Monday, April 13, 2020

#18: The Men from the Boys by Ed Lacy

A crooked cop who falls all the way to being a "house dick" at a seedy hotel puts all of his bad skills to work when his stepson, a rookie officer, gets severely beaten in The Men from the Boys.

This tough-minded piece of 50s crime fiction comes from Ed Lacy, who wrote a lot of notably hard-boiled stories in this era which I have read and enjoyed when I've found them. 

The crime portion of this story isn't much, but the vivid lead character--a sexist, racist, rule-busting cop who tries to do one good deed in his life--carries the story.  A dire medical diagnosis also recklessly propels him along, leading to a downbeat ending.

Although the protagonist is not presented in a positive light, the references are a product of their time even as the storytelling is energetic and ultimately timeless.

This is a reprint from Stark House Press's Black Gat line, where they are trying to bring great pulp fiction back from obscurity. 

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