A "wrong place, wrong time" story with a twist: our hero is a reporter, so it is really the "right place, right time." And yes, the Pulitzer Prize will be mentioned as soon as on page 47.
No mystery whatsoever as the story unfolds in 3rd person narration from various protagonists. So it is a thriller, and this is where my first problem with the book arises: its incredibly uneven pace. Halfway through, we must follow our hero's simple task of tracing a witness for 50+ pages. Barney really takes his time! He travels to New York to interview some agent who only gives him the witness's mother's address in New Jersey. After visiting her, he finally obtains an address in Atlantic City, where he will travel next. In short, Mr. Conroy could easily squeeze several chapters into a couple of paragraphs, each containing a single phone call.
It gets better. There's this weird subplot involving Barney's love interest. It just so happens that Molly is an illegitimate child of the main bad guy (talking of coincidences...), whom she deeply despises for dumping her mother, even though the guy offered to adopt her when she was a child. So now - years later! - she tells him that she has changed her mind and is willing to be adopted. An offer that Alex cannot refuse, so she promptly moves into his house... where she starts spying on him by wiring his room and recording him scheming criminal affairs with his "associates". What a gal!
This raises a couple of questions. First, is it even possible for an adult person to be adopted? I've never heard of it. And second, how could Alex Cook become the No. 1 guy in "organization" if he is so fucking dumb and clueless? It turns out that none of this will be relevant, as the incriminating recordings won't even be needed at the end. Bad guys will shoot themselves out because Barney has gathered plenty of evidence anyway...
After all these shenanigans and needless travels, the author seems to have realized he was way behind schedule and had been too enthusiastic about the word count, so he decided to wrap up the whole thing rapidly. The kidnapping attempt of his kid is done (planning + the botched execution) in a couple of pages, and the final shootout between the bad guys takes even less.
There are things that I liked. It's hard-boiled as hell. Our hero gets his ass severely kicked several times, and on one occasion, he even ends up with an internal haemorrhage. But don't worry, because he will return the favour a few pages later by putting the other guy in the hospital. With a little help of a fucking hammer! Plus, there are some unsettling scenes at the end about some poor girl being hooked on heroin and forced into prostitution.
The book opens by letting us know that the hero just got dumped by his wife. She also took away their kid. So I was dreading some inevitable family shit. Luckily, with the exception of the aforementioned kidnapping episode that resolves itself quickly, this doesn't happen.
It's a bit of a hectic mixed bag. The writing could be better, a bit grittier, and with some cool one-liners thrown in. Forgettable, but at least not too boring stuff.
3/5
Facts:
Hero:
A look of calm - almost of lethargy - came over his lean, bruised face. It was when he looked like this, that Barney Fox became a dangerous man.
The bad guy(s):
As mentioned above, the guy is pretty gullible. No wonder Barney Fox outfoxes Alex C(r)ook.
Dames:
Molly Howarth, radio DJ and soon-to-be Barney's ex-wife replacement:
curved gracefully, with fantastically long legs, a regal neck, and a face like a fine marble carving.
Nora Rice, former night club singer, recent witness to the murder, and currently junkie:
A knockout. Big blue eyes, impudent sexy face, plenty of figure.
Enid, the call girl:
One hell of a blonde. Almost six feet tall. Nothing slender about her. Everything full, firm and delicious.
Location:
Unnamed town on the East Coast close to New York.
Body count:
5
The object of desire:
"The way I see it, there's only one way for you to get out of spending the next ten years in prison."
"How?"
"By digging up proof that Alex Cook put on pressure to fix a murder committed by his nephew. That would ruin Cook. His power would evaporate. There'd be a big political clean-out in this city."
...and maybe then the Pulitzer would land?
Blackouts:
He just kept punching, concentrating on the moving bulk in front of him, until something hard connected with the back of his head and drove his brains forward against his eyes.
He fell through darkness. He didn't hear himself land.
The same guy ("the bruiser") gives him another savage beating, but this time, Barney is literally saved by the bell that spooks the guy so much that he decides to flee the apartment instead of finishing the job:
He lay there on his side, face toward the opening door.
He saw Molly Howarth come in before darkness engulfed him and washed away all pain...
He comes up briefly, and after a few "What happened", "Call the police", etc exchanges, he really goes down:
He stared at the carpet below the other side of the bed, saw the broken bottle lying there. He passed out, grinning insanely...
References:
Cool Blurbs:
There's a tagline that says "Fastest, toughest thriller," but I'd argue that only the second part is true. But I found this great badass line describing Barney, which would be much. much more effective and cool sounding:
"He was stubborn. He was cunning. He was a professional."
Title:
Archie Schaefer, the accordionist, is a nice family guy who starts the body count meter rolling. And speaking of accordionists, do you know this hilarious quote from Tom Waits:
“A gentleman is someone who can play the accordion, but doesn't.”
Edition:
Gold Medal #1079, Second Printing, January 1961
Cover:
Well, there's a tough guy with a gun and a beautiful redhead, but... that's all there is!? It feels like incomplete work, more like a couple of sketches.
Uncredited, but according to
pulpcovers.com, its author is Mitchell Hooks.
Cool lines:
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