William Ard

Shakedown & The Blonde and Johnny Malloy by William Ard (Author), Nicholas Litchfield (Introduction)

William Ard’s Shakedown and The Blonde and Johnny Malloy

As the author of the introduction to this new double volume from Stark House Press, I am pleased to see William Ard’s legacy continue to thrive. Ard, a Brooklyn native, distinguished himself through a prolific output of character-driven mysteries and westerns, publishing more than three dozen books under various pseudonyms. Though his career was cut short, his ability to blend hard-edged suspense with emotional depth has ensured a dedicated following and critical praise over the decades.

With the arrival of Shakedown / The Blonde and Johnny Malloy, readers are treated to a pair of novels that showcase Ard’s versatility and skill. In my introductory essay, “Ben Kerr and the Two Johnnies,” I trace Ard’s journey through the genre and examine the qualities that make his protagonists so enduring.

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Cry Scandal & The Root of His Evil by William Ard (Introduction by Nicholas Litchfield)

The Tough and Compassionate PI Timothy Dane

Those who like their hardboiled mysteries short and slick and with hearty dollops of wit and action would do well to ferret out the tales of the tough but likable PI Timothy Dane. Though a bit rough around the edges, Dane was a decent and honorable chap who was good with his fists and, according to one critic, “catnip to women.” Better known than many gumshoes of the Fifties, Dane proved popular with readers and had influential book reviewers like Anthony Boucher regularly singing his praises.

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Litchfield Reviews You’ll Get Yours by William Ard

Mysteriously lured by thieves into taking part in a ransom delivery, an honest Manhattan private-eye becomes involved in a perilous blackmail plot and the prime suspect in the murder of a stripper. First published in 1952 by paperback publisher Lion Books under the pseudonym Thomas Wills, You’ll Get Yours is a hardboiled Fifties tale of

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