Black Gat Books Books
TWO NAMES FOR DEATHBarney drives a Boston cab and is surprised to pick up a fare downtown who gives his own address as her destination. Barney rents a room with the Shafft family—old Mrs. Shafft, her son Theo, and their granddaughter Edith—but has no idea that his customer is Lenore Bellane, Theo’s wife and Edith’s real mother. So when Lenore is found with two slashed wrists in her hotel room the next morning, Barney feels that something here just doesn’t make sense.The supposed-suicide doesn’t make sense to Lt. Eggart either. He suspects murder. Lenore had been seen the day before with a Mystery Man who turns out to be her brother-in-law, Francis Bellane, but what motive could he have for killing the woman who seems to have meant so much to him? Why is Barney’s boss, Mr. Bottman, getting involved? And how do the Shaffts figure into this?
THE PERSIAN CAT The aftermath of the war has left Gil Denby a cynical shell. So when Pinel comes to him with a mission to bring a Nazi traitor to justice, his only question is, “How much will it pay?” When he finds out that it involves Edmund Marlan, corrupt financier, it also becomes personal. And the job couldn’t be simpler. All he has to do is travel to Teheran, get close to Marlan, then convince the man’s mistress, Claire Fayne, to board a plane with him for Cairo, where she will be tried for the betrayal of her husband as a Nazi sympathizer. Simple as hell. Helping Denby on his mission is young Gaby, a war child with worldly ways. Pursuing him is Berkeley, a British agent of questionable loyalties. And protecting the interests of Marlan are Grayle and Drexel, two dedicated young men who take their job very seriously. All Denby has with him is a little china cat to let his Teheran contact know he’s one of the good guys. But the more he gets to know Claire Fayne, the more he begins to question just where his loyalties lie…
YOU’LL GET YOURS “A dark room…a warm woman…a cold knife…” It begins at the end of the line—with a killing. But it had started simply enough when press agent Archie St. George hires private investigator, Barney Glines, to retrieve some missing jewels stolen from his beautiful client, Kyle Shannon. Glines knows he’s being set-up for something but he goes along with the exchange out of curiosity more than anything. That—and Kyle Shannon. Turns out that the real “jewels” are a cache of nude photos of Miss Shannon, who is now being blackmailed. Soon Glines finds himself in a dead woman’s room—who’s been shot with his own gun—and the police are jumping to conclusions. It’s beginning to look like whoever’s behind the blackmail wants to make sure that Glines is the fall guy. Unless Glines can find him first.
TEARS ARE FOR ANGELSWhen Jean finds Harry London, there isn’t much left of the man. He lives alone in a shack, spends all his time drunk on moonshine. He’s forgotten about shaving, washing. All he does is shoot at empty cans of beans…and pretends he’s shooting Dick Stewart…Jean is there to find out what happened to her friend, Lucy. The last letter she received from her, she was happily married to Harry, living on his farm, settling into her new life. Now she’s dead, a suicide. What happened to Lucy? And what has turned her loving husband into this brooding wreck of a man, whose sole reason for living is to take revenge against a man who once did him wrong…?
LITTLE SISTER When Vivian Prosper tries to hire Brice to keep her younger sister from marrying young Arthur Spotiswood, he’s not sure he wants to take the case. After all, Linda is almost 18, and should be free to marry whomever she wants. But then Linda’s car appears at the Prosper door with a dead body in the trunk, and Brice reconsiders. Vivian’s stepfather tries to bluster him away, but there is too much at stake here for Brice to just walk. There’s Vivian, for one—a cool beauty with a fiery heart. And Linda, willing to throw herself at any man she meets. But who is the man in the trunk? Who were the men seen in the café with Linda the night before? And why is someone working so hard to scare him off the case?
STOOL PIGEONIt’s Christmas Eve in Little Italy, and Vince Milazzo is called in to investigate the murder of Tony Statella, shot in the head outside of Rocky Tosco’s restaurant. Milazzo has got a personal grudge against Tosco that goes back to their childhood. He knows that somehow Rocky is involved, and is determined this time to bring him down. Even though the murderer turns out to be a kid who was avenging the honor of his sister, Milazzo keeps pushing the Chief for more time. He knows that Rocky is guilty of something, if only he can find someone to rat on him. But every stool pigeon Milazzo talks to tells him the same thing—they don’t know from nothing. Now Milazzo has until midnight to find the connection … or this case might very well be his last.
MADBALLIt starts with a bank robbery. That’s where the $42,000 comes from. Then the two carnies who pull it off get in a car accident, and one of them is killed. The other guy, Mack Irby, waits it out in his hospital room until he’s recovered enough to head back to the carny to collect the cash, which is now all his. But he doesn’t figure on the Murderer. Someone else knows about the robbery—and quickly removes Irby from the scene with a fatal tent stake. But that someone is spotted leaving the crime of the crime by Dolly, one half of the knife-throwing act. Now she must be silenced.Then Doc Magus, the fortune teller, starts doing some figuring, and begins to realize that there’s more to Irby’s murder than meets the eye. That’s when Sammy, Jesse’s halfwit punk, starts hanging around the Murderer’s trailer, hoping to catch a glimpse of his pornography collection. Things are getting desperate. How’s the Murderer supposed to get away clean with all these loose ends, these prying eyes? He’ll just have to start taking care of them, one at a time…
SHE GOT WHAT SHE WANTED “I think you’re that kind of woman,” he said. She hit him hard, with the flat of her right hand, across the side of his face. “You are that kind of a woman,” he said softly. “And I’m that kind of man.” Della Banners was born into poverty. It had been a hard life up in the hills. But she discovered early that a girl with her figure could get things from men. So when she ran away to the city, she was ready to try anything. That’s when she met Jack. Jack immediately sized up her assets and suggested that she belonged in sales. His line of business is selling roofs and siding, but to do it right, he needs someone to find the prospects. That’s where Della comes in. Pretty soon she finds she has a knack for finding new customers, and a better knack for conning them into buying jobs they don’t really need. Della and Jack are on their way to success. The only trouble is, Jack is married, and his wife is less than understanding. Because Della wants it all—the money, the new car, the nice clothes—and Jack. And heaven help anyone who gets in her way.
THE WOMAN ON THE ROOFWilma Rathjen lives above the garage with a view of the apartments below. Her brother Curtis has provided this safe haven for her after her breakdown. The last thing Wilma wants to do is go back to the institution. So when she looks out of her window and sees the body of her neighbor, Jeri Lynn, lying dead in her bathtub, she doesn’t call the police. She waits—if the body is really there, one of the other tenants will discover it. And discover it they do. But is this really an accident? Sergeant Osgood is not so sure. Curtis himself was known to visit Miss Lynn. The young nurse, Ann Jenner, definitely has something to hide; the old gardener, Wallace Timm, is acting evasive; and pretty-boy Tony Carmen is decidedly defensive. And then there’s serviceman Phillip Blade, who shows up claiming to be Jeri’s husband. Only Wilma could have seen what happened—and that someone might try to kill her next!
THE MEN FROM THE BOYS Marty Bond had been a famous cop in New York. But that was before he was “retired” from the force. Now he’s a house dick at a crummy hotel, pimping, rousting, drinking too much. His stomach is killing him, and it comes as no surprise when the doctor says it might be a tumor. Knowing he must have cancer, Marty starts to plan a quicker exit. That’s when his stepson comes to him. An auxiliary cop working the streets, Lawrence thinks there was something fishy in a meat seller who cries robbery one minute, then changes his mind the next. Marty tells him to forget about it. But the kid investigates anyway, and is almost beaten to death. Now Marty figures it’s time to take Lawrence’s suspicions seriously. But what can an ex-cop on the skids do when all he has left are a few old skills, a cynical heart, and the little time remaining?
“You lissen to me!” he rasped. “You lissen to me, you cheap sonofabitch, and you lissen good!” I was too startled to make a move. I hung there like some ridiculous scarecrow from the end of his huge arm. I felt an angry heat rush to my face, swell my throat, but there wasn’t a thing I could do but hang there. Calvart’s self-control had vanished in an explosion of rage. That smooth, professor-like speech of his had suddenly reverted to character. “You lousy gutter rat!” he grated. “I ought to kill you right here, right where you’re sittin’, and if you say one word, make one sound, I’ll do it! You just lissen to me and get one thing straight; I’m not goin’ to be your goddamn patsy, O’Connor. You got me by the tenders this time, but don’t think you can keep milkin’ me; don’t think you can gouge me again; I don’t care what you dig up against me. You just keep one thing in mind, O’Connor. You try a thing like this again, and you’re dead. I don’t care if I burn for it, you’re dead!” Then he let go and I fell back in the chair.
THE HOODS TAKE OVERAlan Avery is out one evening picking up medicine for his pregnant wife’s migraine when he witnesses a brutal murder. Two thugs cut a guy’s throat, then throw his body into their trunk and drive away. When he reports to the police exactly what he has seen, the cops are surprised to find someone who will actually stand up to the hoods in town. His wife fears the worst, but Alan sticks by his testimony. So when Ricca and Doto are arrested and fingered by Alan, crime boss Marty Kahn springs into action, eventually getting them freed. Now the gangsters are making their own plans—and dealing with Alan is the number one priority on their list.
THE LIVING ENDEddie Marlon is just a kid with a song he wants published, another city kid with dreams of being in the music business. His song is nothing special, but Eddie gets a tip that a local radio station needs help on the early morning shift. Marty Allen hires him to line up the records for his show. But the way Eddie sees it, Marty is a square—he doesn’t go for the bucks that are to be had charging A&R guys to get their tunes on the air. Eddie must have been born lucky because one night Marty needs Eddie to help him get the station boss out of a jam. Then they owe him. And when it’s time to collect, Eddie is right there with a plan. He wants his own time slot and he wants to put on free shows with all the big talent, who will naturally play for free to get the air time. Eddie’s got big plans alright. Because now it’s his shot at the top—and if you want to be on Eddie’s show, you’re going to pay for it!
Originally published in hardback by Dodd, Mead & Co as by Matthew Gant, The Last Notch is a noir western about an aging, self-hating gunslinger who takes on a job to kill the territorial governor who has become a threat to the local cattle ranchers. As the publisher of Lion Books, Arnold Hano nurtured the careers of Jim Thompson and David Goodis. Under various pseudonyms, he wrote a series of edgy westerns and crime novels during the 1950s and 60s.
ANGEL’S FLIGHT The first time Ben Parker meets Johnny Angel, Ben is blowing bass with Daddy Halloway and the Hot Babies. Angel angles into the band by acing out the drummer. Parker’s got a bad feeling about Angel, but has to hire him anyway. Johnny Angel, raised from the school of hard knocks, doesn’t let anyone or any scruple get in his way. First, he steals Daddy’s band, then he steals his daughter, Blanche. Then WWII happens—Parker serves, but Johnny cops a gay plea and gets out. When Parker gets back he hooks up with a talented but tubercular composer named Con Conners. And a sultry singer, Ginger. But Johnny Angel is right behind him, ready to do whatever it takes to climb to the top on someone else’s talent, be it beg, borrow or steal... even kill. This is the ruthless story of the music business told from the inside, starting from the days of swing jazz to bebop, all the way to rock’n’roll.
A group of eight people all converge on a small ghost town on the outskirts of the Mexican border, each with their own demons and dilemmas. They all want something they’ve lost: freedom, a lost wife, their youth. Not all of them will leave alive.
FRENZY OF EVIL Jonathan Joseph Carson—Jonathan Joe to his friends—has reached the pinnacle of success. He is rich, well-traveled, a tremendously successful, oft-married lawyer, owner of a large estate, and now, newly married to a woman young enough to be his granddaughter. But something is wrong with Jonathan. His doctors call it a severe case of climeractic, a type of male menopause, an exaggeration of Jonathan’s inherently cruel nature. He savages his opponents in the courtroom, beats his wives, treats everyone around him with casual disdain. And now his new wife comes under his savage thumb. But Dolores has found a lover, someone who might save her. Unfortunately, Jonathan finds out, and there is only one thing to do—and so he begins a frenzy of evil that will stop at nothing less than murder.
Even after his second wife, who desperately wants a baby, demands that he clean up his act, Eddie Senta decides to do one last score that will provide him with five thousand dollars and invigorate his stale existence, but when the seemingly simple robbery goes wrong, Eddie finds himself embroiled in a case of triple murder involving the FBI, a brutal killer, a pair of New York City homicide detectives, and a Russian mobster.