Bøger udgivet af Stark House Press

REDHEADS DIE QUICKLY Gil Brewer, the frantic master of compulsive noir fiction—the man of whom author/editor Ed Gorman once said, “at his best, he hooked you in the first paragraph and never let you go.”  According to Leonard Cassuto, author of Hard-Boiled Sentimentality: The Secret History of American Crime Stories, “Brewer marinated crime and lust together in the humid Florida heat to produce stories of sexual hunger, obsession, and predation.” Presented here are thirty of his best Florida stories, direct from the pages of Manhunt, Pursuit, Detective Tales and other great mystery magazines of the 1950s and 60s. Brewer contributed prolifically to the pulp outlets of the day, turning out everything from hardboiled crime tales to pornographic fantasies. He published over 100 stories and 50 novels from 1951 to 1976 under his own name and at least 13 pseudonyms (including an Ellery Queen novel). Originally published in 2012 by University Press of Florida, this new Stark House edition of Redheads Die Quickly includes five stories left out of the first edition, including the novelette “Meet Me in the Dark.” They are, as crime writer Dave Zeltserman referenced them, “hard-boiled gems, with each story wilder than the next.”

NO LAW AGAINST ANGELS In which Lt. Al Wheeler investigates the murder of two young ladies--both of whom worked at the Haven of Rest mortuary-both of whom had a tattoo on their upper shoulder in the shape of a dollar sign which turns into a snake-and both of whom worked as part-time call-girls for the mysterious fellow known as Snake Lannigan, a man no one has ever seen. DOLL FOR THE BIG HOUSE In which Lt. Al Wheeler is reassigned to the Eight Precinct under Captain Bligh in order to--find Lili Hertz, whose sister has reported her missing-track her to the Big House of Absolem Kirch, despotic owner of a newspaper empire and the man behind a lot of dirty politics-and crack the kidnapping ring that provides Kirch with the young girls he keeps in his mansion against their will. CHORINE MAKES A KILLING In which Lt. Al Wheeler turns in his badge to become a private investigator for a lawyer's firm in order to--investigate an open-and-shut murder case involving Walter Byrne, friend of the lawyer and now married to the lawyer's ex-wife-determine just who really did kill the chorus girl, who was also Byrne's mistress-figure out who is trying to kill Byrne's wife, Myra, while fending off the advances of the man's sexy daughter. .

FRANTIC Julien Courtois finds himself in a bit of financial bind. And the only way out is murder. He's even got the perfect plan. While his secretary believes him to be in his office, he climbs up a rope to an upper floor and stages his victim's "suicide." It all works according to plan. But on his way out of the building, he remembers that the rope is still dangling out of the window, leading right down to his office! Rushing back into the building, Julien manages to get stuck in the elevator when the janitor turns off the power for the weekend. At the same time, a young couple steal Julien's car from in front of the building, and his wife, thinking she's watching Julien drive off with another woman, assumes the worst. And so begins a torturous set of circumstances. While Julien remains trapped in the elevator, his life gradually becomes unraveled by a vindictive wife and a couple of teenagers playing at being gangsters. Filmed in 1961 by Louis Malle as Elevator to the Gallows, this classic French novel is a masterpiece of noir tension.

GO, LOVELY ROSE They find Mrs. Henshaw at the bottom of the cellar stairs with her neck broken. Everyone assumes she has fallen. But when Rose's sister appears on the scene, she immediately begins to cry murder. And she's right! Young Hartley is the obvious suspect. Mrs. Henshaw had been his and his sister Rachel's housekeeper for many years, and there was no love lost between any of them. In fact, no one in town really liked Rose Henshaw. Her ex-husband, Francie, certainly knew how evil she could be-she ruined his life. The rest of them were simply afraid of her: young Dr. Craig, the newcomer in town; and Bix, Hartley's teenage girlfriend; her father, Hugh Bovard, editor of the local paper; and his shattered wife, Althea, still mourning the loss of her son. They all hated Rose Henshaw for one reason or another-but who hated her enough to push her down the stairs? THE EVIL WISH Ever since Marcia and Lucy were little girls, they would hide in the basement of their brownstone and listen in on their father's conversations. But now they are in their 30s, still living with their domineering father, and one day they eavesdrop on a very portentous revelation. Their widowed father intends to marry his secretary, give her all his money, and let her kick his daughters out of their house. In their anger and outrage, Marcia and Lucy hatch a plot to murder him. When their father and his secretary are involved in a fatal car crash, their plans prove unnecessary. But what are they to do with their murder scheme and the residual guilt-particularly when the aborted plot develops a life of its own?

NIGHTFALL Jim Vanning stands at the window of his Greenwich Village apartment. It's a hot, sticky night, but he's afraid to go out. Vanning is haunted by memories of a car accident…and a gun. He's killed a man, and he knows they will be coming for him. But will it be the cops or the criminals that find him first? Finally, Vanning decides to go out. He has no idea where he's going, but he's in a hurry to get there. That's when he meets Martha…and soon realizes that she will either redeem him, or lead him to his doom. Either way, Vanning is rushing into the night… CASSIDY'S GIRL Cassidy used to be an airline pilot. But that was before the crash. Now he drives a bus. And drinks with his friends. And fights with his wife Mildred, a slave to her temper, her body, her sex. But Mildred has found a new man to torment. So when Cassidy meets Doris, he decides to ditch his life, and take up with her instead. Doris is his angel, his way out. But Doris already has a lover-the bottle. Torn between his jealousy over Mildred and his new-found desire for Doris, Cassidy starts making plans to escape the desolation that is his life. But a man can only go so far to escape himself. NIGHT SQUAD Corey Bradford was a cop but they caught him on the take, and bounced him. Now he's a back alley pariah. He can't even sit in at one of Grogan's poker games. But when Corey saves the big man's life one night, Grogan offers him $15,000 to find out who tried to heist him. Then McDermott of the Night Squad steps in and offers Corey his badge back to work with him to bring down Grogan. Corey is torn down the middle. The Night Squad can hand him back his prestige, his dignity. But Grogan's bribe can bring him a small fortune, a way out. Make one mistake, and either side will kill him.

LEAD WITH YOUR LEFTDave Wintino is the youngest homicide cop on the force, and is constantly getting ribbed for it. When an ex-cop named Owens is found murdered while delivering some for a bond company, no one takes Wintino seriously when he suggests it could be more than just a random burglary. He starts investigating on his own, and discovers that Owens and his old partner were still working together. Could an 30-year-old case involving a bootleg still and a gangland killing have anything to do with Owens' death? When Owens' partner is found murdered as well, Wintino knows that there is more than coincidence at work here-if only he can get someone to take him seriously. THE BEST THAT EVER DID ITTwo men are murdered on a New York City street. One is a guy who just won a thousand dollars in a slogan contest. The other is a cop. The wife of the cop hires Barney Harris to find the killer. But what possible motive could there be for the killing of these two total strangers? Of course, the cops are already on this one, but Barney gets lucky, and stumbles across a clue in a neighborhood bar. He finds a prostitute the two men had in common. But he still can't figure out why a killer would go after them both. What linked these two men? And what kind of scheme prompts a gunman to go after a guy so squeaky clean that the boldest act of his life is planning a trip to Europe with his contest winnings?

THE RED SCARF Roy Nichols needs to find some quick cash to keep from losing his motel. The new highway was supposed to go through, providing plenty of business, but now it's been delayed. The bank refuses to help, and his brother turns him down. Desperate and on the way back home, he catches a ride with a bickering couple named Vivian and Teece. They start drinking, then Teece gets spooked, and crashes the car. That's when Nichols discovers that his travelling companions have been carrying a briefcase full of cash. Teece appears to be dead, and Vivian confesses that they have robbed the mob, and begs him to help her escape. But to do that, Nichols will have to lie to his wife Bess…to the cops…and ultimately, to a very dangerous man named Radan. A KILLER IS LOOSE Ex-cop Steve Logan is down on his luck. With a baby on the way, Logan decides to pawn his last pistol to a bartender friend. On his way, he rescues a stranger, Ralph Angers, from being hit by an oncoming bus. Angers is an eye surgeon and a Korean War vet, and he has plans to build a hospital in town. Unfortunately, he is also prepared to kill anyone and everyone who gets in the way of his plans. So when Angers manages to get a hold of Logan's Luger, he also drags his rescuer into a nightmare of murder and insanity. Logan becomes a hostage to Angers' plans, and there will be no mercy to anyone who gets in his way.

WAR OF THE DONS The Guarda brothers run capo Messina's territory. Pepe, the oldest, is the muscle. Nuncio, the younger brother, is the accountant. And Marco, he's the wolf. Restless, hungry, he's through taking orders. It's his idea to get rid of Messina and take over. But to do that, the hit has got to look like an accident, or they risk the wrath of Messina's boss, Don Angelo. So Marco hires a twitchy drug addict with a penchant for danger, a guy who knows how to turn Messina's simple hospital visit into a fatality. It's all going so well, so smoothly. Then Don Angelo steps in to take control, and the Guarda brothers really go to war. BLACK MAFIA Cutter used to be part of the movement, but got busted for knocking over a bank. He did his time, now he's out. But things have changed. His former mentor is now a teacher, and wants nothing to do with him. It's all Cutter can do to stay one step ahead of the Man. And now some white guys are coming into the Belt to stir up trouble, busting the local action and making it look like a Perrini job. But Perrini is quite happy with the status quo. Sure he skims the Belt, but he's not looking for trouble. Trouble finds him anyway in the form of Don Santino's nephew, Angelo, who's got a hidden agenda all his own. And that's when Cutter figures it's time to make his move.

WAYWARD GIRL Sandy Greening loses her virginity at fourteen to a drunken neighbor. Her mother doesn't care. She's drunk herself all the time on cheap wine. So Sandy starts running with a gang, The Blue Devils, and that's where she first turns on to marijuana, and not long after, heroin. That's when she starts to sell herself to anyone with the bucks to pay for her highs. But the night Tommy asks her to hold his knife before they rumble with The Black Cats is the night that changes Sandy's life forever. A kid gets killed, and the cops put the finger on Sandy for information. And when she won't give it up the easy way, they set her up and go after it the hard way, all the way to reform school. And that's where Sandy starts to learn the real lessons of life. THE WIDOW When Jerry Rebner starts working for Mrs. Sprague as her cook at the Dells, he figures he knows what he wants-Linda. Lush and ripe, Linda has everything Jerry likes in a woman, and more. Linda is married to Frank, Mrs. Sprague's shiftless hot rodding son, who widows her when he plows into a tree one drunken evening. Then Jerry meets Norma, sweet, virginal Norma, who used to pose as a nude model! Torn between the two women, and by the memory of his first wife, Jerry begins to drink. Then Linda comes to him with a plan-Mrs. Sprague's property is worth $50,000 to a development company, but she won't sell. Linda is all she has left, her sole heir. And those steps leading down to the cellar are awfully steep......

YOU'LL GET YOURS"A dark room…a warm woman…a cold knife…"It begins at the end of the line-with a killing. But it had started simply enough when press agent Archie St. George hires private investigator, Barney Glines, to retrieve some missing jewels stolen from his beautiful client, Kyle Shannon. Glines knows he's being set-up for something but he goes along with the exchange out of curiosity more than anything. That-and Kyle Shannon.Turns out that the real "jewels" are a cache of nude photos of Miss Shannon, who is now being blackmailed. Soon Glines finds himself in a dead woman's room-who's been shot with his own gun-and the police are jumping to conclusions. It's beginning to look like whoever's behind the blackmail wants to make sure that Glines is the fall guy. Unless Glines can find him first.

FRENZY OF EVIL Jonathan Joseph Carson-Jonathan Joe to his friends-has reached the pinnacle of success. He is rich, well-traveled, a tremendously successful, oft-married lawyer, owner of a large estate, and now, newly married to a woman young enough to be his granddaughter. But something is wrong with Jonathan. His doctors call it a severe case of climeractic, a type of male menopause, an exaggeration of Jonathan's inherently cruel nature. He savages his opponents in the courtroom, beats his wives, treats everyone around him with casual disdain. And now his new wife comes under his savage thumb. But Dolores has found a lover, someone who might save her. Unfortunately, Jonathan finds out, and there is only one thing to do-and so he begins a frenzy of evil that will stop at nothing less than murder.

THE BABY DOLL MURDERSCliff Tierney was trained by Markham to be the best, a carny's carny. Then Holly entered his life and messed things up-and Markham had Tierney stomped. But that was months ago. Now Tierney is back, and Markham wants him to handle a blackmailer for him. Ann should be easy. She's in love with Cliff. But then Markham brings Holly back into the picture, and the set-up becomes complicated. Because Holly's father is the eminent Dr. Thad Ross, who not only controls the town but is involved in Ann's blackmail scheme. And Holly, well she's just as dangerous as her father, and more than a match for Tierney's carny skills. KILLER TAKE ALL!Tony Pearson knows he is no match for Steve Locke, Fern's new husband. Locke has the charm, the drive and the physical prowess he doesn't. He also has Fern. But as a failed golf pro, Tony doesn't have that many options either, and takes Locke up on his offer to work for Tony's boss, Max Baird. Max is a reformed gangster trying to fit in. He even bought a Rembrandt to show off his class. But now he needs the bucks more than the art, and Locke calls in an expert to appraise the painting. That's when they discover that the painting Max owns is a forgery. And who gets framed as the fall guy? Why, Tony, of course. FRENZY After the plan to snatch the boss's girl and some of his casino profits backfires, Norman Sands rails it back to his hometown to lick his wounds. His brother Matt lives there, and Laurie, who used to be his girl, now engaged to Matt. But with Matt and Laurie's help, Norm knows there is a killing to be made here, if he can just figure the angle. When he meets up with the town's movers, he realizes that Murdoch is the real power here. And when he meets Shannon, he knows he has found the perfect match-she's as greedy as he is. But Shannon is Murdoch's girl, and Murdoch isn't giving up anything without a fight.

PORTRAIT IN SMOKE Danny April is obsessed. He buys out a little collection agency in Chicago, and that's how he first meets Krassy. He'd never seen anyone so beautiful. She was Krassy Almauniski then, when he first runs across her picture in his files. She's gone through several identities since then. As Danny tries to track her down, each new name presents him with a portrait of a woman on the move. Krassy is climbing up the social ladder, one sucker at a time. There's the photographer who signs off on a charge account for her, later arrested for larceny. And the ad executive… he gets off lightly. He gets to walk away with his pride. Not all the men who Krassy meet are so lucky. But Danny knows he'll be different. So he keeps looking… until at last he finds her. THE LONGEST SECOND When I awakened, I stared straight above me at the ceiling … I attempted to turn my head. It was then I realized that my throat had been cut. The pain ran down both sides of my neck … I gasped, choking for air. The next day I regained consciousness again ... Suddenly it struck me that I didn't know my own name!… They check his fingerprints and find out that his name is Victor Pacific. He has no memories of who he is, what he is, or why someone tried to kill him. He remembers the name Horstman. But he has no idea of how to find him. All he can do is to begin a search for the clues to his former life. Then he meets Bianca-but will she be able to help him before they strike again?

NO HARP FOR MY ANGEL While in Florida on vacation, Lt. Al Wheeler tangles with--a redhead with green eyes who is "Nobody's girl but my own!"-her club-owning gangster boyfriend, who is involved in some very shady business…-and his gorilla henchman, who is seven feet of muscle and bone, just waiting for the chance to crush him to a pulp when Al becomes the decoy sent in to bring their racket down. BOOTY FOR A BABE When Lt Al Wheeler tries to solve a murder at a science fiction convention--he discovers a professor who wants to stop time by tricking the elusive Delfs…-meets an intellectual gangster who wants to get his hands on the professor's latest invention…-is frustrated by the generously proportioned convention organizer, who somehow manages to keep one step ahead of Al's wolfish designs. EVE, IT'S EXTORTION Which finds Lt. Al Wheeler trying to solve a hit-and-run murder involving--the victim's wife, who is all too glad to have lost her lush of a husband…-the beautiful skip-tracer who tracked down the victim right before he met his untimely end…-and her dubious boyfriend who may not be as innocent as he professes, but is certainly up to no good.

THE ACTION MAN Denton Farr has everything he needs, money, and a fine woman. So why plan the perfect, impossible heist? Why do something that would bring the federals and the syndicate howling after him; why try a stunt that could easily get him killed and certainly send him up for the rest of his life? The action. There's something special about the way his body feels-something different about the air it breathes-when he has action. That it is unnecessary doesn't matter. It is action. And why the hell does he want to climb that mountain? Because it is there. Yes, this is the heist will provide all the action that Farr will ever need… TERROR TOURNAMENT Ex-cop Burl Stannard has been hired as security to protect the take at a 3-day pro-amateur golf tournament. All he has to do is ride shotgun with the money to the bank. But something goes wrong. Three men pull up in a golf cart and crash their car. Shots are exchanged. A fellow ex-cop and one of the thieves are killed. When Stannard comes to, the $400,00 is gone, and no clues in sight-not even the body of the dead criminal. Who could have pulled off such a perfect heist? The more Stannard digs, the more it begins to look like an inside job-but everyone involved has an airtight alibi!THE ACTION MAN Denton Farr has everything he needs, money, and a fine woman. So why plan the perfect, impossible heist? Why do something that would bring the federals and the syndicate howling after him; why try a stunt that could easily get him killed and certainly send him up for the rest of his life? The action. There's something special about the way his body feels-something different about the air it breathes-when he has action. That it is unnecessary doesn't matter. It is action. And why the hell does he want to climb that mountain? Because it is there. Yes, this is the heist will provide all the action that Farr will ever need… TERROR TOURNAMENT Ex-cop Burl Stannard has been hired as security to protect the take at a 3-day pro-amateur golf tournament. All he has to do is ride shotgun with the money to the bank. But something goes wrong. Three men pull up in a golf cart and crash their car. Shots are exchanged. A fellow ex-cop and one of the thieves are killed. When Stannard comes to, the $400,00 is gone, and no clues in sight-not even the body of the dead criminal. Who could have pulled off such a perfect heist? The more Stannard digs, the more it begins to look like an inside job-but everyone involved has an airtight alibi!

THE MEN FROM THE BOYS Marty Bond had been a famous cop in New York. But that was before he was "retired" from the force. Now he's a house dick at a crummy hotel, pimping, rousting, drinking too much. His stomach is killing him, and it comes as no surprise when the doctor says it might be a tumor. Knowing he must have cancer, Marty starts to plan a quicker exit. That's when his stepson comes to him. An auxiliary cop working the streets, Lawrence thinks there was something fishy in a meat seller who cries robbery one minute, then changes his mind the next. Marty tells him to forget about it. But the kid investigates anyway, and is almost beaten to death. Now Marty figures it's time to take Lawrence's suspicions seriously. But what can an ex-cop on the skids do when all he has left are a few old skills, a cynical heart, and the little time remaining?

THE HAUNTS OF MEN "It happened so unexpectedly, so abruptly, that she forgot to scream…" A woman watches a regiment of soldiers trample her garden as war comes to her front door in "The God of Battles." Three soldiers trade shots across the river and discover a common bond in "Pickets." A Union officer finds unexpected aid and unintentional betrayal in "Smith's Battery." A forgotten lover in disguise is a witness to tragedy in "Collector of the Port." A timid art student has his horizons broadened when he seeks a bit of experience in the Latin Quarter in "Another Good Man." These stories and many others represent Robert W. Chambers at the beginning of his career, when-some would say-he was at the height of his storytelling powers. Here are tales that range from the Revolutionary War to the artist salons of Paris, and from a small upstate village in New York to the Alpine mountains of Europe. Tales of love and loss, of sacrifice and madness; comic tales of the Bohemian art world and grim stories of life during wartime. Also included are seven additional stories from The King in Yellow, The Maker of Moons and Barbarians, further glimpses into the hearts and minds of men.

LADY OF A THOUSAND SORROWS I can remember the blood and roses and the sounds of sirens… And how Jason three years before had said to me: "I am going to be killed. They are going to shoot me down in public some day.""No," I said, "that's ridiculous.""Is it? There must be a million people who would like to kill me, at least a hundred million more who would enjoy seeing it no matter what they tell you.""Don't talk about it anymore."He stared narrowly at me then. "It excites you, too. The widow in black, his living memory. People would never forget you. You'd be more famous than I am…."Then three years later on that fatal afternoon, he'd fallen into my lap like a sad enormous doll, his head there like a big flower, blooming blood. And the roses, of course, blood and roses, and me wondering why I, too, had not died…. CONFESSIONS OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY She asked me to kill her husband. She placed in my left hand the most delicate of lady's revolvers… "It needs to be done, believe me Luther," she said, "and I think that Harold would agree with this himself because you can't imagine how many times he's come home from that terrible office and said to me that he knows he'd be better off dead. He really wants to die, Luther; there's a lot of guilt mixed in with his cruelty and that's why I can't hate the man. I want to do him a favor. I want to give him this gift of death. But I just don't quite have the strength. Thank God that you do, Luther."

DAMON RUNYON'S BOYSNew York City. 1948. Damon Taylor, lead reporter for Crime Weekly, has returned from the war with a new-found cynicism. Writing is just a way to earn a living. When the leader of a swing dance group is murdered in plain sight at the Savoy Ballroom, Taylor is assigned the story. He may have been trained by the great newspaperman, Damon Runyon, but it's just a story to him.But as he covers the shooting, Taylor encounters a young cub reporter named Truman Capote, who offers to help. Then the story becomes complicated when one of Taylor's sources, Walter Winchell, learns that the five organized crime families might be involved. After Taylor is beaten up in the rest room at Ebbetts Field during a Dodgers game, it starts to become personal.Taylor discovers that the murder may be tied to the fashion industry. Mob leader Frank Costello may be involved. The FBI are definitely involved. The dance leader's mistress is stuck in the middle. And Capote keeps digging up new information that Taylor can't ignore. When someone takes a shot at him, Damon Taylor discovers he may have to grow a conscience just to survive. But can he solve the mystery before he becomes its next victim?

JESS FRANCO: THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS FILMMAKERJess Franco was a director, cinematographer, writer, composer, editor, producer and actor in more than 150 fiercely independent films he made from 1959 to 2013. Born in Madrid, Spain, he was declared one of the most dangerous filmmakers by the Spanish Catholic Church. He was also one of the most prolific directors of Spanish cinema.His underground classics include Christina, Princess of Eroticism, Vampyros Lesbos, Daughter of Dracula, Tender Flesh, The Awful Dr. Orloff, Venus in Furs, Marquis de Sade's Justine, Revenge in the House of Usher and many others.Kristofer Upjohn celebrates Jess Franco in a collection of essays that examines his individual movies for the first time not just an artistic perspective but also with a subtextual psychological analysis as well-from Count Dracula and Jack the Ripper, all the way to The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein and Countess Perverse. There has never been a low budget maestro like Jess Franco.

Last Job for a Killer The governor said, "You've come for amnesty?""That's right." Slattery's mouth was dry."How come?" the governor breathed. "You, of all men?"Rage thickened Slattery's voice. "Why not?""Amnesty for Ben Slattery. You want to quit your side of the law and join ours?"Slattery said "Ours? You don't mean ours, you mean yours, don't you Governor?""Ours," Fallon barked. "Mine and the rest of the law-abiding citizens of this Territory. You want to join us?"Slattery was silent."Why? Why are you here? Why now?""Because," Slattery said slowly, "I'm sick of the whole damn' business. Because I'm tired of it all." He stood straight and he knew he was telling the truth, even though it was a lie. He wasn't seeking amnesty. He was seeking the easy way to put a bullet into Fallon's heart.