Nicholas Litchfield

Grey Face & The Green Eyes of Bast by Sax Rohmer (Introduction by Nicholas Litchfield)

Two Haunting Classics from Sax Rohmer

News, Reviews / By /

This month sees the reprint of Grey Face and The Green Eyes of Bâst, two masterful mysteries by the king of eerie occult fiction, Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward (1883 – 1959), known to readers as Sax Rohmer. Although best remembered for his sizable collection of stories featuring the fiendish Dr. Fu Manchu, the author enjoyed great success with many of his other works. His standalone novels and book series containing Parisian criminal investigator Gaston Max attracted a large international fanbase. His tales concerning the female supervillain Sumuru went from radio to book and were eventually adapted to the big screen, spawning a couple of movies (produced in the 1960s and 1980s).

Two Haunting Classics from Sax Rohmer Read More »

The Sailcloth Shroud / All the Way by Charles Williams (Introduction by Nicholas Litchfield)

Seafaring Thriller Launches Charles Williams Revival

News, Reviews / By /

As crime fiction collections go, few will better the latest twofer from Stark House Press – The Sailcloth Shroud and All The Way by Charles Williams. These reprints from the late 1950s, released this past month, are a couple of taut, tough, cleverly crafted stories that firmly hold the reader’s attention all the way to the journey’s end.

The second story, All the Way (sometimes known as The Concrete Flamingo), is a gripping noir that tugs at your heartstrings. Whatever your views regarding the intense ending, few can fault the masterful quality of the writing or the intriguing plot. It’s a noir that deserves to be remembered.

Seafaring Thriller Launches Charles Williams Revival Read More »

Story “Old Tennis” in BULL: Men’s Fiction

News, Uncategorized / By /

My short story, “Old Tennis,” about a reunion between two aging, amateur tennis players, was published in BULL: Men’s Fiction this week. I guess you might say of this work that it’s a long in the tooth tale that’s been reoutfitted and newly served. Primarily because I wrote it in 2006, as part of a much longer work, and have been revisiting it and making extensive revisions ever since.

Sometimes, it’s frustratingly hard to let go of a story, even if you are content with how it reads and have a suitable publication in mind. Perhaps the one positive aspect about holding onto it for so long is that it has almost doubled in length over the years. And, doubtless, it’s in much better shape now than if I had presented it to BULL in 2013, which was my original intention.

Story “Old Tennis” in BULL: Men’s Fiction Read More »

A Certain Man's Daughter by Timothy J. Lockhart

Litchfield reviews “A Certain Man’s Daughter” by Timothy J. Lockhart for The Virginian-Pilot

News, Reviews / By /

In 2017, Stark House published an impressive debut novel by Timothy J. Lockhart titled SMITH. It was a hard-boiled noir that featured an interesting female lead character with plenty of grit and toughness. Lockhart’s subsequent novel, PIRATES, published the following year, was a modern-day high-seas action-adventure yarn set in the Caribbean. This thrilling, blood-and-guts page-turner benefits from a distinctive, memorable lead character – a tough but sensitive loner named Hal Morgan, who is a former Navy SEAL. His latest, A CERTAIN MAN’S DAUGHTER, published recently by Stark House, is another excellent hard-boiled tale that warrants reading. Completely different from his previous work, it is brisk-paced, exhilarating, and just as rewarding as the earlier novels.

Litchfield reviews “A Certain Man’s Daughter” by Timothy J. Lockhart for The Virginian-Pilot Read More »

The Lover / The Mistress / The Passionate by Carter Brown (Introduction by Nicholas Litchfield)

Carter Brown’s Tales of the Passionate, Mistress, Lover

News, Reviews / By /

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.

Carter Brown’s Tales of the Passionate, Mistress, Lover Read More »

Woman of Cairo and Dear, Deadly Beloved by John Flagg (Introduction by Nicholas Litchfield)

WOMAN OF CAIRO and DEAR, DEADLY BELOVED Bookgasm Review

News, Reviews / By /

This month, Bookgasm gave a very encouraging review of the recent Stark House Press publication WOMAN OF CAIRO, and DEAR, DEADLY BELOVED— two Fawcett Gold Medal originals that are back in print for the first time in decades. “John Flagg, the pen name for John Rex Gearon, introduces us to his series character, Hart Muldoon, in the two novels from the 1950s reprinted here by Stark House Press,” writes book critic Alan Cranis of Bookgasm. “An introduction by editor and author Nicholas Litchfield traces Flagg’s career, the development of the Muldoon character, and how Flagg’s various occupations provided material for his novels and short stories. Both novels are noticeably more hardboiled than other spy novels of the era, but remain as alluring and entertaining as they were when first published.”

WOMAN OF CAIRO and DEAR, DEADLY BELOVED Bookgasm Review Read More »

Woman of Cairo and Dear, Deadly Beloved by John Flagg (Introduction by Nicholas Litchfield)

John Flagg’s Colorful Tales of Freelance Agent Hart Muldoon

News, Reviews / By /

Back in November 2016, I read an excellent pair of novels by John Flagg, pseudonym of American crime writer John Gearon (1911-1993). Death and the Naked Lady (a thrilling tale of stolen jewels, murder, and espionage aboard a luxury ocean liner) and The Lady and the Cheetah (a deadly case of blackmail and sabotage among European nobility at an Italian palace) featured an interesting introduction by bestselling author James Reasoner. The volume also contained a very good short story concerning murder in high society (“Faces Turned Against Him”). You can read my verdict on the collection in the Lancashire Post or one of its 25 syndicated UK newspapers. You’ll find at this weblink archived online access to my review as it originally appeared in the Lancashire Post, featuring the Nicholas Litchfield byline: https://web.archive.org/web/20170105140113/https://www.lep.co.uk/lifestyle/books/book-review-death-and-the-naked-lady-and-the-lady-and-the-cheetah-by-john-flagg-1-8316256/.

John Flagg’s Colorful Tales of Freelance Agent Hart Muldoon Read More »

Satan Takes the Helm by Calvin Clements

Litchfield Reviews Satan Takes the Helm by Calvin Clements

News, Reviews / By /

Calvin J. Clements’ (1915-1997) debut novel, first published in 1952, is so authoritative and instructive about best practices for commanding a vessel that you can’t help but admire the leadership skills of the shrewd, hard-bitten narrator, Martin Lewandowski. A tough, out-of-work seaman in San Francisco, Martin is put in charge of a freighter, the Eastern Trader, by the promiscuous co-owner, Joyce Sloan.

Litchfield Reviews Satan Takes the Helm by Calvin Clements Read More »

Devil May Care and Sinner Take All by Wade Miller (Introduction by Nicholas Litchfield)

Two Exhilarating Thrillers by Wade Miller

News, Reviews / By /

Among the novels I’ve read this year, Devil May Care and Sinner Take All rank as two of the very finest. Both were penned by the writing duo of Robert Allison Wade (1920–2012) and H. Bill Miller (1920 –1961), a couple of close friends who wrote a fair number of big-selling novels in the crime, mystery, and thriller genres during the 1950s and 60s. Without doubt, their most fruitful collaboration was Badge of Evil, a manuscript adapted for the screen as Touch of Evil, directed by Orson Welles and starring Welles, Charlton Heston, and Janet Leigh. Other novels by Wade and Miller were adapted to the screen, though, strangely, Devil May Care, considered by some as the duo’s best, didn’t become a movie (despite actor James Cagney’s efforts), and it hasn’t been reprinted since the Fawcett Gold Medal printings in the 1950s.

Two Exhilarating Thrillers by Wade Miller Read More »

The Tease and Sin For Me by Gil Brewer

Litchfield Reviews The Tease and Sin For Me by Gil Brewer

News, Reviews / By /

Stark House is responsible for publishing many of Gil Brewer’s (1922-1983) works—and not merely reprints. Numerous previously unpublished novels and short stories have found their way into print, and I’m hoping more will emerge in the future. Their most recent two-in-one crime noir reprint is something of a collector’s volume. Flaunting a nice adaption by Jeff Vorzimmer of Roger Kastel’s original cover illustration for The Tease, it comprises two nicely paired tales published in 1967 by the short-lived Banner Books, a paperback imprint acquired by the Hearst Corporation that mainly focused on crime and mystery novels.

Litchfield Reviews The Tease and Sin For Me by Gil Brewer Read More »

Get all the latest news and info sent to your inbox.