Paperback 212: Notorious / Day Keene (Gold Medal 372)

Paperback 212: Gold Medal 372 (PBO, 1954) - Canadian Edition

Title: Notorious (no, not that "Notorious")
Author: Day Keene
Cover artist: Uncredited

Yours for: $12


Best things about this cover:

• The fact that the Canada-only "35c" price tag overrides the Giant "25c" sign in the middle of the cover painting.
• Innocent country girl tries to make it in the big ... Carny?
• "I want to look like her. Can you do that, leering carnival barker man?"
• "So, whatcha got in the suitcase, lady?" "Murder." "Oh ... I see."
• "Murder in her suitcase" - this makes me hope for something gloriously bloody, like a small chainsaw with which she starts beheading everyone in site: "Is this part of the show, mama?"
• I Really wish the lady in the foreground weren't so damned shadowed

Best things about this back cover:

• Say what you will about Day Keene, he could totally rock the 'stache.
• Ferron! "They call me Ferron: The Iron Man"
• "the main chance"? - is that Canadian for "the big score"?

Page 123~

Kelcey struck Ferron in the face. "Where's the money, carny? Where's the eighteen grand?"

~RP

Paperback 211: Bedrooms Have Windows / A. A. Fair (Dell 603)

Paperback 211: Dell 603 (1st ptg, 1952)

Title: Bedrooms Have Windows
Author: A. A. Fair (pen name of Erle Stanley Gardner)
Cover artist: Mike Ludlow

Yours for: $8


Best things about this cover:

• "Bedrooms Have Windows" - they sure do. And Blondes Have Mirrors and Peeping Toms Have Trenchcoats.
• That is the see-throughiest blouse I've ever seen anywhere.
• I've always loved that Dell keyhole eye logo.
• I also love the yellow cloth on her ... what do you call that piece of furniture? A vanity!
• Black bra = trouble. I saw "Psycho." I know.

Best things about this back cover:

• Arrows, Ha ha
• "They laugh alike, they walk alike, at times they even talk alike ..."
• Boy, they sure know how to make an author look exciting.
• "Pocket-edition Venus" - that's hot.
• Lam and Cool mysteries are great, and ESG wrote them all (I think) under the A.A. Fair name. Lam and Cool are the Jack Sprat + wife of mystery stories (only they aren't married).

Page 123~

The taffy-haired blonde who was standing in front of the mirror, surveying her partially clothed figure with quite evident approval, was the girl who had picked me up the night before as her escort, and had taken me to the motor court.

~RP

Paperback 210: Search for a Dead Nympho / Paul W. Fairman (Lancer 73-587)

Paperback 210: Lancer 73-587 (PBO, 1967)
Title: Search for a Dead Nympho
Author: Paul W. Fairman
Cover artist: Photographer with a snazzy pink filter

Yours for: $11


Best things about this cover:

• Because live nymphos are too much trouble.
• Is he protecting her or holding her hostage? In my admittedly limited experience, women don't like to have guns held so close to their faces.
• It's like he's trying to get a little mustard off her face with his gun, but refuses to do it the "easy" way by looking right at her and instead chooses to use a mirror to guide his hand. At least, that is how I imagine a guy named "Vince Garth" would roll.
• Vince Garth! Who names these guys? You know what Vince Garth needs? A last name.

Best things about this back cover:

• Teardrop! HA ha.
• "Lorry!?" "We named her after the place she was conceived. Pardon me while I take the lift to my flat. Cheerio!"
• You'll be very sorry you ever met Lorry.
• "Cover posed by professional models" - photo covers that aren't stills from movies or TV shows make me sad.

Page 123~

"But why not the red-headed beatnik? He took Lorry to that call house. Stass may be a lot of things, but he's not a pimp."

You know, he's right. Why NOT the red-headed beatnik?

~RP

Paperback 209: The Opening Door / Helen Reilly (Dell 917)

Paperback 209: Dell 917 (1st ptg, 1956)
Title: The Opening Door
Author: Helen Reilly
Cover artist: Victor Kalin

Yours for: $7


Best things about this cover:

• Given how it's cut and hung, I'm surprised the door opens at all
• That lady makes for a very nice-looking corpse. Normally, I go for women who are more than 3 ft. tall, but in her case, I'll make an exception.
• I change my vote. The expression on her face says not "dead" but "drunk and happy about it."

Best things about this back cover:

• Whoa. What the ... see, I almost like this. Dramatic meltdown, in slo-motion. That, or she's doing her best Elvis/James Brown song-ending pose. The one big difference: I think both those guys had more than three fingers on their right hands.
• "Taint of murder" - oh, man, that's the worst kind of taint
• "The Knob Is Turning" - a. that should have been the title of this book, b. that's what she said.

Page 123~

Gerald was talking to Cicely Thwaight near a clump of palms. How he had - dwindled, Eve thought dispassionately.

But Thwaight! There's more!

~RP

Paperback 208: Beat Not the Bones / Charlotte Jay (Avon PN286)

Paperback 208: Avon PN286 (6th ptg, 1970)

Title: Beat Not the Bones
Author: Charlotte Jay
Cover artist: Uncredited (come on, someone must know this...)

Yours for: $10


Best things about this cover:

• Let's start with the title ...
• Because honestly, I'm not sure where to begin ...
• Beat Not the Bones! - for if you do, the Psychedelic South American Tree God will alight on your head with mind-altering fury!
• Revealed!: the secret of soprano Alma Gluck's outstanding voice!

Best things about this back cover:

• "Hair-raising" is not an effective qualifier of or follow-up to "persuasive." I mean, really - how do you en-dash your way from "hair-raising" to "persuasive?" That is nuts, New York Herald Tribune.
• "Proceeding?" It's not a trial. Horrible blurbs! Hey, I have a new blog tag.
• Civilization = innocence = sanity. Nice.
• "Rumors whispered suicide" - yes, when you play it backwards, the American version of Fleetwood Mac's most popular album does just that. And to think, Judas Priest and Ozzy Osbourne got all the bad press.

Page 123~

"I'm not at all well," he stated. "Fever always put my nerves on edge and those damn Kerema dogs come over and root up all my vegetables."

~RP

Paperback 207: Green Light for Death / Frank Kane (Readers-Choice Library No. 8)

Paperback 207: Readers-Choice Library No. 8 (1st ptg, 1950)

Title: Green Light for Death
Author: Frank Kane
Cover artist: [Blickenstaff]

Yours for: $25


Best things about this cover:

• "Is that a naked banshee over there in the corner? Doing the Lambada? O man, I'm so wasted..."
• "Misunderstanding the concept of "War on Drugs" completely, Johnny Liddell began firing randomly at the smoke that filled the room."
• I have "marijuana!" written on the ID sticker on this book's plastic bag, but I can't find confirming evidence that pot is at all involved in this story. I will say, though, that there are references to cigarettes, pipes, and smoking in general on virtually every page.
• Love love love the naked dancer's necklace, captured in mid-air. Lovely.
• Also love the disaffected Brando look-alike at the small of her back. For some reason, in my mind, he is French.

Best things about this back cover:

• Text!
• I'm not sure "accident or suicide" really warrants quoting.

Page 123~

Liddell's eyes sought out Mike Lane where he sat gloating like an obscene Buddha, his tiny eyes fixed hungrily on the cavorting girl, his head nodding in time to the music.

Unless Mike Lane is a fat Asian hip-hop fan, this simile sucks.

~RP

Paperback 206: So Low, So Lonely / Curtis Lucas (Lion Books 91)

Paperback 206: Lion Books 91 (PBO, 1952)

Title: So Low, So Lonely
Author: Curtis Lucas
Cover artist: Uncredited

Yours for: $20


Best things about this cover:

• "I'll leave you to your imaginary cup of coffee, then..."
• "A Negro Searches for Love in an Alien World" - "These earth women cannot satisfy me. Damn it [pounds fist on table], I'm going to Mars!"
• That guy is very tan or sooty from working in the mines or relaxing backstage at his one-man minstrel show, maybe, but "Negro?" More like an Italian guy who just finished bobbing for apples in chocolate milk.
• I've apparently hit the part of my collection that's vaguely organized. Two versions of "Cotton Comes to Harlem," two Ace Doubles by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding, and now the second of two early 50s titles by Curtis Lucas.
• This book is beat up and slightly water damaged but completely solid and intact, i.e. beautifully readable. It's got the well-worn, broken-in feel I like. It's also pretty rare - a Lion PBO with miscegenation themes. Hot.

Best things about this back cover:

• This book should be called "Carla's Way"
• Wait, which part was "wrong?" Wanting the white girl or stealing the money? The wording here confuses the issue very, very badly.
• Hey baby, I'm Curtis Lucas, and I will probe your torment with deep and uncompromising sincerity. Aw yeah.

Page 123~

He picked up his glass. She picked up her own glass, looked at it.

"You don't have to do that," he said.

For a moment she held her glass in mid-air, and her hand trembled. Then she smiled at him and they touched glasses. Both tilted their glasses.

If you love glasses, you'll love ... Curtis Lucas!

~RP

Paperback 205: Third Ward, Newark / Curtis Lucas (Lion Books 80)

Paperback 205: Lion Books 80 (1st ptg, 1952)

Title: Third Ward, Newark
Author: Curtis Lucas
Cover artist: Uncredited

Yours for: SOLD (3/12/09)


Best things about this cover:

• "Oh, U.S. 1, please don't leave me! I love you so much! You're the only .... one. For me."
• "... the jolt of her life!"??? Way to make a brutal rape sound like a caffeine high. Jeez.
• If those are her assailants, they're not fleeing very well. "Hurry, let's ... damn! My contact lens! Hang on, Pete."

Best things about this back cover:

• "Wonnie?" Really. That's almost as bad as "Mihie." Is naming characters really That challenging?
• Revenge! Sweet, now I want to read this. I hope it is less brutal than "I Spit On Your Grave," which I never saw, but just hearing about it made me kind of sick.
  
• She "ripened" on "filthy" "pavements." Like all the finest fruit. What an endearing portrayal of your heroine.
  
• "I'm sorry, honey, but I just can't sleep in such a comically small bed. There, there. Let's get out of the kid's furniture section and see what we can find."

Page 123~

Wonnie came back from the kitchen and sat beside Joe. "I'm gonna work here every night, Joe. I'm gonna cook all the corn bread and biscuits, and I'll cook greens with real seasoning in them. In a little while that white man over in the diner will lose all his customers to us."

Worst. Revenge. Ever.

~RP

Paperback 204: The Girl Who Had to Die + The Blank Wall / Elisabeth Sanxay Holding (Ace G-512)

Paperback 204: Ace G-512 (1st ptg / 1st ptg)

Title: The Girl Who Had to Die / The Blank Wall
Author: Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
Cover artist: Uncredited / Uncredited

Yours for: $11


Best things about this cover:

• There was this floating head that liked to eat sailboats, which made the tall, dark, mysterious man on the beach very sad. The end.
• What is it with the rainy day covers on all these Holding novels? Dreary and decidedly unhot. More skin, please.
• Actually, on third or fourth look, the streaks look less like rain than like the trim on some elaborate fur hat. Or a really, really bad haircut.

Best things about this other cover:

• This is one of my favorite pieces of crime fiction ever written. Ever. Seriously, it's that good. And unusual. Super suspenseful, with really complex and interesting characters. Women that aren't just femmes fatales. Just great. Provides a fascinating glimpse into domestic life during WWII (i.e. while the husband is away at war). Wish it would stay in @#$@ing print!
• More lazy art. Etch-a-sketch posing as op-art. And I think the guy from the other cover just walked through the book and ended up here. That lady is not a very good hider.

Page 123~ (from The Blank Wall)

"Here's something you might be glad of," he said, and held out three little capsules, bright yellow.

~RP

Paperback 203: Who's Afraid + Widow's Mite / Elisabeth Sanxay Holding (Ace G-524)

Paperback 203: Ace G-524 (1st ptg / 1st ptg, ca. 1963)

Titles: Who's Afraid / Widow's Mite
Author: Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
Cover artist: Brulé / uncredited

Yours for: $9


Best things about this cover:

• Man hands. Seriously, look at those things. My god. I fear for her upper head.
• "I remember embracing some generic man ... and the corpse of Bela Lugosi was there ... oh, it's all so fuzzy..."
• This book should be called "Who's Depressed?"

Best things about this other cover:

• "... and he threw the decapitated head of the young boy through the open window. The End."
• I guess there was a sale on "Dour Blue" at the art store when these covers were being painted.
• That blurb is pretty tepid: "Eh, you could do worse, I guess."
  
• Is a "mite" what I think it is? Dang, a "widow's mite" is "A small contribution made by one who has little" This is disappointing, as I was imagining this would be a story about a. a widow who kept a tiny bug as a pet, or b. a widow who enjoyed wearing a MITRE (of mysterious origin)

Page 123 (of "Widow's Mite")~

"Now!" she said. "Now you're going to get what's coming to you, you damn smug little bitch! You're going to be arrested, any minute. You'll be in jail tonight. And you'll end up in the electric chair!"

~RP

Paperback 202: Cotton Comes to Harlem / Chester Himes (Dell 1513)

Back from Brooklyn and ready to drop some righteous cover art. Moving right along...

Paperback 202: Dell 1513 (1st ptg, 1966)

Title: Cotton Comes to Harlem
Author: Chester Himes
Cover artist: Harry Bennett

Yours for: $12


Best things about this cover:

• Lovely, delicate, enigmatic. I don't recall anyone having sex in a police station in this book, though police and sex were certainly involved, generally.
• Not a fan of the trend (over the course of the 60s) toward smaller art and bigger words.
• Harry Bennett is a prolific artist whom I most associate with PermaBooks from the late 50s through the mid-60s. His stuff is often more jagged and angular and rougher looking than this little painting would suggest.
• "Pinktoes" is (like a lot of Himes's work, in one way or another) pretty bawdy, and concerned specifically with the intersection of sex and race in American society. My copy of "Pinktoes" is in fact pink. You'll see.
• I just got some promotional postcards for the "Paperback Collectors Show & Sale" (Sunday, Mar. 29, 2009) in the mail last week, and the picture on them has eerie similarities to this Himes cover:
  

And now the back of "Cotton..."


Best things about this back cover:

• Ugh, words
• "The wildest of camps" - "Camps?" Plural? I'm familiar with this definition...

1. An affectation or appreciation of manners and tastes commonly thought to be artificial, vulgar, or banal.
2. Banality, vulgarity, or artificiality when deliberately affected or when appreciated for its humor: “Camp is popularity plus vulgarity plus innocence” (Indra Jahalani).

But I've never seen the word used that way in the plural. Interesting (to me alone, perhaps)

Page 23 (for Page 123, see Paperback 201):

He was a nondescript-looking man with black and white striped suspenders draped over a blue sport shirt and buttoned to old-fashioned, wide-legged dark brown pants. He looked like the born victim of a cheating wife.

~RP

P.S. One of the biggest thrills of the Crossword Puzzle Tournament this past weekend was having multiple people come up to me and tell me how much they loved this website. I get so happy when my poor, neglected baby blog gets some much-deserved attention. Hard for "Pop Sensation" to feel adequate when her big brother gets literally 50x the traffic she does. If this site were anywhere near as popular as my crossword site, I'd pass out from excitement. Crossword constructor Doug Peterson was kind and thoughtful enough to bring a gift for me to the tournament: a lurid paperback with a crosswordy cover. So look for a special write-up of that in the next week or so.