Masters of Noir: Volume Two by Craig Rice & Jonathan Craig & Hal Ellson

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MASTERS OF NOIR: VOLUME TWO by CRAIG RICE & JONATHAN CRAIG & HAL ELLSON

Another walk on the wild side! In this series of collections of gritty Noir and Hardboiled stories, you’ll find some of the best writers of the craft writing in their prime. The following stories are included in this second volume of Masters of Noir: GREEN EYES by HAL ELLSON, BIG STEAL by FRANK KANE, NECKTIE PARTY by ROBERT TURNER, THE PURPLE COLLAR by JONATHAN CRAIG, I DON’T FOOL AROUND by CHARLES JACKSON, NICE BUNCH OF GUYS by MICHAEL FESSIER, FLOWERS TO THE FAIR by CRAIG RICE, DIE LIKE A DOG by DAVID ALEXANDER, BUILD ANOTHER COFFIN by HAROLD Q. MASUR, SOMEBODY’S GOING TO DIE by TALMAGE POWELL.

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See You At The Morgue by Lawrence Blochman

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SEE YOU AT THE MORGUE by LAWRENCE BLOCHMAN

When a gigolo is shot, to death in the bedroom of a beautiful girl, it raises some perplexing problems for Detective Kenny Kilkenny. Why, for example, would a man steal the license plates off his own car? Why should an innocent young professor come to the murder room … and then conceal a key to the crime? Why was a “phantom secretary” hiding in the closet near the murdered man? Was there really money to be made selling glass eyes for stuffed ducks? Why would a beautiful girl ask her lover to kill her? As if these questions–and a hundred others–weren’t enough to drive Kilkenny crazy–there were three exceedingly strange characters to plague him : a girl named Rux, a man named Vanizol, and the weirdest of all–Mr. Whisk! It was a tough case, but so are they all when the word goes out– PARISIAN PLAYBOY SHOT IN N. Y. BEAUTY’S BOUDOIR … “PHANTOM SECRETARY” SEEKS SUICIDE…MYSTERY REDHEAD FOUND… — The papers shouted “SCANDAL!”–but the sirens shrieked “MURDER!”

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Gimlet Eye Gunn by H. Bedford-Jones

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GIMLET EYE GUNN by H. BEDFORD-JONES

How can a 300 year-old ghost know so much, from the past, to the present — even the future? Larsen had no idea, but he had to find out. It would mean knowing whether Gimlet Eye Gunn was for real, or he was the one going crazy. First published in Weird Tales, September 1951.

Masters of Noir: Volume One by Ed McBain & Mickey Spillane & Lawrence Block

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MASTERS OF NOIR: VOLUME ONE by ES MCBAIN & MICKEY SPILLANE & LAWRENCE BLOCK

A walk on the wild side! In this series of collections of gritty Noir and Hardboiled stories, you’ll find some of the best writers of the craft writing in their prime. The following stories are included in this first volume of Masters of Noir: IDENTITY UNKNOWN by JONATHAN CRAIG, THE GIRL BEHIND THE HEDGE by MICKEY SPILLANE, CARRERA’S WOMAN by ED McBAIN writing as RICHARD MARSTEN, BUTCHER by RICHARD S. PRATHER, LOOK DEATH IN THE EYE by LAWRENCE BLOCK, ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON by GIL BREWER, FRAME by FRANK KANE, DOUBLE by BRUNO FISCHER, and AS I LIE DEAD by FLETCHER FLORA.

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A Handful of Stars by Poul Anderson

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Dominic Flandry is the Terran Naval Intelligence equivalent to James Bond. Dashing and debonair, he is deadly both to human women and his enemies. His foes are remarkable for their skill in manipulating people, but Flandry is matching them wit for wit. With his extremely good luck and keen mind honed from years of experience being a spy in various guises, Flandry is able to survive one near-fatal disaster after another. He seems indestructible and unmatched in all of the Terran empire. The Admiral of the Terran Navy even considers Flandry as “one of the last brave and wholly honorable men in all Terra’s Empire.” And yet, for all of his successes in vanquishing enemies and seducing ladies, Flandry realized that he is not as hard as he think he is. His humanness was brought to the fore when he encounters enemies with whom he finds a connection with, and an utterly innocent lass whom–despite his feelings for her–he has to let go.

Joe Puma, P.I. by William Campbell Gault

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JOE PUMA, P.I. by WILLIAM CAMPBELL GAULT

In the dangerous and oftentimes cynical world of private investigations, Beverly Hills-based private eye Joseph Puma is a refreshing breath of fresh air. In his job, he often encounters the seedier side of life, and yet, he retains that idealism that justice must be served. “A man is dead,” he says. “Isn’t it important to you?” Oftentimes broke and needing to pawn his old Chevrolet, Joe nevertheless finds time to help old friends and strangers, even without pay. He does not shy away from danger, if he thinks he is helping people. As a licensed detective looking for missing persons, and investigating questionable characters murders, and kidnapping, Joe’s big and muscular physique certainly comes as a big help. His strong punch has gotten him out of sticky situations, and his quick thinking has helped save his life a few times. In this collection, however, Joe finds himself in a rough spot more than a few times. He endures being knocked out and imprisoned, hides from gun-toting enemies underwater while losing blood, gets TKO’d by a heavy and unexpected punch and woken up by a bucket of water, and is a hair’s breadth away from dying when he was shot at and crashed his car. The big Italian manages to emerge triumphant in the end. However, he doesn’t come out of his adventures unscathed. In his daily battle against murderers and people who consider a man’s death lightly, Joe feels the burden of his profession. He suffers guilt for the death of a colleague, and in the course of an investigation, he also has to choose between justice and a friend.

Some Fabulous Yonder by Philip Jose Farmer

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SOME FABULOUS YONDER by PHILIP JOSE FARMER

No man had yet survived a landing on the black planet, till Raspold dared to venture his body and his mind in the cavern of Voittamaton, where the dracocentaurs gazed at some fabulous yonder! Farmer’s variation on the Chthulu Mythos of Lovecraft. First published in Fantastic Stories of Imagination in the April, 1963 issue.

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Dark Revenge by Rex Stout

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DARK REVENGE by REX STOUT

What’s a lawyer to do when beautiful Delia Brand confesses of her plans to kill Dan Jackson and Jackson soon turns up dead. Accused of murdering him with her father’s .38 in the town of Cody, Wyoming, Delia Brand sets out to find the real killer, and along the way, discovers the truth about her father’s unsolved murder. Dark Revenge was first published in 1939. Later appeared in an expanded novel version as Mountain Cat and The Mountain Cat Murders.

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The Odor Of Thought: Short Stories Of Robert Sheckley, Volume 2

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The Odor Of Thought: Short Stories Of Robert Sheckley, Volume 2

Robert Sheckley (July 16, 1928 — December 9, 2005) was a Hugo- and Nebula-nominated American author. First published in the science fiction magazines of the 1950s, his numerous quick-witted stories and novels were famously unpredictable, absurdist and broadly comical. Sheckley was given the Author Emeritus honor by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2001. Included in this collection are nine of some of his best stories written in the 1950s. Includes the following stories: WARM, THE DEMONS, THE ODOR OF THOUGHT, PROSPECTORS SPECIAL, THE SWEEPER OF LORAY, DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY, WATCHBIRD, FEEDING TIME, WE ARE ALONE

The Hot Shot by Fletcher Flora

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THE HOT SHOT by FLETCHER FLORA

Skimmer was the Hotshot–handsome, smart, arrogant. He had everything personality, looks, women. He was ready for success–regardless of the cost ? And then he met a girl and a gangster–and something went wrong! Hotshot is Skimmer’s story–a unique candid portrait not of the knife-wielding delinquents who capture headlines but of today’s troubled youth as they really are. The unforgettable story of a generation battling to find its way in a world it never made. Originally published in 1956, this exciting novel is now available as an eBook for a whole new generation.

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The Earth Killers and Other Stories

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The Earth Killers and Other Stories by A.E. van Vogt

From the mind of Science Fiction Grand Master, A. E. van Vogt, comes five imaginative bizarre tales of the future. The Earth Killers–What if you were blamed for the destruction of the Earth? And what if you were the only one who had the key to what really happened? The Star-Saint–A superman of space is willing to save your colony, but at what cost? The Enchanted Village–As the only survivor of a doomed expedition to Mars, your only chance of survival is to live in a deserted Martian village that is designed for a life that is totally alien to man. Itself!¬–Something is lurking beneath the sea. It is enormous, lethal and very angry! The Expendables–A multi-generational spaceship is about to make landfall. But how is it going to deal with aliens when dealing with the dysfunctional relationships onboard for multi-generations?

Untouched by Human Hands by Robert Sheckley

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The story appears in the recently released eBook, Meeting of the Minds: Short Stories of Robert Sheckley. You can find the whole eBook at:

Meeting of the Minds: Short Stories of Robert Sheckley, Volume One

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Meeting of the Minds: Short Stories of Robert Sheckley, Vol. 1

Robert Sheckley (July 16, 1928 — December 9, 2005) was a Hugo- and Nebula-nominated American author. First published in the science fiction magazines of the 1950s, his numerous quick-witted stories and novels were famously unpredictable, absurdist and broadly comical. Sheckley was given the Author Emeritus honor by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2001. Included in this collection are nine of some of his best stories written in the 1950s. Includes the following stories: MEETING OF THE MINDS, THE LEECH, UNTOUCHED BY HUMAN HANDS, WARRIOR RACE, SHAPE, WRITING CLASS, SEVENTH VICTIM, COST OF LIVING, and THE LAST WEAPON

Meeting of the Minds: Short Stories of Robert Sheckley, Volume One

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Meeting of the Minds: Short Stories of Robert Sheckley, Vol. 1

Robert Sheckley (July 16, 1928 — December 9, 2005) was a Hugo- and Nebula-nominated American author. First published in the science fiction magazines of the 1950s, his numerous quick-witted stories and novels were famously unpredictable, absurdist and broadly comical. Sheckley was given the Author Emeritus honor by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2001. Included in this collection are nine of some of his best stories written in the 1950s. Includes the following stories: MEETING OF THE MINDS, THE LEECH, UNTOUCHED BY HUMAN HANDS, WARRIOR RACE, SHAPE, WRITING CLASS, SEVENTH VICTIM, COST OF LIVING, and THE LAST WEAPON

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The Lucky Stiff by Craig Rice

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The Lucky Stiff by Craig Rice

“Anna Marie St. Claire died in the electric chair at one minute after midnight this morning, with smile on her lips ? ” Brooding over his gin in Joe the Angel’s City Hall Bar, John J. Malone read those headlines, and the story of how, half an hour too late, a dying gangster’s confession had proved Anna Marie innocent. She had been too beautiful to die. Malone knew if he had defended her she wouldn’t have had to die. Suddenly he turned white. For there, floating through the swinging doors, came a lovely apparition, curves outlined by a chic gray suit–Anna Marie, dressed just as she had been the day her gangster lover was bumped off. Malone muttered a prayer and fled. Anna Marie followed him ? So begins a giddy Craig Rice manhunt, combining mirth, mixed drinks, murder, and that talented trio, John J. Malone and Helene and Jake Justus.

Craig Rice (pseudonym of Georgiana Ann Craig; 1908–1957) was an American author of mystery novels and short stories, sometimes described as “the Dorothy Parker of detective fiction.” She was the first mystery writer to appear on the cover of Time Magazine, on January 28, 1946. Gritty but humorous, Rice’s stories uniquely combine the hardboiled detective tradition with no-holds-barred, screwball comedy. Most of her output features a memorable trio of protagonists: Jake Justus, a handsome but none too bright press agent with his heart in the right place; Helene Brand, a rich heiress and hard-drinking party animal par excellence (to become Mrs. Justus in the later novels); and John Joseph Malone, a hard-drinking, small-time lawyer (though both his cryptic conversation and sartorial habits are more reminiscent of such official or private gumshoes as Lieutenant Columbo). ¬– via: Wikipedia

Last of the Breed by Les Savage, Jr.

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Last of the Breed by Les Savage, Jr.

The town of Apache Wells had quietly sneered at Brian Sheridan all his life. It knew him as a drunk, a playboy, the worthless son of a man who had hacked his power and fortune from the Arizona wilds in the tradition of the great empire builders. And then one day the father was dead. Brian found himself broke, hated, squeezed dry by the men he’d known as friends. Slowly Brian Sheridan began to fight back, to come alive as a man. It was a good feeling. But it carried the uneasy knowledge that somebody had decided the new Sheridan would also be the last. A rousing novel of frontier Arizona! Les Savage, Jr. was a writer from age 17. He was a prolific contributor to the pulp magazines for a number of years. In addition he penned over twenty books. A few of his better known titles are: “Treasure of the Brasada,” “Silver Street Women” and “The Royal City.” Several of his novels were adapted for the movies and television. In 1958 he died at the too young age of 35.

The “forgotten” planet had been seeded for life, first with microbes and later with plants and insects. A third expedition, intended to complete the seeding with animals, never occurred. Over the millennia the insects and plants grew to gigantic sizes. The action of the novel describes the fight for survival by descendants of a crashed spaceship as they battle wolf-sized ants, flies the size of chickens, and gigantic flying wasps.

The Forgotten Planet by Murray Leinster

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The Forgotten Planet by Murray Leinster

NATURE’S MISLAID MADHOUSE! Beneath dense gray clouds through which no sun shone lay a forgotten planet. It was a nightmare world of grotesque and terrifying animal-plant life. Gigantic beetles, spiders, bugs and ants filled the putrid, musty earth–ready to kill and devour anything in sight. There were men amidst this horror–men who cringed and ran from the ravening monsters and huddled in the mushroom forests at night. Burl was one of these creatures. But one day inspira-tion hit Burl. He would find a weapon–he would fight back. And with this idea the first step was taken in man’s most desperate flight for freedom in this most horrible of all worlds. But it was only a first step.

William has read several titles for my company, Wonder Audiobooks. Here’s a page of his work he’s done for Wonder Audio.

Points South by Fletcher Flora

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The story appears in the recently released eBook, Heels Are For Hating and Other Stories by Noir Master, Fletcher Flora, You can purchase the whole eBook at:

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Heels Are For Hating and Other Stories by Fletcher Flora

HEELS ARE FOR HATING AND OTHER STORIES by FLETCHER FLORA

Jackie Brand is a small-time middleweight boxing professional just barely trying to make ends meet. The week before a fight with one of Jay Paley’s boys, he comes home to his wife Peg daydreaming again about her much-coveted motor court out on Highway 66, and guiltily he goes out to have a drink. At the bar, he is met by the competition’s manager, and the latter makes a proposal: lose the fight and get paid ten thousand dollars. The amount would actually cover the downpayment for Peg’s house, so Jackie decides to accept the offer. But what price will it cost him? Also includes the stories: SHE ASKED FOR IT, POINTS SOUTH

Fletcher Flora (1914-1968) wrote various “sensational” stories during the 40’s and 50’s. Flora started writing right at the end of the pulp era, for magazines like ‘Dime Detective’. Then he moved on to do some 60 stories for the digests (Pursuit, EQMM, Suspect, etc). His mystery output includes over sixty short stories and sixteen novels. The Hot Shot and Strange Sisters are among his credits.

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Death Pulls A Doublecross by Lawrence Block

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Death Pulls a Doublecross by Lawrence Block

She was a beautiful girl with a talent for two-timing: she led two lives, tormented two men–but the one thing she couldn’t doublecross was murder! I’m Ed London, PH. D.–PHILANDERER IN DANGER Nailing killers is my racket But hiding their victims’ corpses, from the law? Better conjure up Houdini, buddy, I’m not the man you want. That’s what I should have sai. But I’ve got a heart as big as a bawdy house. When I saw my sister’s marriage going up in smoke because her husband’s extramarital flame got murdered, I decided to stick my neck out and plant the body so it couldn’t be traced to him. That’s when the fur began to fly–and so, in fact, did the bullets. First the girl had been leading a double life. Second, she had pulled a neat little doublecross that left me holding the bag–a bag with the keys to a priceless fortune and up for grabs to every hood in town. Also published under the title Coward’s Kiss.

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Beware the Fury by Theodore Sturgeon

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Beware the Fury by Theodore Sturgeon

Meet Wolf Reger–traitor. Compared to him Benedict Arnold was a national hero and Judas Iscariot a paragon of virtue. At least that’s the way it showed in the Major’s notes?. But traitors aren’t born that way. Something has to happen to them long before they turn against society. That’s why, when you dig deep enough, you may find that the word traitor can be one hell of a misnomer!

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Midnight Blue by Ross Macdonald

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Midnight Blue by Ross Macdonald

Lew Archer was out for a little target practice. Just a deserted old estate in the canyon where Archer could get away from the Hollywood rat race and sharpen his shooting skills down in the meadow. But he found two things there he wasn’t expecting. One was a crazy old vagrant that had set up in dilapidated gatehouse. And two was a glittering red object on the ground. It was a red enameled fingernail that just happens to still be attached to its owner. A young blonde who was strangled, buried and very much dead. Now Lew Archer’s chance to get away from it all, just got away. And the wild old vagrant has decided to runaway too!