What do you think?
Rate this book
The Black Mask Boys #3
Sharks Never Sleep: A Novel Featuring the Black Mask Boys : Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Erle Stanley Gardner
After being charged with murder, Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner calls on Raymond Chandler and Dashiel Hammett to help him prove his innocence and uncover the real killer, in a mystery set against the backdrop of Hollywood's Golden Age.
242 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1998
36 people want to read
About the author
William F. Nolan
372 books239 followersWilliam F. Nolan is best known as the co-author (with George Clayton Johnson) of Logan's Run -- a science fiction novel that went on to become a movie, a television series and is about to become a movie again -- and as single author of its sequels. His short stories have been selected for scores of anthologies and textbooks and he is twice winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Special Award from the Mystery Writers of America.
Nolan was born in 1928 in Kansas City Missouri. He attended the Kansas City Art Institute and worked as an artist for Hallmark Cards. He moved to California in the late 1940s and studied at San Diego State College. He began concentrating on writing rather than art and, in 1952, was introduced by fellow Missouri native (and established writer) Ray Bradbury to another young up-and-coming author, Charles Beaumont. Moving to the Los Angeles area in 1953, Nolan became along with Bradbury, Beaumont, and Richard Matheson part of the "inner core" of the soon-to-be highly influential "Southern California Group" of writers. By 1956 Nolan was a full-time writer. Since 1951 he has sold more than 1500 stories, articles, books, and other works.
Although Nolan wrote roughly 2000 pieces, to include biographies, short stories, poetry, and novels, Logan’s Run retains its hold on the public consciousness as a political fable and dystopian warning. As Nolan has stated: “That I am known at all is still astonishing to me... "
He passed away at the age of 93 due to complications from an infection.
Nolan was born in 1928 in Kansas City Missouri. He attended the Kansas City Art Institute and worked as an artist for Hallmark Cards. He moved to California in the late 1940s and studied at San Diego State College. He began concentrating on writing rather than art and, in 1952, was introduced by fellow Missouri native (and established writer) Ray Bradbury to another young up-and-coming author, Charles Beaumont. Moving to the Los Angeles area in 1953, Nolan became along with Bradbury, Beaumont, and Richard Matheson part of the "inner core" of the soon-to-be highly influential "Southern California Group" of writers. By 1956 Nolan was a full-time writer. Since 1951 he has sold more than 1500 stories, articles, books, and other works.
Although Nolan wrote roughly 2000 pieces, to include biographies, short stories, poetry, and novels, Logan’s Run retains its hold on the public consciousness as a political fable and dystopian warning. As Nolan has stated: “That I am known at all is still astonishing to me... "
He passed away at the age of 93 due to complications from an infection.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 18, 2020
This is Erle Stanley Gardner’s book and the voice changes again to be Gardner[s, closer to Hammett’s than Chandler’s, but still distinctively his own. This is quite complicated since Gardner ends up accused of not one murder, but two. It all starts when an old girlfriend married to a famous, well-loved movie star shows up on Gardner’s store step to explain that what seems idyllic is not. She has just lost her young son which she claims is due to her husband’s mistreatment of him. She wants Gardner’s help to escape from this man. Little does Gardner know she changes her will to make him her beneficiary. There we have the motive as we all know, thanks to Gardner and others that cops and prosecutors don’t look beyond the obvious, Fortunately, Chandler and Hammett are there to help. Since he know the judge, Chandler gets Gardner out on bail. However, Chandler is not very happy when Gardner and Hammett follow a lead in Mexico which yields some important information, but life gets complicated when the husband whom Gardner has suspected also gets murdered, finding Gardner back in court with a new charge against him. Of course, Gardner has one of the shrewdest of lawyers defending him, himself. It is touch and go for a while till Hammett shows up in court with the defining evidence. Once again we also encounter some of the celebrities of the golden age of Hollywood with Mae West, Gloria Swanson and John Barrymore contributing to the overall excitement
October 4, 2021
Erle Stanley Gardner of Perry Mason fame is responsible for the narration of this one, set in 1937. A character similar to Bing Crosby appears to be a heavy while the story takes the Black Mask Boys to spectacular movie sets, Spanish-era estates, sleepy Baja villages, Santa Barbara, Carmel and Palm Springs. There are cameos by race car driver Barney Oldfield, actor John Barrymore, John Weissmueller, Black Mask editor Joseph Shaw and others.
In the series' third outing Nolan once again hits one out of the park, successfully evoking the spirit of bygone Hollywood glamor. Once again we have the Black Mask boys chewing up the scenery amid spectacular movie sets, Spanish-era estates and a heavy who will strongly remind them of Bing Crosby. But hidden amongst all this is a surprise: the story of an authentic California life. Erle Gardner of Perry Mason fame was born in Oroville, spent a year at Palo Alto High (Paly), defended the rights of Chinese in Oxnard and later moved to Ventura and then Hollywood. As a westerner at that time, Gardner was a bit less sophisticated than his counterparts Hammett and Chandler who hailed from the east coast and England respectively. At a 1997 mystery seminar I heard author Nolan wondering aloud just how to write a novel in the Gardner style, which in many ways is an absence of style really. Nolan needn't have worried. He pulls off this story about the return of a lost love just fine and, anyway, apart from the occasional special effect, his style matches that of only one writer anyway: Nolan. As it should be. It's true that the old saw "show me instead of telling me" can sometimes be applied, but Nolan has a lot of ground to cover and overall does so quite well.
In the series' third outing Nolan once again hits one out of the park, successfully evoking the spirit of bygone Hollywood glamor. Once again we have the Black Mask boys chewing up the scenery amid spectacular movie sets, Spanish-era estates and a heavy who will strongly remind them of Bing Crosby. But hidden amongst all this is a surprise: the story of an authentic California life. Erle Gardner of Perry Mason fame was born in Oroville, spent a year at Palo Alto High (Paly), defended the rights of Chinese in Oxnard and later moved to Ventura and then Hollywood. As a westerner at that time, Gardner was a bit less sophisticated than his counterparts Hammett and Chandler who hailed from the east coast and England respectively. At a 1997 mystery seminar I heard author Nolan wondering aloud just how to write a novel in the Gardner style, which in many ways is an absence of style really. Nolan needn't have worried. He pulls off this story about the return of a lost love just fine and, anyway, apart from the occasional special effect, his style matches that of only one writer anyway: Nolan. As it should be. It's true that the old saw "show me instead of telling me" can sometimes be applied, but Nolan has a lot of ground to cover and overall does so quite well.
October 18, 2015
PROTAGONIST: Erle Stanley Gardner
SETTING: 1937 LA
SERIES: #3 of 3
RATING: 3.00
WHY: Erle Stanley Gardner, Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler all wrote for Black Mask magazine and are featured in the Black Mask detective series by William Nolan. This book is narrated by Gardner. His true love was murdered. He is trying to prove that her husband was the villain, aided by Hammett and Chandler. There are cameo appearances in the book by other celebrities, such as Mae West, Gloria Swanson and John Barrymore. The actual details from their real lives was very interesting, but the fictional bits he developed for each one were too gimmicky. The plot was quite thin, and the conclusion quite a stretch. Nolan perfectly captures Gardner's style.
SETTING: 1937 LA
SERIES: #3 of 3
RATING: 3.00
WHY: Erle Stanley Gardner, Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler all wrote for Black Mask magazine and are featured in the Black Mask detective series by William Nolan. This book is narrated by Gardner. His true love was murdered. He is trying to prove that her husband was the villain, aided by Hammett and Chandler. There are cameo appearances in the book by other celebrities, such as Mae West, Gloria Swanson and John Barrymore. The actual details from their real lives was very interesting, but the fictional bits he developed for each one were too gimmicky. The plot was quite thin, and the conclusion quite a stretch. Nolan perfectly captures Gardner's style.
January 2, 2009
3rd of 3 Nolan writes as if he is Erle Stanley Gardner is telling the story. It is a Gardner like story. Once again Hammett and Chandler as his friends play supporting roles. . I liked this so much I quickly ordered the first in the series.
July 9, 2011
Recommended by a student (L. Miller)
February 2, 2013
The book was a fast read and enjoyable, but probably not the best read for someone who is writing Gardner's biography.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews