Forgive Me Killer – Harry Whittington

Harry Whittington’s reputation reigns as one of the proprietors of the paperback originals. As my education continues on vintage crime novels, I can begin to distinguish the shift from the pulps to the affordable paperback novels that exploded in the latter half of the 20^th century. Paperback first edition novels stemmed from publishers such as Fawcett GoldMedal, Signet, Bantam Books, Avon, and Ace. Authors such as John D. McDonald, David Rabe, and most importantly, Harry Whittington carved out a new avenue for the mystery crime genre, not to forget the western, science fiction, romance, or horror genres, to excel. By Whittington’s own account, his prolific output was out of necessity and eventually he was discouraged and quite writing for several years to work for the government, which paid regularly. His output is over 200 novels in various genres including the western. His pseudonyms include Robert Hart-Davis, Harry White, and Hallam Whitney to name a few.

Published in 1956, Forgive Me Killer follows corrupt police officer, Mike Ballard, called to prison to help clear a convicted and sentenced Earl Walker. In desperation, Walker mistakes Ballard’s indifference to his arraignment as compassion and believes that Ballard is a decent human being. Rejecting the plea for help, Ballard returns to work to find himself hit up for a loan by a fellow officer and under investigation with D.A. for his questionably wealthy lifestyle.

Ballard reports to and takes his cut from the local mob boss and club owner, Luxtro, whose hand is in each of the highest city officials’ pocket. Ballard demands that Luxtro pull his strings and have his investigation called off. Luxtro pays Ballard and additional amount of money and promises to look into the investigation, but warns him to lay low and not make any additional waves in the department. An investigation as serious as the one he’s facing is almost impossible to influence.

Meanwhile, convict Earl Walker’s wife, Peggy, pays Ballard a visit in attempt to convince him to clear her husband’s name. Frustrated with his girlfriend, Ballard’s selfish lust for Peggy prompts his agreement to help her imprisoned husband. Knowing that seducing Peggy won’t make a difference if her husband remains in prison, Ballard wants to win Peggy’s trust before he takes her to bed. Unfortunately, the more Ballard looks into Walker’s case the heavier the D.A.’s investigation comes down on him. Despite the hole that Ballard continues to dig, his lust drives him to discover the truth about Earl Walker’s conviction.

Forgive Me Killer’s brevity astonishes me due to the jam-packed story line that the novel tells efficiently. The characters are rich. Despite Ballard’s immoral lifestyle, he is a likeable protagonist that is capable of pulling the narrative through its story arc. Interestingly enough, here is a story that is quite familiar in this day and age of constant Law and Order and C.S.I. spin offs. This novel is still refreshing and tells a good crime story. That’s what’s important to me. My version is a reprint from 1984 published by Black Lizard.

One Monday We Killed Them All – John D. MacDonald

John MacDonald fits into a select group of crime authors with a long spiraling list of accomplishments. Attempting to digest each of the author’s books is an intimidating task, but promises to be a rewarding one. MacDonald’s best known for his Travis McGee series, which contains over 20 books, and the original novel that the movie Cape Fear was based upon called The Executioners. While I haven’t vowed to read all the Travis McGee series (I’ve only read The Deep Blue Goodbye and I did enjoy it), I’ve been steadily collecting his works as I find them. In the meantime, I’ve enjoyed a handful of MacDonald’s stand-alone crime novels.

One Monday We Killed Them All published in 1961 by GoldMedal starts reminiscently of The Executioners as the release of Dwight McAran from prison. His manslaughter prison sentence has ended after the death of his former girlfriend who has died from injuries sustained from his abuse. Unfortunately, for Lieutenant Fenn Hillyer, Dwight McAran is his brother-in-law who needs a place to stay after his prison term. Convinced to give McAran a place to get back on his feet by his wife, Meg, Hillyer must walk a fine line between duty and devotion, while his house quickly becomes the new roadside attraction for the town.

Meg seems to be the only individual on the face of the planet that believes her brother has had a bum rap. Meg is downright sure that he is capable of turning his life around. She criticizes her husband for being distrustful of McAran, even after he discovers that McAran has assaulted her in front of their child. Meanwhile, Hillyer’s police chief gives orders not to coerce McAran into any actions that would lead to his arrest; after all, McAran has served his time in full. However, Hillyer’s unofficial surveillance on his brother-in-law reveals that McAran is waiting for someone or something that will trigger his long gestating revenge on everyone. Eventually, McAran’s only known associates have incited a riot and escaped from prison.

The writing is tight, precise, and economical. Immediately, MacDonald sets up a multilayered source of conflict and tension that builds throughout the novel. Hillyer is not afraid of McAran, but he is afraid for his family. Likewise, McAran waits patiently and fearlessly for his opportunity to commit revenge. Enraptured by the course of events unfolding throughout the novel, I felt that the characters interacted logically. McDonald is able to paint his scenes with just the right amount of anxiety that when key scenes happen, the reader responds accordingly with the intended emotions. An early scene in the novel with the Hillyer’s family pet and McAran, illustrates this perfectly. Overall, I highly recommend this work as an outstanding example of pacing and suspense. The ending also delivers that high emotional impact that punches you in the gut. I do promise to read more MacDonald this year.