Mon 13 Dec 2010
ED LACY – The Men from the Boys. Harper & Brothers, hardcover, 1956. Paperback reprints: Pocket #1152, 1957 (cover art by Lou Marchetti); Macfadden 50-249, 1967.
One of the chief pleasures of going to PulpFest (aside from observing the antics of Steve and Walter from a safe distance…) is finding something I saw on a bookstand years ago and didn’t get for some reason — probably because I was broke at the time. This year it was The Men from the Boys (the Macfadden paperback you see to the left) and I’m glad I finally got back to it.
This is the goods. Originally published in 1956, this fast, tough and faintly poetic tale is the first-person account of Marty Bond, a disgraced ex-cop living in a seedy hotel on his pension and whatever he can get as house detective, pimp, bouncer, and resident chiseler.
As the story starts, he’s visited by his stepson Larry, a cop-wanna-be and Citizen On Patrol who answered a call for help from a neighborhood butcher claiming he was just robbed of fifty thousand dollars. Only when Larry got back with a real cop, the butcher decided he hadn’t been robbed at all.
From this intriguing start, Lacy goes on to spin a tale of mobsters, prostitutes, patsies and fall guys, with an occasional mostly-honest cop and aspiring stripper thrown in, set against a backdrop of New York in a sweltering summer. And when Lacy swelter, you can feel your shirt stick to your back.
The action scenes are plentiful and well-handled, the characters vivid and memorable, and if the central puzzle turns into something disappointingly impossible, well, it’s easy to forgive in an ending that surprised me with its off-the-wall poetry.
I’ll be seeking out more by Lacy, and meantime, this one stays on my shelf for years to come.
Editorial Comment: For a long overview and profile of Ed Lacy and his career, check out Ed Lynskey’s article here on the main Mystery*File website. It’s followed by a complete bibliography of his book-length fiction.
December 14th, 2010 at 1:17 am
Thanks for the tip on this one, Dan. I love novels set in such seedy circumstances. The L.A. City Library has several of his works but not this one
I’ve bought it, and it’s already on its way.
Lacy’s name rings a faint bell–I’ve been frequenting used bookstores since the Sixties to feed my reading addiction–but I don’t believe I’ve ever read any of his works.
December 14th, 2010 at 3:42 pm
I’ve enjoyed all of the Lacy books I’ve read, but as with too many authors, there are too many of his I haven’t read, including MEN FROM THE BOYS.
Do read Ed Lynskey’s online profile of Ed Lacy, if you haven’t already. It’s one of the articles I’m the proudest of, in terms of having been able to publish it.
December 14th, 2010 at 3:56 pm
Thanks, Steve. I read Ed Lynskey’s article immediately upon reading Dan’s fine review–even before I ordered MEN FROM THE BOYS.
It’s an excellent profile and you are to congratulated (and thanked) for publishing it…