Yep, I'm back on the FFB beat, as Todd Mason and I take turns filling in (temporarily) for your official hostess, Patti Abbott. Todd will gather the links next week (Feb. 8) and I'll be back on duty Feb. 15.
Here are the reviews I've located so far. I'll be adding more throughout the day as I find them. If I miss yours please advise me via comment here or at delewis1@hotmail.com!
LATE ADDITION! (MY BAD)
Neer:The Case of Lucy Bending by Lawrence Sanders
Ed Gorman:The first two Matt Helm novels by Donald Hamilton
Jerry House:333: A Bibliography of the Science-Fantasy Novel
Randy Johnson: Thunder Gorge by Ben Bridges
Nick Jones:The King's English by Kingley Amis
George Kelley:John Brunner (Modern Masters of Science Fiction) by Jad Smith
BV Lawson:Death in the Old Country by Eric Wright
Todd Mason: Ten Tales Calculated to Give You Shudders, Ross Olney, ed.
John Norris: The Desert Moon Mystery by Kay Cleaver Strahan
James Reasoner:Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine May 1968
Richard Robinson:The Case of the Substitute Face by Erle Stanley Gardner
Ron Scheer:The Passin-On Party by Effie Graham
Mike Sind: Call the Next Witness by Philip Mason
Kevin Tipple:Mr. Monk is Miserable by Lee Goldberg
Prashant Trikannad:Commando, Love Stories and all-girl comics
EAST OF SINGAPORE by Frederick Nebel
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When this 68-page chapbook was published back in 2004, Black Dog Books' current (and amazing) line of trade paperbacks was merely a gleam in Tom Roberts' eye. At the time, Tom had been churning out these great little books for at least six years and the covers had progressed from colored cardstock with line art to full-color beauties like this one.
East of Singapore provided a rare opportunity to see Black Mask writer Frederick Nebel applying his talents to exotic adventure in the Far East. That Nebel wrote such tales was only natural, because when this one first appeared, as "Somewhere East of Singapore," in the July 1926 issue of Action Stories, the market for adventure stories was much larger than that for mysteries.
Our hero here is Jack Berk, a one-time engineering student who fought with Teddy Roosevelt on San Juan Hill, traveled the jungles of the Amazon, and finally signed on to build a bridge in New Guinea. When the bridge project flopped, he found himself adrift in the East, and made his way to Singapore, where this adventure begins.
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There aren't many Americans in town at the time, so when one of them finds trouble, others come to their aid. In rescuing an American lady held against her will, Jack puts a bullet through a Chinese prince, who just happens to be a member of a secret crime society. He'd have been sunk if not for still another American - a hardy knockabout named Marty Young - coming to his aid.
Jack and Marty, now a team, discover that the lady - a looker named June Starr - is on the hunt for a treasure in lost jewels, and the three join forces to go after it. Together, they plunge into the dark heart of Borneo, battling Malay warriors and secret society killers every step of the way. Along with the action, Nebel delivers plenty of exotic atmosphere, so we never forget we're in the Far East, and not on the mean streets of a noirish American city.
Want a copy of East of Singapore? I don't blame you. But they're hard to come by these days. Thanks to Tom Roberts, though, the story is still in print, as the lead-off adventure in the Black Dog collection Empire of the Devil. Along with this tale, you also get seven other Nebel adventures, and the most detailed Nebel bibliography ever assembled. Empire of the Devil is one the many fine Black Dog books available HERE.
Here are the reviews I've located so far. I'll be adding more throughout the day as I find them. If I miss yours please advise me via comment here or at delewis1@hotmail.com!
LATE ADDITION! (MY BAD)
Neer:The Case of Lucy Bending by Lawrence Sanders
Patti Abbott:East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Sergio Angelini: The Girl Who Had to Die by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
Sergio Angelini: The Girl Who Had to Die by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
Joe Barone: Cop Hater by Ed McBain
Brian Busby: The House of Windows by Isabel Ecclestone Mackay
Bill Crider:The Only Girl in the Game by John D. MacDonald
Martin Edwards: Snap by Jacqueline Wilson
Curt Evans:Murder in the Hospital by Josephine BellBill Crider:The Only Girl in the Game by John D. MacDonald
Martin Edwards: Snap by Jacqueline Wilson
Ed Gorman:The first two Matt Helm novels by Donald Hamilton
Jerry House:333: A Bibliography of the Science-Fantasy Novel
Randy Johnson: Thunder Gorge by Ben Bridges
Nick Jones:The King's English by Kingley Amis
George Kelley:John Brunner (Modern Masters of Science Fiction) by Jad Smith
BV Lawson:Death in the Old Country by Eric Wright
Todd Mason: Ten Tales Calculated to Give You Shudders, Ross Olney, ed.
John Norris: The Desert Moon Mystery by Kay Cleaver Strahan
James Reasoner:Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine May 1968
Richard Robinson:The Case of the Substitute Face by Erle Stanley Gardner
Ron Scheer:The Passin-On Party by Effie Graham
Mike Sind: Call the Next Witness by Philip Mason
Kevin Tipple:Mr. Monk is Miserable by Lee Goldberg
Prashant Trikannad:Commando, Love Stories and all-girl comics
EAST OF SINGAPORE by Frederick Nebel
East of Singapore provided a rare opportunity to see Black Mask writer Frederick Nebel applying his talents to exotic adventure in the Far East. That Nebel wrote such tales was only natural, because when this one first appeared, as "Somewhere East of Singapore," in the July 1926 issue of Action Stories, the market for adventure stories was much larger than that for mysteries.
Our hero here is Jack Berk, a one-time engineering student who fought with Teddy Roosevelt on San Juan Hill, traveled the jungles of the Amazon, and finally signed on to build a bridge in New Guinea. When the bridge project flopped, he found himself adrift in the East, and made his way to Singapore, where this adventure begins.
Jack and Marty, now a team, discover that the lady - a looker named June Starr - is on the hunt for a treasure in lost jewels, and the three join forces to go after it. Together, they plunge into the dark heart of Borneo, battling Malay warriors and secret society killers every step of the way. Along with the action, Nebel delivers plenty of exotic atmosphere, so we never forget we're in the Far East, and not on the mean streets of a noirish American city.
Want a copy of East of Singapore? I don't blame you. But they're hard to come by these days. Thanks to Tom Roberts, though, the story is still in print, as the lead-off adventure in the Black Dog collection Empire of the Devil. Along with this tale, you also get seven other Nebel adventures, and the most detailed Nebel bibliography ever assembled. Empire of the Devil is one the many fine Black Dog books available HERE.