Sat 17 Dec 2022
An Archived Mystery Review: CAROLYN WESTON – Rouse the Demon.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[8] Comments
CAROLYN WESTON – Rouse the Demon. Casey Kellog & Al Krug #3. Random House, hardcover, 1976. Brash Books, softcover, 2015.
A psychologist trying hypnotism as therapy for juvenile drug addicts is murdered. Cops Casey Kellog and Al Krug investigate and find Dr. Myrick more apprentice than sorcerer. No miracle cures for this encounter group.
This is the third of the series of novels that inspired the TV show The Streets of San Francisco. It’s plagued by both spotty and shoddy police work, as far as I’m concerned, detracting greatly from a decent plot conception. It’s also very tempting to add that the television actors bring a great deal to their roles, and I would, if I watched it more than once a year.
Rating: C.
The Casey Kellog & Al Krug series —
Poor, Poor Ophelia. Random House, 1972.
Susannah Screaming. Random House, 1975.
Rouse the Demon. Random House, 1976.
December 17th, 2022 at 9:02 pm
For once the movie, or series, was better than the book generally.
December 18th, 2022 at 3:39 pm
Back then when the series was on, there were too many PI shows to watch, and STREETS was (to me) just another police procedural, and I just wasn’t interested. It was quite popular, though, running from 1972 to 1977, four years with Michael Douglas, all five with Karl Malden.
December 18th, 2022 at 6:43 pm
The thing to remember is that when Quinn Martin Productions bought Poor Poor Ophelia, they just bought the story; they changed almost everything else (not only the character names and locale) to turn it into Streets Of San Francisco.
In particular, the dynamic between Karl Malden and Michael Douglas is completely different than it would have been, had they stuck to the novel.
Not the first time something like this happened in TV, and it wouldn’t be the last …
December 18th, 2022 at 7:40 pm
How right you are. On the other hand, THE STREETS OF SANTA MONICA just doesn’t have any zing to it at all.
December 19th, 2022 at 4:32 pm
I watched this show frequently as a kid with lax 70’s parents and enjoyed it tremendously. The fact that it was filmed on location must have been part of the attraction. And hey: Michael Douglas and Karl Malden were pretty cool for TV actors of the era.
Must be odd for the writer that she had freedom over the 1st novel (in ’72) that launched the series (later that same year)–but then after the series altered the characters and location it must have affected her ability to write the later books with the same level of liberty. She had to choose between coherence with her prior novel and TV viewer expeectations….
December 19th, 2022 at 9:09 pm
It’s fairly clear that Carolyn Weston’s novels and QM’s Streets Of San Francisco were existing in “separate universes”; Once she sold the rights (or the rights were sold on her behalf), all connection between her and QM came to an end.
This might explain why:
– the Weston novels were never released as mass-market paperbacks (as far as I’m aware; correction welcomed, if needed).
– there were never any Streets Of San Francisco paperback tie-in novels (again, subject to correction).
If I’m wrong about any of this, I’d love to learn otherwise …
December 19th, 2022 at 9:39 pm
You are correct on both counts, Mike. The books never appeared in paperback, although I believe there were book club editions (which in all likelihood how I was able to afford them).
Nor were there paperback tie-in’s.
And as Tony suggests, the basic disparity between the books and the series may also have contributed to Weston’s decision to stop writing the books. I do not know anything about her life to be able to say. (In fact, nothing at all.)
December 19th, 2022 at 11:31 pm
Thanx for your affirmations, much appreciated at this time of the year.
Maybe this is why we’re all here: deep down, we’re all investigators at heart …