetta. Pocket 75383, pbo, 1969. JG “Do not forget, gentlemen – violence is the only thing they understand. If in doubt, kill.”

Morgan’s Rebellion. Pocket 75384, pbo, 1969. “Prison made a man of Morgan. And the man became a legend.”

Tanner’s Lemming. Pocket 75616, pbo, Sept 1970. “Tanner – the man who single-fistedly quashed a student takeover and tongue-lashed its leaders into silence at a turbulent school-board showdown. Tanner – the man who had never flown a plane, yet took the stick when a pilot died in midair and landed safely. Tanner – the man whose blunt business sense had won him a place in a Senator’s inner circle. Tanner – had he blown a hole in the heart of the man millions of Americans revered? Had he killed Senator Stanton? Could he have been the assassin?”

The Iron Shirt. Pocket 75642, pbo, 1970. [West] “Jonathan Fontaine swore it … in the smoking remains of his homestead, over the charred, mutilated body of his young daughter. He had gone East but now was back in Arizona with a specially equipped rifle. And he had a fresh lead on the Indian – the one who had worn a necklace of human fingers and The Iron Shirt.” [Marginal: primarily a Western.]

The Judas Goat. Pocket 75643, pbo, 1970. “Hand-picked from the entire US World War II army, they were a unique company. Twelve men led by a lieutenant, as able as he was arrogant, and a sharp, seasoned sergeant who was militantly silent about his past. Twelve fighters, among them an ugly man, a black man, on old World War I scout, a southern redneck, and a mountain climber. They were a strange assortment, but tough and tenacious – and they didn’t care too much about living. To the General they were the army’s answer to the marines. To the Colonel they were a crack team … the best he could assemble. To the Lieutenant they were ‘animals.’ And by the time their brutal training had ended they were Killers!”

Lafitte’s Legacy. Pocket 75670, pbo, Sept 1971. [Louisiana] “The last of the Lafittes had come back from Arizona to visit his dying grandfather. But enemies lay in wait, blcoking his way with fallen trees, terrorizing his wife with poisonous snakes, signalling their malice with voodoo dolls. Someone wanted the old treasure map that was his legacy. But his adversaries had not reckoned with the pirate blood that was also part of Lafitte’s legacy. He would fight with all the guile and guts, tenacity and ingenuity that had made his legendary ancestor the terror of the bayou.”

Frank T.’s Plan. Pocket 77587, pbo, Oct 1972. “To avenge his daughter’s death, an old man pits himself against the most violent forces of evil.”

Stunt Man’s Holiday. Pocket 77660, pbo, May 1973. [Arizona] “He made his living getting shot in the movies. But this time the bullets were real.”

Cory’s Losers. Pocket 77661, pbo, May 1973. “The little western town was full of crooked operators – and Cory wanted revenge on every one of them.”

Morgan’s Assassin. Pocket 77659, pbo, Aug 1973. “A squad of mean, smart killers was out to bring the nation to its knees. Only one man was tough enough to stop them –El Arquito!”

Gannon’s Line. Pocket 80743, pbo, Oct 1976. [Mexico] JG “Blazing adventure and a perilous game of survival south of the Rio Grande!”

    Victor Berch has checked the copyright records for the earlier books, and from the evidence found he says, “John Whitlach seems to be a real name. There was no indication in the records that this was a pseudonym.” Also interesting is the fact that, he goes on to say, “Nor are there any renewal records for any of his 1969 books.”

   Stunt Man’s Holiday is a crime novel, and in a more than minor way, it’s even a “fair play” detective story. Max Besh is the stunt man that the title advertises, not to mention a full-blooded Apache who needs all of his heritage, as it turns out, to follow a gang of bank robbers on a long, exhausting chase through the Arizona desert after they kidnap the girl he’s traveling with, along with the wife of a Don Rickles look- (and act-) alike Jewish comedian named Les Rick.

    And that’s the entire plot right there, summed up in only one sentence, even allowing for the fact that it’s a long one, which I grant you. Les Rick starts out being deliberately unlikable, but he gradually shows his worth (if not his innate cowboy ability) by accompanying Max the entire distance, by which I mean the entire book. Here’s an example of Max’s tracking skills, taken from page 132, where Rick asks if they’re getting closer:

   The writing is competent enough, but as the excerpt shows, it may also be straightforward to a fault. And in all honesty, if you haven’t gathered where I’m headed already, as opposed to the opening scenes that take place in Las Vegas, the rest of the tale is rather skimpy in plot. Take the long trek in the desert, for example, in which (in retrospect) nothing really happens, except to allow the reader to watch as Besh and Rick, natural-born opposites, react against the other and get to know (if not understand) each other more.

   Nonetheless, what Whitlatch is rather adept and clever at, in this book at least, is in making the reader think something is happening – a hint here, building an anticipation there, adding to the puzzle now and again – when perhaps the something that is happening is a whole lot less. The ending, which is rather violent – all of a sudden, you see, things really do start to happen – is what the reader has been eagerly waiting for, he suddenly realizes, and he is finally rewarded. (Not many women will read John Whitlatch’s books, I suspect, but as always, I may be wrong.)

   What was unexpected, on the other hand, is that – as I mentioned earlier – this is a detective story of sorts. Not everything is what it seems, and since it is fairly obvious that it is not, I do not believe I am revealing anything I should not be. There are clues as to what is going on, in other words, if one reads slowly enough. But because they are not emphasized, it is easy to lose track of them as the story heads off in another direction, which it does.

   Or to be more specific, the crux of whole affair depends upon what was discovered way back on page 86. If you’re paying attention, and make yourself notes of what’s happening when it happens, you’ll have it figured out at the same time that Besh does, guaranteed – but he’s not talking. And Rick– as early into his education of the way of the west as it is when it happens – don’t count on him. He’s simply not swift enough.

   All in all, though? Not entirely what I expected. Whether that’s good or bad, I leave for you to decide.

PostScript: For a Gallery of all the Whitlatch covers, check out this page on the primary Mystery*File website.

   For a version with many more cover images, please see the main M*F website.

[UPDATE] 05-18-07. The link above is now the location of the “official” bibliography. It contains the additions made today and not found below. Any additional corrections will also be made to only the one found on the main M*F website.

      As Charles Runyon:

# The Anatomy of Violence (n.) Ace D-429, pbo, 1960 “One day she would meet her violator face to face.”

# The Death Cycle (n.) Gold Medal s1268, pbo, January 1963. “Behind them a murdered man. Ahead of them a lot of loving, lying, speeding and spending.

# Color Him Dead (n.) Gold Medal k1320, pbo, July 1963 [Caribbean] “He escaped to a tropical island and met the native girl who could make a man forget anything – anything but the years he lost in prison for a murder he didn’t commit.”

= Reprinted as The Incarnate, Manor Books 15235, pb, 1977. “There was nothing she would not do to make him forget.”

# The Prettiest Girl I Ever Killed (n.) Gold Medal k1507, pbo, 1965. “A strange novel of suspense.”

# -Bloody Jungle (n.) Ace G-594, pbo, 1966 [Viet Nam], as by Charles W. Runyon. “A powerful novel of the Green Berets in Vietnam.”

# The Black Moth (n.) Fawcett Gold Medal d1873; 1967 [Illinois] “They were spoiled, over-ripe little girls too wise for their years and some of them had to die, those who wore … The Black Moth.”

# No Place to Hide (n.) Gold Medal R2218, pbo, 1970. “Violent death made them lovers and outcasts with – No Place to Hide.” [Robert McGinnis cover]

# Power Kill (n.) Gold Medal T2560, pbo, May 1972. “First-rate suspense … compellingly readable.” — Mario Puzo.

# Something Wicked (n.) Lancer 1973.

# To Kill a Dead Man (n.) Major 3061, pbo, 1976 [Caribbean] “He was an assassin for hire – no assignment was too large!”

# Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die (n.) Pyramid 03963, pbo, 1977, as by Charles W. Runyon. [Hospital] “In the sterile white corridors of a mental ward – and the unexplored passages of the mind – unfolds a novel of heart-clutching terror, with a cast of characters caught inextricably in its lurking mystery.”

      As Ellery Queen

# The Last Score (n.) Pocket Books 50486, pbo, November 1964. Signet Q6102; pb, Oct 1974 [Mexico] (Rich couple’s daughter is kidnapped under the nose of her travel agent chaperone Reid Rance while on vacation in Mexico, and he’s got to get her back.)

# The Killer Touch (n.) Pocket Books 50494, pbo, October 1965. Signet Q6514, pb, 1975. [Caribbean] “There are many ways to die, sometimes nature holds the most special ones.”

# Kiss and Kill (n.) Dell 4567, pbo, April 1969. [Mexico] “The lady was luscious, and death followed everywhere she went.”

      As Charles Runyon, Jr.

Gypsy King (n.) Jove 04041, pbo, 1979. Historical Romance. “His million dollar empire stretched to the White House and beyond, but he didn’t even know his name.”

      As Charles W. Runyon

Pig World (n.) Doubleday, hc, 1971. SF.

= Lancer 75446, pb, n.d. “Charles W. Runyon’s harrowing new novel of the near future – when millions of captive minds will have but one master!”

Ames Holbrook, Deity (n.) Curtis 07202, pbo, 1972. SF.

Soulmate (n.) Avon 18028, pbo, March 1974. Horror. Expanded from the story “Soulmate” Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, April 1970. “A contemporary horror tale & a strong one, not recommended for the squeamish.”

I, Weapon (n.) Doubleday, hc, July 1974. SF.

= Popular Library 04127, pb, December 1977. “He was the ultimate man – and humankind’s last hope for survival.”

      As Mark West

Office Affair (n.) Beacon B-421Y, pbo, 1961. “She learned her tricks at the bottom of the heap – and he was her ticket to the top!”

His Boss’ Wife (n.) Beacon B-466F, pbo, 1962. “He was a man on the make and this time he wanted – his boss’ wife.”

Object of Lust (n.) Beacon B-468F, pbo, 1962. “She was beautiful, lonely and an … object of lust.”

●● Asked about the criminous content of the Mark West books, here’s what Charles had to say:

      Mystery and Suspense Stories

“Hangover Manhunt” Manhunt, December 1960

“The Last Kill” Manhunt, April 1961.

“The Possessive Female” Manhunt, June 1961

“Sales Pitch” (by Mark Starr) Manhunt, June 1961

“The Death Gimmick” Mike Shayne Mystery, March 1962

“The Waiting Room” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery, October 1969

“Cycle Death Run.” Men, April 1970 (**)

“The Dead Survive” Mike Shane Mystery, September 1974

“A Good Head for Murder” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery, November 1974

“The Company of Brave, Rich Men” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery, April 1975

“An Act of Simple Kindness” Mike Shane Mystery, November 1975

“Death Is My Passenger” Mike Shayne Mystery, June 1976

(**) Since this magazine is probably the most difficult of Charles’ appearances in print to come by, here courtesy of the Internet, is a summary of the story line:

      Science Fiction and Fantasy

“First Man in a Satellite” Super Science Fiction, December 1958

“Solution Tomorrow” Fantastic, September 1959

“Remember Me, Peter Shepley” Fantastic, December 1960

“Happiness Squad” Fantastic, March 1967

“The Youth Addicts” Worlds of IF, May 1967

“Sweet Helen” Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction [F&SF], September 1969

“Dream Patrol” F&SF, February 1970

“Soulmate” F&SF, April 1970. Expanded into the novel Soulmate (Avon, pbo, 1974)

“Once There Were Cows” F&SF, July 1974

“Noomyenoh” F&SF, January 1975

“Terminal” F&SF, August 1975

“In Case of Danger, Prsp the Ntxivbw” F&SF, December 1975

“Brain Diver” F&SF, March 1976

“The Sitter” F&SF, July 1976

“Daughter of the Vine” F&SF, April 1977

“Metafusion” Stellar 3: Science Fiction Stories, Judy-Lynn Del Rey, ed. (Ballantine/Del Rey, pbo, October 1977)

“The Liberation of Josephine” F&SF, September 1978

      – The basis for this bibliography was Crime Fiction IV, by Allen J. Hubin, and the records of Charles Runyon. Thanks also to Bill Crider and Charles Runyon for providing many of the cover images seen on this page.

      —

Ed Gorman interviews Charles Runyon

The Curse of Dorian-7

JOHN GALLIGAN – The Nail Knot

Worldwide; paperback reprint, October 2006. Trade paperback: Bleak House, May 2005.

   A “nail knot” is one of those clever devices that are used most often by fly fishermen, and as such it is something I knew nothing about before reading this book. (The last time I went fishing was with my grandfather when I was ten or so, when all we did was to drop our lines into water off a long pier jutting out into Lake Michigan. No casting abilities of any kind required. Nor did we catch anything, but why do I still remember the day, now well over fifty years ago?)

   The primary protagonist of The Nail Knot, a laid back sort of fellow who calls himself the Dog, is a fly fisherman, however, and I’ll get back to him in a minute.

   In the meantime, here is a short list of other mystery novels or series which I’ve just come up with in which fly fishing is a substantial component, in no particular order.

   There are probably others that I am not thinking of now. Please add others, if you can. This is the first of at least three books in John Galligan’s “Dog” series, but some research shows that he wais the author of one earlier mystery novel, Red Sky, Red Dragonfly, also published by Bleak House (in 2001), in which a hockey player from Wisconsin travels to Japan to teach English for a year and ends up being implicated in his predecessor’s disappearance.

   Subsequent and/or reportedly forthcoming follow-ups in John Galligan’s fly fishing series are:

   This is a long-range projection, and I suspect that some of these titles may turn out to be totally hypothetical. But assuming that you’re still with me, let’s take a look at the book in hand. As mentioned above, “the Dog” is how the leading character refers to himself — he tells the story, and on a strictly personal basis, it’s quite a story that has to tell.

   The Dog’s real name is Ned Oglivie, and he is what you might call a dropout from the human race, wandering across the country and checking out fishing spots as he goes. A nomadic fly fisherman without parallel, you might say. Until he reaches Black Earth, Wisconsin, that is, where it is that he finds a body along the edge of the creek that leading into (or out of) local Lake Bud. (You can see that even though it may be an important plot point, it didn’t make much of an impression on me.)

    He also finds The Woman, but not until she removes from the crime scene all of the evidence that (Dog later learns) points to her semi-senile father. But let the Dog describe the lady, from page 13:

   You can tell at once that the Dog is hooked. Her name is Melvina Racheletta O’Malley, or Junior for short, and the Dog discovers to his dismay that he cannot walk away when she asks him to help her in what she insists is a frame-up of her father, Mel.

    The dead man has only lately been a local, which first of all is not a good thing in rural Wisconsin, and secondly he had been an activist in trying to revive and save the fish in Lake Bud, which is also definitely not a good thing — activism, that is.

   The solution to the mystery depends greatly on who was able to tie a nail knot, and at what time. It wouldn’t have been a terribly difficult case to solve, if one had a protagonist who was a little more, shall we say, pro-active on the case — you soon get the feeling that if the Dog were any more low key than he is, he wouldn’t be able to get up in the morning — but then again meeting all of the local folk, some more local and inbred than others, and some not, would have been not nearly so much fun as this.

UPDATE. Quite coincidentally there has been a discussion of fly-fishing mysteries on DorothyL this past week (early November), in relation to a slightly different topic of “male cozies.” Here are a couple more mystery series that have been pointed out as belonging to the category, still small but obviously growing:

   There are events in the real world that you, I am sure, would find hard to believe if someone would take them simply as they happened and write them up as part of a work of fiction. Noted comic book writer Arnold Drake died in mid-March at the age of 83. Spy fiction author Leslie Waller died on March 29th, four days before his 84th birthday.

   The connection? In 1950 as “Drake Waller” the two men collaborated as the author of It Rhymes with Lust, considered to be the first graphic novel, a digest-sized work in comic book form. Of marginal interest as a crime novel, it nonetheless was recently added as a marginal entry to Crime Fiction IV, by Allen J. Hubin. See the online Addenda, Part 12.

   Two men, born within a year of each other, worked on one key book together in their 20s, went their own professional ways, and then died within weeks of each other. Destiny sometimes moves in mysterious ways.

   Not all of Mr. Waller’s bibliography consists of crime-related fiction, but a large portion of it is, with espionage, crooked bankers and Mafia elements predominant.

   He was in fact a Gold Medal writer, as a book simply titled “K” (Gold Medal, 1963) was a plot to assassinate Khrushchev during a visit to the US.

   His final work of fiction was Target Diana, a trade paperback with low distribution in which Princess Diana was murdered by a rogue agent, with the secret approval of the Royal Family.

   Excluding It Rhymes with Lust, but expanded to included Target Diana, Leslie Waller’s output as recorded in CFIV looks like this:

WALLER, LESLIE (1923-2007); see pseudonyms C. S. Cody & Patrick Mann.
      * “K” (n.) Gold Medal, pbo, 1963 [Chicago, IL]
      * A Change in the Wind (n.) Geis 1969
      * The American (n.) Putnam 1970 [Europe]
      * The Coast of Fear (n.) Doubleday 1974 [Italy; WWII]
      * The Swiss Account (n.) Doubleday 1976 [Switzerland]

      * Trocadero (n.) Delacorte 1978 [Paris]
      * Gameplan (n.) Bantam 1984
      * Embassy (n.) McGraw 1987 [London]
      * Amazing Faith (n.) McGraw 1988 [Europe]
      * Deadly Sins (n.) Heinemann. UK, 1992
      * Mafia Wars (n.) Onyx 1993
      * Tango Havana (n.) Heinemann, UK, 1993 [Havana, Cuba]
      * Manhattan Transfer (n.) Heinemann. UK, 1994 [New York City, NY]
      * Eden (n.) Severn, UK, 1997
      * Target Diana (n.) Transatlantic Publishers, pb, 2001.

CODY, C(harles) S.; pseudonym of Leslie Waller.
      * The Witching Night (n.) World 1952 [Indiana]
      * Lie Like a Lady (n.) Ace, pbo, 1955 [Chicago, IL]

MANN, PATRICK; pseudonym of Leslie Waller.
      * Dog Day Afternoon (n.) Delacorte 1973 [New York City, NY]
      * -The Vacancy (n.) Putnam 1973
      * Steal Big (n.) St. Martin’s 1981 [England]

   I haven’t happened to have found a cover image for Tango Havana (1993), but I did come across a description of the plot. Hoping to provide an idea of the kind of stories Mr. Waller wrote, I’ll include it here:

   And taken from the same book, here’s a short “About the Author” biography:

   Although some sources say Mr. Waller wrote several screenplays, IMDB mentions only his work as a writer for the TV show Falcon Crest, and that a non-fiction book he wrote, Hide in Plain Sight was made into a 1980 film starring James Caan. Not stated on IMDB, as Patrick Mann he also wrote the book which novelized the film Dog Day Afternoon. Either of these may be where the confusion arises.

   Even though it’s not included in CFIV, some of the behavior displayed on Falcon Crest was definitely criminous in behavior. Below you’ll find a image of the cover of the book, a novelization of the TV series written by Patrick Mann, a.k.a. Leslie Waller, once again the man behind the pen name.

[UPDATE] 12-02-08.   Based on a suggestion included in an email I received from Dan Bara today, Al Hubin agrees that the following two titles by Leslie Waller are crime-related and should appear in CFIV. The brief descriptions of each were found by me and helped Al make the call:

Descriptions from various sources:

The Family.

FROM THE FRONT COVER: Slashes deeper than the Godfather, “sex, sadism, violence, money, power, evil.”

“An explosive story that bares the link between the big-time bankers and big-time crime.”

The Banker.

The money man: He owned villas in France, Italy, Switzerland, England, Germany & the Caribbean–each outfitted with emperor-sized round beds …. He was a juggler of power & people, keeping an uneasy balance between the broads he bought, the men he bled, the Swiss bankers & mafia musclemen he did business with. He was one step ahead of the SEC, the IRS, & the Justice Department. He was the wheeler-dealer king of international finance.

Woods Palmer moves into the field of intrigue and counter-intrigue in the big business world of banking in America.