The Longest Second

by Bill S. Ballinger

When he woke up, he couldn't remember who he was. When he tried to talk, he discovered her thoat had been cut.
He didn't know why it had happened.. or when the killer would strike again.
This is a tense, taut thriller of three haunted people - a man without a future, a girl with a past, and a killer hunting both.

Genres: Crime

Paperback

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

Bill S Ballinger received his B.A. in 1934 at the University of Wisconsin. From 1934 he worked in advertising, and as a radio and television writer. After traving Europe and the Near East, Ballinger moved to southern California, to take advantage of the television 'boom' of the 1950s as a script writer. Between the years 1977 and 1979 he was an associate professor of writing at the California State University, Norhtridge. In 1960, Ballinger received for his TV work Edgar Allan Poe Award from Mystery Writers of America.

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ballinger' 1957 thriller, The Longest Second, tells two stories in alternating chapters with the connection between the two alternate stories not entirely clear until the end. Ballinger also uses what was quite a popular plot device in the late fifties and early sixties: amnesia. Seems at the time that lots of guys were getting conked on the head and forgetting who they were. Doesn't seem to happen as much anymore. Maybe our skulls aren't quite as fragile these days.

Although it was an overused plot device, Ballinger parlays the idea of amnesia really well here, cresting a mystery of Vic Pacific's past that neither Vic nor the reader can figure out. Vic is an interesting lead character. Not only can't he remember who he is, but his throats was slit so badly he can't speak and only communicates through the use of a notepad. Ballinger never lets us forget that there's danger lurking in the background. After all, people are dropping like flies around Vic. And, he's getting threatening calls. All he has going for him is the kindness of one woman who had found him bleeding to death on her porch.

Ballinger was a storyteller first and foremost and that shows here in his story-focused writing. There's nothing literary or pretentious about his writing. He just tells a good story that you don't want to put down and, in the end, that's what counts.

[WJEP · Rating 4 out of 5]

The odd and even numbered chapters tell two parallel stories. Both stories are a about a man that got his throat slit. In the odd-numbered, first-person story, the victim survived although his trachea, laryngeal nerves, and carotid arteries were nearly severed... and he has amnesia. It's natural to have sympathy for the victim, but don't bleed for him too hastily.

Bill Ballinger knows how to execute a razor-sharp mystery. There are no pointless descriptions, discussions, or characters. Also, he doesn't need to spend the last chapter unscrambling what just happened for the reader.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read for a showery Sunday in April. Enjoyed the parallel stories very much.

[Shawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted a short book I could read on a lazy monday afternoon and this was what I picked. It was fine, nothing exceptional. A straight forward mystery with a man with amnesia trying to piece together that parts. The deeper he digs for the truth, more bubbling ugliness rises to the surface.

[Ethan May · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great quick read. I too liked the way the story was told from two perspectives.

[Shunichro Futono · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Longest Second"
It was a sample book that clear and concise showed how the idea of a plot structure would change the impression of a story and how it would have an effect.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Longest Second by Bill S. Ballinger
I saw this advertised in an old James Bond paperback. It looked interesting so I found it.
A really good mystery. I've never heard of this author but I'll be looking for more of his work.
It's about a man who wakes up in the hospital. He was found with his throat slashed and now has amnesia. He's committed to finding out what happened to him.
He's dogged by a detective. Haunted by nightmares. Pursued by a woman in love. And motivated by something deep inside.
He's not a likeable guy but somehow you root for him.
I thought I had it figured out a quarter of the way through and was disappointed. I kept going and am not sad I did. I *sorta* had it figured.
It was a great, and very different, ending.

[Freddie the Know-it-all · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read-wise, this is good.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best thrillers I've ever read and I'm probably going to wind up reading his entire bibliography.