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Dark Memory
Vintage paperback
Paperback
First published January 1, 1940
About the author
Jonathan Latimer
39 books33 followersJonathan Latimer was born in Chicago on 23rd October 1906. His main series character was the private investigator Bill Crane. An important character in the development of the hard boiled genre. A notable title is Solomon's Vineyard, the controversy over the content saw the US publication delayed by nine years. The author later concentrated on screen plays and also worked for five years on the Perry Mason television series.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 9, 2026
A failed novel — but interesting reading anyway.
Hero is hired on to a safari to hunt down some gorillas. He is disturbed by hunting gorillas — they are too close to being human. Hero is haunted by his past. (You can tell it’s the past because the reminisces are set in italic type).
When the safari winds down, a woman seeking her lost husband wanders into the picture. This gets the testosterone flowing and the book threatens to become a decent meditation of Hemingway’s great theme — “grace under pressure”. Fisticuffs, lion hunting, and an examination of what constitutes courage — all good literary stuff. When the themes are exhausted, our hero, his best friend, and the woman stirring everything up get lost in the same jungle where husband disappeared. It’s harrowing. Then it becomes stupid as the dialogue turns Hollywood ghastly. Still, it isn’t nearly as bad as the schmaltzy Hollywood ending, which throws away another set of interesting themes.
Latimer is best known for his screenplays and work on the Perry Mason series. Based on this book, he had two thirds of a Hemingway novel in him as well. What he has as well is a talent for depicting the African countryside and an unfortunate desire to throw in a Hollywood romance into the middle of it all.
Hero is hired on to a safari to hunt down some gorillas. He is disturbed by hunting gorillas — they are too close to being human. Hero is haunted by his past. (You can tell it’s the past because the reminisces are set in italic type).
When the safari winds down, a woman seeking her lost husband wanders into the picture. This gets the testosterone flowing and the book threatens to become a decent meditation of Hemingway’s great theme — “grace under pressure”. Fisticuffs, lion hunting, and an examination of what constitutes courage — all good literary stuff. When the themes are exhausted, our hero, his best friend, and the woman stirring everything up get lost in the same jungle where husband disappeared. It’s harrowing. Then it becomes stupid as the dialogue turns Hollywood ghastly. Still, it isn’t nearly as bad as the schmaltzy Hollywood ending, which throws away another set of interesting themes.
Latimer is best known for his screenplays and work on the Perry Mason series. Based on this book, he had two thirds of a Hemingway novel in him as well. What he has as well is a talent for depicting the African countryside and an unfortunate desire to throw in a Hollywood romance into the middle of it all.
Displaying 1 of 1 review