Sun 3 Jun 2012
EDWARD RONNS – Say It with Murder. Graphic #76, paperback original; 1st printing, 1954. Berkley Diamond D2041, paperback, 1960. Reprinted as by Edward S. Aarons: Macfadden, paperback, 1968; Manor, paperback, 1973.
In case anyone’s not quite sure, Ronns was the pen name, Aarons was his real name. His writing career, as far as mystery novels were concerned, began back in 1938, when he was 22 years old, with a hardcover novel entitled Death in a Lighthouse, published by Phoenix Press. He didn’t use his own name until 1948 and a book called Nightmare, also in hardcover, this time for McKay.
His career really didn’t start rolling, though, until 1950, and the era of the paperback original. His first book for Gold Medal was again as Ronns and a book entitled Million Dollar Murder. He was especially prolific in the early 1950s, with five books in 1950, two in 1951, three in 1952, four in 1953, and two in 1954, including Say It for Murder. His first Sam Durell novel, Assignment to Disaster, the long-running spy series for which he is best known, came out in 1955.
I have sometimes wondered if the four books he wrote for Graphic Books between 1953 and 1955 were rejects from Gold Medal, or if he had so many books in him at the time that he had to spread them out over more than one publisher.
Personally, I don’t believe that Say It for Murder is as good as the books he was writing for Gold Medal at the time, so I have a feeling that Graphic was only a backup market for him. It does have something of a noirish feeling to it, a la Day Keene, Gil Brewer and Charles Williams, with the protagonist, pianist Bill Carmody, getting into one jam after another, either with the police on one side and the guys he’s forced to hang around with on the other.
But Carmody is essentially a nice guy who only made one mistake, and not a guy who continually tries to cut sharp corners as he makes his way through life, and we have the sense he’s going to work his way out of his troubles – and get the girl – with the only question being how.
I don’t know. I was going to tell you more about the plot, which begins with Carmody joining up with two other former Korean prisoners of war in getting even with the guy they think turned traitor on them, and the mysterious death of the man’s wealthy wife, but maybe this is all you need to know.
There’s nothing deep to the story, but there’s certainly something going on in it all the time, and sometimes that’s all you need just before heading off to bed at night.
June 3rd, 2012 at 6:51 pm
I have a spare copy of the Graphic paperback of this book. The front cover has several serious creases in it, so it’s only in Fair condition.
It’s still readable, though — I just did! — so if anyone wants it, I’ll choose at random from everyone who leaves a comment (if anyone) and if you’re the winner, I’ll send it out to you as a freebie.
You do have to want it, though. Feel free to leave a comment anyway, even if you don’t!
June 3rd, 2012 at 9:02 pm
I’m a fan of his Durrell series (still missing a few) and I’d love to read this one.
June 3rd, 2012 at 10:40 pm
I’ve read this one (in the Berkley edition with that nice cover) and remember enjoying it. Aarons was consistently entertaining, even in his lesser books.
June 3rd, 2012 at 11:21 pm
I used to have quite a sizable collection of books by Edward S. Aarons, but I don’t have a single one now. I’m not certain what happened.
June 3rd, 2012 at 11:58 pm
Rick
And anyone else who’s a fan of the Durell books, here’s an illustrated list of all 48, along with a nice overview of the character himself and short synopses of each of the books:
http://www.spyguysandgals.com/sgShowChar.asp?ScanName=Durell_Sam
This includes the last six, written as by Will B. Aarons.
June 4th, 2012 at 12:05 am
James
That Berkley paperback is nice, but I like the cover of the Graphic edition a little bit more.
I never was all that good in identifying cover artists, but since “Marchetti” is written right on the front cover, I’m going to take a wild stab and say it was done by Lou Marchetti.
Here’s a link to a website that has lots of examples of his work:
http://loumarchetti.com/index.html
June 4th, 2012 at 12:08 am
Randy
If you were inclined to build a set of Aarons paperbacks back up again — and I don’t know how big an “if” that is — it wouldn’t be hard to do.
Aarons was so popular in his day, and he sold so many books, that finding them cheaply wouldn’t take a lot of effort. Looking for lots on eBay would be my first step.
Did you ever read any while you had them?
June 4th, 2012 at 1:05 pm
Yes, I did read some of them, but it was so long ago I don’t really remember them. I was in the habit of looking at books on newsstands and buying copies of authors who seemed to publish a lot. For some reason I thought someone ought to be collecting them. It rook me awhile before I realized it didn’t have to be me! As I recall my set went to the library at Bowling Green.
June 4th, 2012 at 4:59 pm
Now that I’ve looked at that website with the 48 titles I remember the covers more than I remember the stories. I suspect I bought them as soon as I saw them, read a few, did not read much more than that. How did I ever find the time to accomplish even that much?
June 4th, 2012 at 10:35 pm
No, I have no inclination to re-build my Edward S. Aarons set. I am disposing of more books than I am acquiring these days. I hope.
June 5th, 2012 at 11:39 am
Both James and Randy have taken themselves out of the running for the free book, and with only one name left in the hat, the winner is Rick Ollerman. Congratulations!
Rick, I’ll be in touch to get your mailing address.