Hell-Bent For Danger

by Walt Grove

I was sick of my comfortable , routine life. I wanted the adventurous days of the war. I wanted to live with danger. I was bored with my wife and children, and I remembered the women I'd known. So when Bobo and Annie turned up, I was ready for them. I'd found the sense of danger again--with a vengeance. And, besides, I couldn't say no to Annie...

123 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1950

Reviews

[Kurt Reichenbaugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this is something of an obscure novel that I got purely for the terrific cover. The tag line "Bob was tired of playing it safe..." also lured me in. It's a good novel, but it's not exactly a noir-type paperback thriller that Gold Medal was known for and that I was expecting. It's more of a character study involving a WW II veteran, Robert Warren, who has something of a crises of identity that leads him astray from his safe and comfortable suburban existence. And of course there is a sketchy hot young chick named Annie in the mix who doesn't help matters. Bob's old colonel from the war shows up one morning looking for help investing in a scheme that would net both he and Bob a nice little business for themselves. It's all mid-century angst in a novel short enough to never get boring. As for the rating, I was torn between 3 stars and 4 stars, because I did like the book but not sure how it stacks up to other novels with the same setup. Who knows, maybe another belt of scotch and it'll be 4 stars.