The New Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction Read online

  Maxim Jakubowski is a London-based novelist and editor. He was born in the UK and educated in France. Following a career in book publishing, he opened the world-famous Murder One bookshop in London. He now writes full-time. He has edited over twenty bestselling erotic anthologies and books on erotic photography, as well as many acclaimed crime collections. His novels include It’s You That I Want to Kiss, Because She Thought She Loved Me and On Tenderness Express, all three recently collected and reprinted in the USA as Skin in Darkness. Other books include Life in the World of Women, The State of Montana, Kiss Me Sadly, Confessions of a Romantic Pornographer, I Was Waiting For You and, recently, Ekaterina and the Night. In 2006 he published American Casanova, a major erotic novel which he edited and on which fifteen of the top erotic writers in the world collaborated, and his collected erotic short stories as Fools For Lust. He compiles two annual acclaimed series for the Mammoth list: Best New Erotica and Best British Crime. He is a winner of the Anthony and the Karel Awards, a frequent TV and radio broadcaster, a past crime columnist for the Guardian newspaper and Literary Director of London’s Crime Scene Festival.

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  THE NEW MAMMOTH BOOK OF

  PULP FICTION

  EDITED BY MAXIM JAKUBOWSKI

  Constable & Robinson Ltd.

  55–56 Russell Square

  London WC1B 4HP

  www.constablerobinson.com

  Some material from this book first published in the UK

  as The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction, 1996

  This revised edition published in the UK by Robinson,

  an imprint of Constable & Robinson Ltd., 2014

  Copyright © Maxim Jakubowski, 2014

  (unless otherwise stated)

  The right of Maxim Jakubowski to be identified as the

  author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance

  with the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition

  that it shall not be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form or by any means,

  electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information

  storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without written permission

  from the publisher and without a similar condition, including this condition,

  being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  A copy of the British Library Cataloguing in Publication

  Data is available from the British Library

  UK ISBN: 978-1-47211-112-8 (paperback)

  UK ISBN: 978-1-4721-1180-7 (e-book)

  1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

  First published in the United States in 2014 by Running Press Book Publishers,

  A Member of the Perseus Books Group

  All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copyright Conventions

  This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without written permission from the publisher.

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  please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 2300 Chestnut

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  US ISBN: 978-0-7624-5221-7

  US Library of Congress Control Number: 2013949486

  9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Digit on the right indicates the number of this printing

  Running Press Book Publishers

  2300 Chestnut Street

  Philadelphia, PA 19103-4371

  Visit us on the web!

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  Printed and bound in the UK

  Cover design by Mark Cavanagh

  Contents

  Acknowledgements

  INTRODUCTION

  Maxim Jakubowski

  THE DIAMOND WAGER

  Samuel Dashiell

  FLIGHT TO NOWHERE

  Charles Williams

  THE TASTING MACHINE

  Paul Cain

  FINDERS KILLERS!

  John D. MacDonald

  THE MURDERING KIND!

  Robert Turner

  CIGARETTE GIRL

  James M. Cain

  THE GETAWAY

  Gil Brewer

  PREVIEW OF MURDER

  Robert Leslie Bellem

  FOREVER AFTER

  Jim Thompson

  THE BLOODY TIDE

  Day Keene

  DEATH COMES GIFT-WRAPPED

  William P. McGivern

  THE GIRL BEHIND THE HEDGE

  Mickey Spillane

  ONE ESCORT – MISSING OR DEAD

  Roger Torrey

  DON’T BURN YOUR CORPSES BEHIND YOU

  William Rough

  A CANDLE FOR THE BAG LADY

  Lawrence Block

  BLACK PUDDING

  David Goodis

  A MATTER OF PRINCIPAL

  Max Allan Collins

  CITIZEN’S ARREST

  Charles Willeford

  SLEEPING DOG

  Ross Macdonald

  THE WENCH IS DEAD

  Fredric Brown

  SO DARK FOR APRIL

  Howard Browne

  WE ARE ALL DEAD

  Bruno Fischer

  DEATH IS A VAMPIRE

  Robert Bloch

  THE BLUE STEEL SQUIRREL

  Frank R. Read

  A REAL NICE GUY

  William F. Nolan

  STACKED DECK

  Bill Pronzini

  SO YOUNG, SO FAIR, SO DEAD

  John Lutz

  EFFECTIVE MEDICINE

  B. Traven

  NICELY FRAMED, READY TO HANG!

  Dan Gordon

  THE SECOND COMING

  Joe Gores

  PALE HANDS I LOAT
HED

  William Campbell Gault

  THE DARK GODDESS

  Schuyler G. Edsall

  ORDO

  Donald E. Westlake

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Introduction and collection © 1996, 2014 by Maxim Jakubowski.

  THE DIAMOND WAGER by Samuel Dashiell, © 1929 by Samuel Dashiell. First appeared in Detective Fiction Weekly. Copyright not renewed.

  FLIGHT TO NOWHERE by Charles Williams, © 1955 by Charles Williams. First appeared in Manhunt. Reproduced by permission of Abner Stein. Appeared in The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowksi (Robinson, 1996).

  THE TASTING MACHINE by Paul Cain, © 1949 by Peter Ruric. First appeared in Gourmet as by Peter Ruric.

  FINDERS KILLERS! by John D. MacDonald, © 1953 by John D. MacDonald. First appeared in Detective Story Magazine. Reproduced by permission of Vanessa Holt Ltd. Appeared in The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowksi (Robinson, 1996).

  THE MURDERING KIND! by Robert Turner © 1953, Robert Turner. First appeared in Detective Tales.

  CIGARETTE GIRL by James M. Cain, © 1952 by Flying Eagle Publications, Inc. First published in Manhunt. Reprinted by permission of Harold Ober Associates. Appeared in The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowksi (Robinson, 1996).

  THE GETAWAY by Gil Brewer, © 1976 by Gil Brewer. First appeared in Mystery. Reproduced by permission of A. M. Heath & Co. Ltd. Appeared in The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowksi (Robinson, 1996).

  PREVIEW OF MURDER by Robert Leslie Bellem, © 1949 by Robert Leslie Bellem. First appeared in Thrilling Detective Magazine. Appeared in The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowksi (Robinson, 1996).

  FOREVER AFTER by Jim Thompson, © 1960 by Jim Thompson. First appeared in Shock. Reproduced by permission of Vanessa Holt Ltd. Appeared in The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowksi (Robinson, 1996).

  THE BLOODY TIDE by Day Keene, © 1950 by Day Keene. First appeared in Black Mask Magazine. Reproduced by permission of Al James on behalf of the Estate of Day Keene. Appeared in The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowksi (Robinson, 1996).

  DEATH COMES GIFT-WRAPPED by William P. McGivern, © 1950 by William P. McGivern. First appeared in Black Mask Magazine. Reproduced by permission of Maureen Daly McGivern on behalf of the Estate of William P. McGivern. Appeared in The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowksi (Robinson, 1996).

  THE GIRL BEHIND THE HEDGE by Mickey Spillane, © 1954 by Mickey Spillane. First appeared in Manhunt. Reproduced by permission of the author. Appeared in The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowksi (Robinson, 1996).

  ONE ESCORT - MISSING OR DEAD by Roger Torrey, ©1940 by Roger Torrey. First appeared in Detective Aces.

  DON’T BURN YOUR CORPSES BEHIND YOU by William Rough, © 1954. First appeared in Detective Story Magazine.

  A CANDLE FOR THE BAG LADY by Lawrence Block, © 1968 by Lawrence Block. First appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. Reproduced by permission of the author. Appeared in The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowksi (Robinson, 1996).

  BLACK PUDDING by David Goodis, © 1954 by David Goodis. First appeared in Manhunt. Reproduced by permission of A. M. Heath & Co. Ltd. Appeared in The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowksi (Robinson, 1996).

  A MATTER OF PRINCIPAL by Max Allan Collins, © 1989 by Max Allan Collins. First appeared in Stalkers. Reproduced by permission of the author. Appeared in The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowksi (Robinson, 1996).

  CITIZEN’S ARREST by Charles Willeford, © 1966 by Charles Willeford. First appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. Reproduced by permission of Abner Stein. Appeared in The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowksi (Robinson, 1996).

  SLEEPING DOG by Ross Macdonald, © 1965 by Ross Macdonald. First appeared in Argosy. Reproduced by permission of David Higham Associates. Appeared in The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowksi (Robinson, 1996).

  THE WENCH IS DEAD by Fredric Brown, © 1953 by Fredric Brown. First appeared in Manhunt. Reproduced by permission of A. M. Heath & Co. Ltd. Appeared in The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowksi (Robinson, 1996).

  SO DARK FOR APRIL by Howard Browne, © 1953 by Howard Browne. First appeared in Manhunt. Reproduced by permission of the author. Appeared in The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowksi (Robinson, 1996).

  WE ARE ALL DEAD by Bruno Fischer, © 1955 by Bruno Fischer. First appeared in Manhunt. Reproduced by permission of Ruth Fischer on behalf of the Estate of Bruno Fischer. Appeared in The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowksi (Robinson, 1996).

  DEATH IS A VAMPIRE by Robert Bloch, © 1944 by Robert Bloch. First appeared in Thrilling Mystery Magazine. Reproduced by permission of A. M. Heath & Co. Ltd. Appeared in The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowksi (Robinson, 1996).

  THE BLUE STEEL SQUIRREL by Frank R. Read, © 1946 by Frank R. Read. First appeared in Detective Story Magazine.

  A REAL NICE GUY by William F. Nolan, © 1980 by William F. Nolan. First appeared in Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine. Reproduced by permission of the author. Appeared in The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowksi (Robinson, 1996).

  STACKED DECK by Bill Pronzini, © 1987 by Bill Pronzini. First appeared in New Black Mask Magazine. Reproduced by permission of the author. Appeared in The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowksi (Robinson, 1996).

  SO YOUNG, SO FAIR, SO DEAD by John Lutz, © 1973 by John Lutz. First appeared in Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine. Reproduced by permission of the author. Appeared in The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowksi (Robinson, 1996).

  EFFECTIVE MEDICINE by B. Traven, © 1954 by B. Traven. First appeared in Manhunt. Reproduced by permission of A. M. Heath & Co. Ltd. Appeared in The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowksi (Robinson, 1996).

  NICELY FRAMED, READY TO HANG! by Dan Gordon, © 1952 by Dan Gordon. First appeared in Detective Tales.

  THE SECOND COMING by Joe Gores, © 1966 by Joe Gores. First appeared in Adam’s Best Fiction. Reproduced by permission of the author. Appeared in The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowksi (Robinson, 1996).

  PALE HANDS I LOATHED by William Campbell Gault, ©1947. First appeared in Detective Story Magazine.

  THE DARK GODDESS by Schuyler G. Edsall, © 1955 by Schuyler G. Edsall. First appeared in Mystery Detective.

  ORDO by Donald E. Westlake, © 1977 by Donald E. Westlake. First appeared in Enough. Reproduced by permission of James Hale Literary Agency. Appeared in The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowksi (Robinson, 1996).

  All efforts have been made to contact the respective copyright holders. In some cases, it has not proven possible to ascertain the whereabouts of authors, agents or estates. They are welcome to write to us c/o the book’s publishers.

  I owe a particular vote of thanks to various authors and editors who provided invaluable assistance in tracing copyright holders and living relatives, and recommended particular stories. A bow of the fedora, then, to Max Allan Collins, Ed Gorman, Martin H. Greenberg, Gary Lovisi, William F. Nolan and Bill Pronzini.

  INTRODUCTION

  Maxim Jakubowski

  There is no such thing as pulp fiction.

  Sweeping assertion, hey?

  And, I suppose, a perfect touch of controversy to open a volume which I hope you will find full of surprise, action, shocks galore, sound and fury, pages bursting with all the exhilarating speed and bumps of a rollercoaster ride.

  Which is what all the best storytelling provides.

  So long live pulp fiction!

  First, let’s bury the myth that pulp fiction is a lower form of art, the reverse side of literature as we know it. Until pyrotechnic film director Quentin Tarantino spectacularly hijacked the expression, most ignorant observers and accredited
denizens of the literary establishment relegated pulp writing to a dubious cupboard where we parked the guilty pleasures we were too ashamed to display in public. Pulp was equated with rubbish. Crap of the basest nature. How arrogant of them to dismiss thus what, for many, was a perfect form of entertainment!

  What we have come to call, to know as, pulp writing came about from the magazines where much of its early gems first appeared: the colourful publications, so often afflicted with endearing but terrible names, which cheapskate publishers insisted on printing on the cheapest available form of paper, pulp paper; sadly this is another reason for the aura that now surrounds them, as so few have survived the onslaught of time and decay, and the rare remaining examples have become increasingly collectable, albeit all too often in crumbling form on the shelves.

  Many of the names have gone down in legend: Black Mask, Amazing, Astounding, Spicy Stories, Ace-High, Detective Magazine, Dare-Devil Aces, Thrills of the Jungle, High Seas Adventures, Fighting Aces, Secret Service Operator 5, etc . . . to the nth degree. There were literally hundreds of such often live-by-night magazines with wildly exotic and frequently misleading names from their initial appearance at the beginning of the 1920s in America. And I would not pretend that everything they published was made of gold. Far from it. We are talking commercial fiction, mostly catering to the lowest common denominator. But then do our modern paperbacks have loftier ambitions and a superior hit-rate, quality-wise?

  But what makes them stand out is the fact that the pulps had one golden rule which unsung editors insisted upon and good and bad writers alike religiously followed: adherence to the art of storytelling. Every story in the pulps had a beginning and an end, sharply etched economical characterization, action, emotions, plenty going on. The mission was to keep the reader hooked, to transport him into a more interesting world of fantasy and make-believe, spiriting him away from the drab horizons of everyday life (remember, there was no television in those very early days, or CDs or other modern leisure addictions).

  This compact with the consumer might appear self-evident, and was indeed very much a continuation of the Victorian penny dreadfuls and novels written by instalments in newspapers and magazines by the likes of Conan Doyle, Charles Dickens and so many other overlooked pioneer scribes just a few decades earlier, but it is a tradition that has sadly since been lost to the trappings of Literature with a capital L and pretension. We now have partly forgotten the pleasures of old-time radio but at least the pulp magazines have left us with millions of words of splendid, lurid, cheap and exciting writing. And not only does this inheritance still afford much pleasure but it can also be said to have influenced many commercial writers practising their art long after the literal disappearance of the pulp magazines due to wartime paper shortages. The spirit of pulp continued unabated after the war and ended in the pages of the paperback books that took over the literacy baton in England and America. The 1950s were in fact a further golden age for pulp writing, with the exploding paperback market opening opportunities by the dozen as imprints mushroomed and thrived, providing fertile ground for the remaining pulp survivors and newer generations of popular writers, many of whom, particularly in the fields of mystery and science-fiction writing, would go on to better things and, eventually, to the respectability of the hardcover book. Many of these authors were also busy contributing to the renaissance of popular genre magazines now in digest format, with tales that often echoed or prefigured their novels, and are represented in this selection.