Stark House Press

A Dive into “Death in a Lighthouse” and “Murder Money” by Edward S. Aarons

This month, Stark House Press has released a twofer containing *Death in a Lighthouse* and *Murder Money*, a pair of standalone works originally published in 1938 under the Edward Ronns name. The first title, Aarons’s earliest copyrighted work, is a fast-paced suspense novel later published as *The Cowl of Doom*. The second, *Murder Money*, also known as *$1,000,000 in Corpses*, is a twisted, blood-soaked drama populated by a diverse cast of characters.

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Unveiling Bruce Elliott: A Master of Mystery and Magic

Bruce Walter Gardner Lively Stacy Elliott (1914 – 1973) was an American writer from New York City who wrote mysteries and science fiction and worked as a television screenwriter. He was also a practicing stage magician who served as the editor of the Phoenix, a popular magazine about magic. He also wrote several books on the subject. A couple of these were bestsellers, including Magic as a Hobby, published in 1948, which contains a foreword by Orson Welles.

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Fools Walk In / So Wicked My Love by Bruno Fischer with an introduction by Nicholas Litchfield

Bruno Fischer’s Wicked Fools

This month, Stark House Press reissued two of Fischer’s paperback originals from the Fifties—Fools Walk In, published in 1951, and So Wicked, My Love, from 1954. The novels are essentially two variations on a theme. The first is a bizarre and twisty drama wherein a college professor gets involved with a gang of thieves, and the latter is a powerful and extremely well-written love story with darkness and villainy at its core. My essay, “Fischer’s Foolish Teacher and the Wicked Redhead,” introduces the collection.

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Review of Joey Piss Pot by Charlie Stella

The heavily populated saga, involving a shady FBI operation, lies, deceit, misplaced trust, and numerous vendettas, requires intricate plotting and careful attention to character. Many have said it before, but there’s a blunt realism to Stella’s dialogue and a compelling rationale for his underworld characters’ pitiless behavior. Richard Lipez writes in an article in The Washington Post: “It’s too bad that virtually none of Stella’s best dialogue is repeatable in this newspaper. Like “The Sopranos” writers, Stella is a kind of obscene Ring Lardner, finding a lean, rancid poetry in his characters’ vernacular, and rendering it with flawless precision and humor.” With Joey Piss Pot, the prose is spare, the conversation sharp and colorful and thick with profanity, and when the action kicks in, the slick, graphic violence leaves a mark. Fans of underworld fiction will drink this up and hungrily hold out their bowl for more.

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The Man With My Face & The Grinning Gismo by Samuel W. Taylor (Introduction by Nicholas Litchfield)

Taylor’s Tales of Teeth and Two Faces

Recently, Stark House Press reissued a couple of Samuel W. Taylor’s (1907-1997) excellent novels The Man With My Face and The Grinning Gismo. The first, originally published in 1948, is an outlandish crime tale about a man whose identity is stolen. It’s fast, thrilling, and slickly told, and Taylor examines the crime with such thoughtful care that by the end, you’re convinced that a crime like this could really take place. The subsequent mystery, The Grinning Gismo, from 1951, is a gritty pulp yarn that employs a number of clever techniques to keep the reader deeply invested in the story. It’s very suspenseful, full of neat twists, and with an impressive denouement. These stories are well worth seeking out, and this newly released twofer includes my essay “The Doppelgänger Fiend and the Teeth Worth Dying For.” You can purchase the volume on Amazon or Barnes and Noble

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Murder in Monaco & Death’s Lovely Mask by John Flagg (Introduction by Nicholas Litchfield)

Yet More Espionage from John Flagg

My essay, “The Further Adventures of Fearless Agent Hart Muldoon,” introduces the volume Murder in Monaco / Death’s Lovely Mask, published recently by Stark House Press. These 1950s spy thrillers mark the final time Muldoon saw the Mediterranean. His final adventure, set in the Sixties, sent him beyond Europe and into the midst of battle on one final mission. But I’ll stop there, as that’s for another day.

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Nobody Lives Forever & Tomorrow’s Another Day by W. R. Burnett (Introduction by Nicholas Litchfield)

W.R. Burnett Lives On

This is the sixth collection of novels by W.R. Burnett reprinted by Stark House Press, and there will likely be more that will follow it. Burnett wrote plenty of novels. Some say he never wrote a bad one. Big publishers wanted his stories, and his work was ever popular with readers. Occasionally, his efforts won awards. They were stories that were cinematic and full of good dialogue, and there was always the promise of action. From the first manuscript to the last, he was a reliably good novelist and became a highly prized screenwriter. The most highly rewarded, in fact. Was he shot with luck, or was there something else behind his success?

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The Accused / The Snatch by Harold R. Daniels (Introduction by Nicholas Litchfield)

The Harold R. Daniels Twofer: The Accused and The Snatch

Earlier this month, Stark House Press published both novels as a twofer. The collection includes my essay, “The Solidly Considerable Talent of Harold R. Daniels,” in which I speak about the power of these two stories and the author’s relatively short but impactful writing career. There’s a lot more I can say about Daniels. His final two novels certainly ought to be reissued. But for now, I’ll hold off and simply say that these two stories are worth seizing while you still can.

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24 Hours to Kill / Blue Mascara Tears by James McKimmey (Introduction by Nicholas Litchfield)

The High-profile Prisoner and the Detective’s Obsession

The newest compilation released this month, 24 Hours to Kill / Blue Mascara Tears, includes a couple of varied, well-written novels from the 1960s. My essay, “Idolatry and Playing God to Cure “The Fix,” which introduces the volume, explores McKimmey’s writing career and these two works in particular. Those who enjoy hardboiled fiction from the golden era will not be disappointed.

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