Anthologies capture mystery writer’s long career
Here’s a quick look at a massive pair of books, offering over 1,400 pages of highly entertaining vintage crime fiction.
“Murder Draws a Crowd” and “Death in the Dark” by Fredric Brown (Haffner Press, $50 each) are the first two volumes in a well-designed, excellent new series edited by Steve Haffner, collecting all of Brown’s mystery fiction.
Haffner, who publishes books out of Royal Oak, is no newcomer to the game – he’s issued many superb volumes by classic authors including Jack Williamson, Leigh Brackett, Ed Hamilton and Harry Kuttner.
If you’ve never read anything by Fredric Brown, (1906-1972) you’re in for a real treat – he’s one of the genre’s most respected authors, long overdue for increased attention.
Each of these Fredric Brown books includes a brief introduction by biographer Jack Seabrook, exploring the Edgar award winning author’s career and his unique literary style.
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“Murder Draws a Crowd” focuses on Brown’s early career, from 1936 to 1942, when he sold short stories that were published in pulp magazines like “Detective Fiction Weekly,” “The Phantom Detective” and “Ten Detective Aces”.
Strong characterizations abound; many stories utilize dark humor and surprise endings, almost a Fredric Brown trademark.
Often the action involves people in unusual professions put in dire situations; there’s an abundance of likable heroes, nasty villains and tough cops.
It opens with “The Moon for a Nickel,” a quirky tale featuring a little man with a big telescope in Chicago who witnesses a robbery.
Some of Brown’s short stories were later incorporated or expanded into novels. Haffner’s inclusion of the original artwork that appears in the pulps adds an appealing stylistic touch.
The anthology also showcases two rare Brown western stories, “The Stranger from Trouble Valley” and “Bullet for Bullet,” which came out in “Western Short Stories” in 1940-41.
The last 130 pages are columns of humorous quips and jokes that originally were written for engineering publications.
“Death in the Dark” continues the series, publishing his vintage mystery fiction in chronological order, following his long career as Brown perfects his extraordinary talent.
Many of these later stories appeared in other pulps, including “Strange Detective Mysteries,” “Thrilling Detective” and “Dime Detective Magazine.”
Brown’s creative stories are wonderfully addictive; he was also a very successful science fiction author.
Ray Walsh, owner of East Lansing’s Curious Book Shop, has reviewed crime novels and Michigan books regularly since 1987. raywalsh@voyager.net
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