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Backfire
Marty Donovan is a cop who happens to be in love with Lenore, his partner's wife. When the two cops can't crack a tough case, Lenore suggests a stakeout that's not approved the the department. Her husband is killed, and Marty begins a complicated cover-up to protect Lenore and protect his badge, as the tries to find the killer.
325 pages, Nook
First published November 1, 1961
About the author
Dan J. Marlowe
88 books41 followersaka Albert Avellano, Jaime Sandaval, Gar Wilson (house name)
Dan J. Marlowe was a middle-aged businessman who, in the personal turmoil after the death of his wife of many years, decided to abandon his old life. He started writing, and his first novel was published when he was 45.
Marlowe's most famous book and his best-known character arrived from Fawcett Gold Medal Books in 1962 ("The Name of the Game Is Death").
Dan J. Marlowe was a middle-aged businessman who, in the personal turmoil after the death of his wife of many years, decided to abandon his old life. He started writing, and his first novel was published when he was 45.
Marlowe's most famous book and his best-known character arrived from Fawcett Gold Medal Books in 1962 ("The Name of the Game Is Death").
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
March 9, 2023
Backfire, originally published in 1961, was one of Marlowe’s earlier pieces of crime fiction. Like the iconic Sam Spade, Police Detective Marty Donovan is having an affair with his partner Tony Alfieri’s wife, which makes things uncomfortable for Donovan when his partner is killed in front of him. But Donovan isn’t necessarily motivated by the idea you have to avenge your partner because it’s what’s done and no one will think you are worth a damn if you don’t.
Donovan is a sad sack Case who is all bunched up with the thought that he and Alfieri were in an unauthorized sting at a jewelry store and it’s going to look bad for him career-wise if his partner were killed in an unauthorized operation, particularly when he has the hots fir his partner’s wife. Donovan decides the best thing to do is to drag his partner’s body out to the alley, put it in his car, dump it in an alley with a throw gun under it, and start whooping and yelling through the nearby tenements as if they’d been chasing someone and fire a few shots. From then on, Donovan has to keep covering up how he bitched up the crime scene ( the real one) and faked a new crime scene while still acting as the lead investigator on his partner’s death.
The affair with Lorraine takes a backseat to the pseudo-investigation although there are a few post-funeral hit and heavy scenes. The bottom line though is that it’s hard to identify as a reader with this schlub Donovan who, for really no good reason, gets himself in a jam. So what you are working after hours and it goes wrong? It happens. You didn’t kill your partner and you didn’t wake up in a bloody room with a corpse on your hands and your fingerprints all over the murder weapon.
Donovan is a sad sack Case who is all bunched up with the thought that he and Alfieri were in an unauthorized sting at a jewelry store and it’s going to look bad for him career-wise if his partner were killed in an unauthorized operation, particularly when he has the hots fir his partner’s wife. Donovan decides the best thing to do is to drag his partner’s body out to the alley, put it in his car, dump it in an alley with a throw gun under it, and start whooping and yelling through the nearby tenements as if they’d been chasing someone and fire a few shots. From then on, Donovan has to keep covering up how he bitched up the crime scene ( the real one) and faked a new crime scene while still acting as the lead investigator on his partner’s death.
The affair with Lorraine takes a backseat to the pseudo-investigation although there are a few post-funeral hit and heavy scenes. The bottom line though is that it’s hard to identify as a reader with this schlub Donovan who, for really no good reason, gets himself in a jam. So what you are working after hours and it goes wrong? It happens. You didn’t kill your partner and you didn’t wake up in a bloody room with a corpse on your hands and your fingerprints all over the murder weapon.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review