Black Gat – Larque Press | The Digest Enthusiast

Reviews February 28, 2026

BG80: The Dropouts by Robert Goodney

The lives of two battered down-and-outers cross paths mid the shadowed streets of NYC. Both protagonists are wrought from dubious roots; and despite good intentions, and some desire to “straighten” themselves out, both are unable to overcome their baggage. Shaker returns to the scene of the Houston Hotel where he previously lived, scraping by as a substitute desk clerk at odd hours. He longs for Mexico, where he imagines life will be golden. Meanwhile, Cass lives in a similar dive and works a dead end job far below her potential. The two connect, and subconsciously attempt to complete each other. But their primary commitment remains in their broken identities, and they seem unable to overcome their scars to embrace a better reality. Shaker in particular.

The Dropouts is a fine character study of the struggling class and the lost souls it produces. Goodney, whom we learn from Tom Cantrell’s informative introduction, died at the age of 29. This was his only novel and includes several unusual narrative techniques and copious descriptors of setting. Like the novel itself, readers are left hoping there was more his story to be told.

Reviews January 21, 2026

BG79: Walk the Dark Streets by William Krasner

Joe Marco looks more like a jockey than a gangster. He role-plays a law-abiding club owner, but Detective Captain Sam Birge can see beneath the veneer. Marco is careful to cover his tracks, but Birge recognizes the hood’s hidden ventures encourage exactly the sort of crimes that the detective faces every day. This time, it’s the murder of one of the Club Trinidad’s hostesses—stage named Janice Morel. Knifed in her twin-size at the fleabag Marne while comatose from a night inscribed with cheap liquor.

Birge and his partner, Charley Hagen are opposites. Birge is older, wiser, and measured. Hagen is young, ambitious, and overly aggressive. Birge is a likable character, while Hagen is more the stereotypical tough cop who beats out a confession to speed up a conviction. That’s where Harry Chapel comes in, a low-life with baggage; and intimate of Ms. Morel. Initially, Chapel is merely a person of interest, but Hagen’s threatening accusations transform him into suspect number one when he flees the scene immediately following his browbeating.

Noir excellence, rife in character depth and engaging prose, this Edgar-nominated first novel by Krasner (1917–2003), was originally published in 1949. Detective Birge would go on to appear in four additional novels, although one saw print only in Germany.

Reviews December 25, 2025

BG78: One Foot in Hell by Wilene Shaw

The fact that Larry Crenshaw is a successful accountant, model husband, and a solid citizen of his native burg, fictitious Hadsville, Kentucky, located on the banks of the Ohio River, belies his reliability as a narrator. He juggles a few quirks, but generally hides his massive psychological dysfunction pretty well. He successfully deludes himself as he denudes nearly every female he encounters—her age notwithstanding. Readers witness the slow boil of his undoing as his alternate reality rises into a deadly hallucination of sanity.

Crenshaw is obsessed with sex, and it becomes obvious as pages accumulate that it’s the driving force of his existence; even if he can’t seem to recognize this fatalistic fact himself. His psychosis grew out of a brutal childhood past, fed by early promiscuity-interruptus and a tragic marriage, Crenshaw spirals into a sex-starved, booze-infused frenzy that leads to one crippling consequence after another.

Originally published by Ace in 1961 under Virginia M. Harrison’s pseudonym, Wilene Shaw. Although it was written long after the jazz age, its kilter would seem to fit comfortably within Stark House’s Staccato Crime series. Stark House previously published Shaw’s Heat Lightning in their first collection of Ace paperbacks: Three Aces (May 2023)

Reviews November 25, 2025

BG77: The Grave’s in the Meadow by Manning Lee Stokes

Imagine writing three novels a year for 30 years. When Stokes launched his impressive bibliography in 1946 with the publication of The Wolf Howls “Murder” he went on to write 87 more before his death in 1976. Of course, sometimes, like in 1967 his credits include a staggering nine titles, but if you take his active years 29 (he died in early January, so we won’t count 1976), and divide by 88, it comes out to three books a year. Many were written under pseudonyms, and this Black Gat edition includes a four-page bibliography of Stokes’ storied career.

The Grave’s in the Meadow originally came out in 1959 from Arcadia House and was reprinted by Dell two years later. (The cover on this BG edition reprints the one from Dell.) The novel opens moments after Richard (Dick) Ludwell witnesses the murder of Kid Gonzales an up-and-coming middleweight who refused to take a dive in his last fight for the benefit of mobster Al Alonzo. The Kid paid dearly and Ludwell, who can identify the shooter Tuffy Sikes, knows he must disappear or face erasure by Sikes. Ludwell’s childhood chum is about his only trusted friend and has an ideal hideout buried in some tiny burg 100 miles from his troubles in Lake City.

Ludwell’s getaway is fast and smooth, and upon arrival in his new home he immediately begins to leverage every lucrative opportunity he can exploit. But nearby Shadeland is already packed with its own raft of savvy operators, and Ludwell is soon entwined in the local power plays. The novel is packed with unexpected twists and plenty of action as Ludwell sprints headlong from one hot mess to the next. It’s a mind-bender!

Reviews October 29, 2025

BG76: Run, Killer, Run by Lionel White

Lionel White (1905–1985) leveraged his real-world experiences as a police reporter and true crime magazine editor when he turned to writing crime fiction. This novel was originally released as Seven Hungry Men in 1952 by Rainbow Books. White reworked things for its 1959 edition as Run, Killer, Run for Avon. Both titles are appropriate. Indeed, the caper masterminded by crime financier Mordecai Borgman, assembles seven hungry men to pull an armored car robbery, led by Rand Coleman, whom Borgman helped finagle for an early release. Coleman ain’t swayed by the favor, but when Borgman presents his latest venture along with Coleman’s cut, the ex-con agrees to lead the misfit crew onto easy street.

A couple of guys Coleman picks himself. He knows they’ll do what he says and do it well. The rest of the gang are less than optimal, but he’s forced to accept them because the clock is ticking. His doubts are confirmed and re-confirmed as the robbery unfurls and bodies fold. Coleman ain’t the one who did the killing, but with his record and the heat the hijack triggers, the revised title fits like a tight angora on a stacked twenty-something personal assistant. And that’s an apt description of Pam, Borgman’s new squeeze who likes life on the edge and loves complicating every situation she thrusts herself into.

The action and errs never stop as Coleman and his dubious partners in crime bolt from one bare escape to the next. The novel would make a terrific crime film, and in fact, Kubrick’s The Killing was adapted by White’s Clean Break, written in 1955.

Kudos to Stark House for bringing back the mystery via their Black Gat Books imprint!

Reviews August 25, 2025

BG74: Roadside Night by Erwin S. Nistler & Gerry P. Broderick

Buck Randall is a relatively nice guy. He owns a bar and a few cabins. He’s making a little money, with plans to make some more. There’s a nice girl nearby that adores him and doesn’t hide her feelings. Joyce is a little younger, a little greener than Buck, but she’s grown up right and she’s easy on the eyes. Her Daddy likes Buck too, and could be a real asset for the young man’s plans.

Maybe Buck’s military stint had him seeing and doing things that buckled his psyche just a little too sharply. When he catches his first glimpse of Sylvia Landon, things turn noir.

Sylvia is a knockout. She’s whip-smart, and she’s got big plans for Buck. In-between sheet sessions she slowly uncovers those plans. She’s got the perfect robbery lined up, and Buck’s just the man to make it happen.

Over the middle fast-paced pages of this short novel, while Buck follows her lead, he also begins to learn all about his lover’s past. It’s not good, and he can’t help but wonder what it portends for him.

Nistler and Broderick wrangle elements of classic noir, taking them in surprising directions; driving hard toward an unexpectedly deadly climax.

Reviews July 21, 2025

BG73: The Joy Wheel by Paul W. Fairman

A beautifully metered coming of rage story. Eddie Kiley is on the cusp of manhood, flirting with vice, sex, and moonshine in old Chicago. His role model is his father, a successful salesman who travels frequently and hasn’t always been around to provide guidance to the teen. His mother is devout, a barricade that keeps the family’s skeleton closet shuttered to keep the uglies at bay. Like most older sisters, Eddie’s is further ahead in maturity and overall savvy than her years might attest.

An excellent character study, this fascinating story carefully unravels each person’s flaws over the course of their lives during Eddie’s most critical formative years. The most obvious is his Uncle Frank, who fights a losing battle with moon, stumbling from one self-inflicted crisis to the next. The novel is categorized as a crime book; it certainly skirts the borderline. It could also be cast as noir, but even there it defies expectations. In the end, what matters is Fairman has crafted a beguiling glimpse into the inner lives of one depression-era Chi-town patriarchy with all its heart and hedonism.

Paul Warren Fairman (1909–1977) was the founding editor of the If digest, and also served for a time as editor for Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Amazing Stories, and Fantastic. He wrote a raft of short stories and novels across multiple genres under his own name and several pseudonyms. Several movies and television episodes were based on his stories.

Reviews June 12, 2025

BG72: The Face of Evil by John McPartland

What makes a man, a real man? And what about a real woman? Each equilateral in the messy triangle of Bill Oxford, Nile Lisbon, and Ann Field are soul-searching for the answers. They ponder ‘em plenty, all through their rough-and-ready bar trek—sometimes beside and sometimes behind Mr. Fix-It, aka Bill Oxford, as he bulls his way through his latest commission. A coin-operated candidate, funded by California’s big boys want their man elected to a state-wide office. This dubious puppet is never named—else I missed it the one time it may have been mentioned—and neither is the office he’s steamrolling.

His main rival, Ringling Black, is rising in the polls. Black is fresh and clean, and unfortunately for the big boys, his past is as pristine as his present. No problem. That why they’ve got Oxford. He’ll dream up a juicy scandal and place Black smack in the middle. But he’d best hurry, Black has uncovered some pretty nasty muck on his opponent; bad enough to sink the slimy skunk. The big boys can’t let that happen. They’ve invested too much, and have too much to lose without their preferred corruptoid locked in their beholden grasp.

This gig is a slam-dunk for Oxford. But he’s kind of fed up with himself. In fact, he’s having a mirror moment, and that spells trouble—for every character in sight—most of all, Oxford.

The Face of Evil is a deep dive into the mystery of what makes men tick after a run of wrong turns. Can Oxford reset the balance, or has his past ruined his future? This heady jigsaw is wrapped neatly in the chaos of constant danger that looms closer as every page turns.

John Donald McPartland (1911–1958) served in the Korean War, wrote for Stars and Strips and later Life magazine. After the war, he moved to Monterey (just down the coast from Stark House Press), to pursue crime fiction. After his early death, his second family was uncovered. Hmmm, I wonder how much of his real life influenced the character introspection and love triangle of this particular fiction?

Reviews May 20, 2025

BG71: Make with the Brains, Pierre by Dana Wilson

Frenchman Pierre Bernet is a furloughed film cutter. (I’d call him a film editor, but perhaps film cutter was either the formal or informal designation in 1940s Hollywood.) What makes this novel a crime story is the fact that poor Pierre is contracted to exhume a scripted narrative from a catalog of an actor’s filmography. Unbeknown to Pierre, his client will then insert the second half of the conversation to create an entirely fictitious piece of testimony.

That’s the plot. It’s central, but in many ways secondary. It provides the framework for the real story, a dueling pair of love triangles that completely engulf Pierre. Author Wilson provides a tour de force of inner dialogue and shifting emotions, sometimes shared aloud and sometimes ricocheting around our hero’s prodigious brain. This extraordinary crime story may not revel in non-stop action, but its fascinating, confounding character depths provide a more than satisfying payoff again and again.

Bonus: Randal S. Brandt provides a brilliant introduction revealing the impressive cred of the book’s beautiful, behind-the-scenes Hollywood mogul.

Reviews April 25, 2025

BG70: The Wicked Streets by Wenzell Brown

Wenzell Brown (1912–1981) wrote nonfiction, historical fiction, and true crime. But he shared the spotlight as one of the top three of juvenile delinquency (JD) fiction writers of the ’50s, alongside Hal Ellson and Irving Shulman. The Wicked Streets is heaped in NY’s hipster scene with jazz clubs, reefer, switchblades, nabs (cops), punks, the dives.

Buzz Baxter is a wild man on the ivories and in his one-way trajectory toward pushing, crime, womanizing, and narcissism. Young, naive Diane Griscom hears him play once and is hooked by his bad-boy charisma and wild rhythms. Buzz knows this blond, blue-eyed knockout is the daughter of old man Griscom, a guy with connections and dough—plenty of dough, so he plays things cagey and cool. A smart operator like Buzz could end up on top if he works this dish into his plans.

But despite his talents, Buzz is a loser. He has enemies. He’s short on cash, because every time he scores some scratch he fritters it away on whims and self-gratification. The Wicked Streets follows Buzz’s sketchy plans that never seem to unfold as he figures. His downward spiral drags the dewy-eyed Diane along in his wake. Will he turn himself around? Will Diane finally see beneath his hipster exterior? What level of trouble would scare either of them into a change in direction?

Brown crafts a fascinating tale of inner fantasies and grim realities of life just barely off the streets of the Big Apple. What happens is generally predictable, but often specifically surprising. And that keeps the pages turning and the danger ever-present. A screaming example of ’50s JD novel-length fiction.