The phenomenally successful mystery series by Carter Brown, the pseudonym of British-born Australian pulp writer Alan Geoffrey Yates, spawned close to 300 titles and allegedly sold more than 100 million copies. Considering the popularity of these swift-paced, tongue-in-cheek stories featuring wise-cracking detective Al Wheeler, I suppose it’s not surprising that my bookshelf contains almost two dozen of these novels. And, fortunately, my collection is growing, owing to Stark House Press continuing to reissue the early Al Wheeler adventures.
As with my 1960s and 70s Signet editions, the Stark House covers are just as fetching. The latest, The Lover / The Mistress / The Passionate, published this month, has pride of place in my collection, especially as my name shares the front cover with the great Carter Brown.
Previously, Chris Yates, Rick Ollerman, and Priscilla Yates provided insightful details on the author and his works. Hopefully, my contribution adds something new about the series as a whole and these three books in particular.
I can say for sure that those who enjoy mysteries with fast action and breezy humor are in for a real treat. The ever-witty Wheeler is in fine form in these varied tales, and Yates maintains a relentless pace throughout each. Snap up your copy from Amazon or directly from the publisher: http://starkhousepress.com/brown.php.
A few years ago (May 2018, to be precise), I reviewed No Harp for My Angel, Booty for a Babe, and Eve, It’s Extortion for the Lancashire Post and its 25 syndicated UK newspapers. Three novels that are worth checking out. Read the review here. And the following year (April 2019), I reviewed the excellent No Law Against Angels, Doll for a Big House, and Chorine Makes a Killing for the UK newspapers. Read the review here. The Lancashire Post has since replaced my name with the generic byline “The Newsroom,” but archived online access to these reviews as they originally appeared, featuring the Nicholas Litchfield byline, can be found at the web links above.
