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Ed Rivers #1
The Killer is Mine
The dirtiest killer of the year was the man private investigator Ed Rivers had to save from the chair.
Wally Tulman, Florida socialite, had been convicted of molesting and murdering a young girl.
Tulman’s lovely wife begged Rivers to take his case - to prove him innocent.
Rivers wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole.
Then somebody tapped him over the head, just to make sure.
Ed Rivers got the message. Somebody didn’t want him on the case.
So he waded into it - with both fists flying.
Wally Tulman, Florida socialite, had been convicted of molesting and murdering a young girl.
Tulman’s lovely wife begged Rivers to take his case - to prove him innocent.
Rivers wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole.
Then somebody tapped him over the head, just to make sure.
Ed Rivers got the message. Somebody didn’t want him on the case.
So he waded into it - with both fists flying.
147 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1959
5 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Talmage Powell
137 books4 followersPen Names: Robert Hart Davis, Robert Henry, Milton T. Lamb, Milton T. Land, Jack McCready, Anne Talmage, and Dave Sands.
U.S. Author (1920 - 2000) Talmage Powell began his writing career in 1942. Mr. Powell created over 200 stories for the pulp fiction magazines writing in almost every genre and for all of the top magazines. After the demise of the pulps, Mr. Powell continued to write another 300 plus short stories for fiction magazines such as Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, Mike Shayne, Manhunt and Suspense.
Powell also had a number of successful novels published during the 1950s and 1960s. His Ed Rivers series is recognized as some of the best Private Investigator stories from that era. Mr. Powell also had written a number of novels under the Ellery Queen by line as well. He also contributed his creative talents to screenwriting and television work.
Talmage Powell has had a long and successful career by delivering suspensful, intelligent, action based stories that any reader would enjoy.
Pulp Magazines (Partial): Dime Detective, Dime Mystery, Detective Tales, Ten Detecive Aces, Doc Savage, The Shadow, G-Men Detective, Ranch Romances, Fifteen Western Tales, Hollywood Detective, Crack Detective, Black Mask, and many more.
U.S. Author (1920 - 2000) Talmage Powell began his writing career in 1942. Mr. Powell created over 200 stories for the pulp fiction magazines writing in almost every genre and for all of the top magazines. After the demise of the pulps, Mr. Powell continued to write another 300 plus short stories for fiction magazines such as Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, Mike Shayne, Manhunt and Suspense.
Powell also had a number of successful novels published during the 1950s and 1960s. His Ed Rivers series is recognized as some of the best Private Investigator stories from that era. Mr. Powell also had written a number of novels under the Ellery Queen by line as well. He also contributed his creative talents to screenwriting and television work.
Talmage Powell has had a long and successful career by delivering suspensful, intelligent, action based stories that any reader would enjoy.
Pulp Magazines (Partial): Dime Detective, Dime Mystery, Detective Tales, Ten Detecive Aces, Doc Savage, The Shadow, G-Men Detective, Ranch Romances, Fifteen Western Tales, Hollywood Detective, Crack Detective, Black Mask, and many more.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 1, 2023
Tightly plotted hardboiled detective story with a likable, straight arrow PI narrator, a colorful cast of characters and some disturbing scenes involving the rape and murder of a young girl that leave an impression. Beneath his macho veneer PI Ed Rivers proves to be considerate and even a bit idealistic, but never a sap. "I sat holding it. Holding Tulman’s life in my hands. Wondering, if I could turn back the clock, if I would do it over again. I knew that I would. And I knew it would turn out exactly this way. Tulman would never know the animal vigor of her, for he could never arouse it. But I would never know it, either. Except to know it was there. For I would never have her."
March 9, 2023
Talmage Powell was another pulp writer who migrated to the mystery digests, primarily Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, and of course paperback originals in the 1950s. He was also one of the Tampa group of author pals with Harry Whittington, Day Keene, Jonathon Craig, and Gil Brewer. Fine company indeed. This paperback from 1959 was Powell’s take on the immensely popular private detective genre of the era with this, the first Ed Rivers novel. A young wife attempts to engage Rivers to prove that her husband on death row is innocent, and while at first disinclined to help, he changes his mind when he is threatened to drop the case, correctly sleuthing that something fishy is afoot. Rivers doggedly seeks the truth while dodging a large retinue of forces that are throwing roadblocks and threats at him. Powell expertly rolls up a delightfully sophisticated and tightly plotted gem with a slew of interesting characters, all spouting terse and evocative dialog. A top notch detective novel and another superior entry in the pantheon of 1959 paperback masterpieces, arguably the best year ever for crime, sleaze, and detective fiction. Five stars and my highest recommendation.
August 4, 2021
I don't like PI books, but I liked this one. Usually all the tropes make me twitchy -- not a problem with sweaty detective Ed Rivers.
The main reason I liked this book was Powell's parsimonious writing style. It would take too much time for most writers to write such a short book, so they write long ones instead.
And dammit, I can't believe I didn't guess who done it.
The main reason I liked this book was Powell's parsimonious writing style. It would take too much time for most writers to write such a short book, so they write long ones instead.
And dammit, I can't believe I didn't guess who done it.
July 14, 2017
“The Killer Is Mine” is the first of five Ed Rivers PI novels by Talmage Powell, one of the pulp writers from the Tampa Bay area in the fifties. Rivers is an ugly bear of a man who can’t stand Florida’s oppressive heat. He has a low-rent apartment and office in Tampa’s Ybor City. He was originally a New Jersey police officer who fell for a girl he thought was “everything fine and decent in human form,” only to discover that she had it bad for a hood and ended up watching her and the hood lose a race with a freight train. Rivers works on his own, often at odds with the interests of the law. His specialty seems to be defending men accused of/convicted of murder when no one else believes they have one drop of innocence.
“The Killer Is Mine” is a terrific PI novel and a lightning fast read from cover to cover. On the way to righting wrongs and doing justice, Rivers encounters seven-foot tall circus freaks, blonde call girls (with “bedroom blond hair framing a face that was almost pretty as a doll’s”), blackmailing waiters, victims families who are so wrought with grief that they are claimed by insanity and/or inebriation, precocious teenagers, and a grande dame of a wealthy family. He is battered, bruised, set on fire, shot at, jailed, run over, and otherwise trampled.
And, of course, the accused’s wife (Laura Tulman) couldn’t just be ordinary, could she? “She was the kind who’d make the whole trip for a man, right to hell’s front door. Even for a guy in his spot.” The accused on the surface doesn’t seem like a crazed child molester/killer and, the narrator explains, “in a gentler world, Wally Tulman might have been an outstanding success. But the world was not the gentle place he needed. It was a place of atom bombs and wars and death and blood, and it viewed Wally Tulman with critical, bloody eyes.” And what they accused him of was putting him through hell on earth: “They had built a nightmare like a strait jacket and laced his spirit up in it. They had him so confused he half-believed he had really done it.”
The late fifties/early sixties brought a ton of PIs of every kind to the literary world, but Powell’s Ed Rivers is one of the best. Powell has created a character that is not just a caricature, but has tremendous depth. He isn’t just bamboozled by feminine wiles, but is concerned whether someone has lost their soul and now has “a chunk missing inside” and has “lost the line between right and wrong.”
“The Killer Is Mine” is a terrific PI novel and a lightning fast read from cover to cover. On the way to righting wrongs and doing justice, Rivers encounters seven-foot tall circus freaks, blonde call girls (with “bedroom blond hair framing a face that was almost pretty as a doll’s”), blackmailing waiters, victims families who are so wrought with grief that they are claimed by insanity and/or inebriation, precocious teenagers, and a grande dame of a wealthy family. He is battered, bruised, set on fire, shot at, jailed, run over, and otherwise trampled.
And, of course, the accused’s wife (Laura Tulman) couldn’t just be ordinary, could she? “She was the kind who’d make the whole trip for a man, right to hell’s front door. Even for a guy in his spot.” The accused on the surface doesn’t seem like a crazed child molester/killer and, the narrator explains, “in a gentler world, Wally Tulman might have been an outstanding success. But the world was not the gentle place he needed. It was a place of atom bombs and wars and death and blood, and it viewed Wally Tulman with critical, bloody eyes.” And what they accused him of was putting him through hell on earth: “They had built a nightmare like a strait jacket and laced his spirit up in it. They had him so confused he half-believed he had really done it.”
The late fifties/early sixties brought a ton of PIs of every kind to the literary world, but Powell’s Ed Rivers is one of the best. Powell has created a character that is not just a caricature, but has tremendous depth. He isn’t just bamboozled by feminine wiles, but is concerned whether someone has lost their soul and now has “a chunk missing inside” and has “lost the line between right and wrong.”
September 25, 2025
The Killer is Mine by Talmage Powell (1957, 146 pg. on Kindle, $3.99) is a pretty good crime fiction P.I. novel. It features Detective Ed Harris in the 1st book of a series of 5. Harris is a rather unique character being he's overweight, not good-looking, and a loner with a past...but...he's not afraid of action or taking on a tough case as in this story. There are a few P.I. staples to the book such as the settings like Tampa, Florida (so many crime-fictions take place in FL), his office, and the weaving of the rich & poor. The mystery holds up too keeping one guessing to the very end. Powell is a good writer and rather stark similar to the Parker series and I felt the prose has held the test of time. It felt modern and not stuck in the '50's. The plot-line is a rich guy is on death row for murdering an 11 year-old girl. P.I. Harris believes he's innocent...and on goes the case. I'm going read the whole 5 book series and I recommend The Killer is Mine...4.0 outta 5.0............
December 5, 2016
Interesting plot and storyline but dragged in places and was too analytical/philosophical at the ending, didn't fit well with a book of this genre. THE KILLER IS MINE being first book I've read by this author, am hopeful that the next one I read by Talmadge Powell will hit a little closer to the mark.
September 12, 2017
Prologue ebook has a horrendous amount of typos, OCR, and formatting errors. My favorite "and it scared the parities off of her."
My first TM book, and I liked it quite a bit. It's got a large cast of characters, and I had to stop several times to remind myself who everyone was. Eventually it sorts itself out. Very satisfying conclusion.
My first TM book, and I liked it quite a bit. It's got a large cast of characters, and I had to stop several times to remind myself who everyone was. Eventually it sorts itself out. Very satisfying conclusion.
December 2, 2024
Excellent PI novel. First in the Ed Rivers series.
April 4, 2024
Visit JetBlackDragonfly (The Man Who Read Too Much) at www.edenthompson.ca/blog
The Killer Is Mine introduces tough guy Private Investigator Ed Rivers, hunting a mad killer among the Florida Rich. The case is tight, and the murder quite raw for 1959. Readers who enjoy detection outside the scope of the police will find a lot to like from Talmage Powell.
"She was the kind who'd make the whole trip for a man, right to Hell's front door. Even a guy in his spot."
Laura Tulman denied twice by Ed Rivers, her husband Wally already convicted and sentenced to death for the rape and killing of young Ruthie Collins, his neighbour's daughter. It was a heinous crime he was too blackout drunk to remember, the bloody knife found in his hand, her body on his patio. The incriminating evidence from the bartender at the yacht club stated he left earlier than he said, leaving no doubt. When Laura arrives at Ed's door with a slim chance, and he feels the need to take it. Giles the bartender, prosecution head witness, has disappeared. The newspapers have proclaimed Wally guilty. It's up to Ed to remove the stain of public shame off his back, and release him from the death house.
Ed is driven and no nonsense, a New Jersey policeman before he began working for Nationwide Detection Agency. They have an office but he runs cases out of his dingy walk-up bedsit in the Latin Quarter, complete with cold beer and block of ice in a pan. It's a hot day, even for Tampa. Hairy and sweaty he's used to people calling him ugly, and strong enough to not back down after several attacks warning him off the case, even by the police. His friendship with Lieutenant Julius Patrick cuts no ice, as Patrick is running for City Hall - in fact supported by Ruthie's Grandmother Wherry, head of the most respected family in town, pulling the strings of politics. Despite their exterior of class and a home with private dock, Ruthie's father is an alcoholic hothead, her mother mentally unstable and sent to a hospital after her murder.
Into the scene comes Evie Grove, a good looking blonde with a honey mist of hair and fresh lipstick. She worked the yacht club with Giles, helping lonely businessmen find company, with perhaps a little blackmail on the side. She knows where Giles the vanishing witness is - for a couple thousand.
The threads of deflection, blackmail, and detection tighten as Ed and Laura evade police and reveal a scenario that is lurid and shocking 9even today), a sad and hopeless finale.
The Killer Is Mine has everything you are looking for in a classic private eye novel. The setting is hot and humid, the liars well versed, and so convincing they may even believe it themselves. The trick with detection novels is the tropes they follow, and how to make the framework new. Powell has achieved this delivering an intriguing investigator I want to follow. One of my favourite detective novels in a while. Recommended.
Talmage Powell wrote hundreds of stories (under about eight pseudonyms) for detective magazines such as Black Mask, Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock before turning to novels with The Smasher in 1959. The same character was renamed Ed Rivers for a series of five novels including: The Killer Is Mine, The Girl's Number Doesn't Answer, Start Screaming Murder, With A Madman Behind Me, and Corpus Delectable.
The Killer Is Mine introduces tough guy Private Investigator Ed Rivers, hunting a mad killer among the Florida Rich. The case is tight, and the murder quite raw for 1959. Readers who enjoy detection outside the scope of the police will find a lot to like from Talmage Powell.
"She was the kind who'd make the whole trip for a man, right to Hell's front door. Even a guy in his spot."
Laura Tulman denied twice by Ed Rivers, her husband Wally already convicted and sentenced to death for the rape and killing of young Ruthie Collins, his neighbour's daughter. It was a heinous crime he was too blackout drunk to remember, the bloody knife found in his hand, her body on his patio. The incriminating evidence from the bartender at the yacht club stated he left earlier than he said, leaving no doubt. When Laura arrives at Ed's door with a slim chance, and he feels the need to take it. Giles the bartender, prosecution head witness, has disappeared. The newspapers have proclaimed Wally guilty. It's up to Ed to remove the stain of public shame off his back, and release him from the death house.
Ed is driven and no nonsense, a New Jersey policeman before he began working for Nationwide Detection Agency. They have an office but he runs cases out of his dingy walk-up bedsit in the Latin Quarter, complete with cold beer and block of ice in a pan. It's a hot day, even for Tampa. Hairy and sweaty he's used to people calling him ugly, and strong enough to not back down after several attacks warning him off the case, even by the police. His friendship with Lieutenant Julius Patrick cuts no ice, as Patrick is running for City Hall - in fact supported by Ruthie's Grandmother Wherry, head of the most respected family in town, pulling the strings of politics. Despite their exterior of class and a home with private dock, Ruthie's father is an alcoholic hothead, her mother mentally unstable and sent to a hospital after her murder.
Into the scene comes Evie Grove, a good looking blonde with a honey mist of hair and fresh lipstick. She worked the yacht club with Giles, helping lonely businessmen find company, with perhaps a little blackmail on the side. She knows where Giles the vanishing witness is - for a couple thousand.
The threads of deflection, blackmail, and detection tighten as Ed and Laura evade police and reveal a scenario that is lurid and shocking 9even today), a sad and hopeless finale.
The Killer Is Mine has everything you are looking for in a classic private eye novel. The setting is hot and humid, the liars well versed, and so convincing they may even believe it themselves. The trick with detection novels is the tropes they follow, and how to make the framework new. Powell has achieved this delivering an intriguing investigator I want to follow. One of my favourite detective novels in a while. Recommended.
Talmage Powell wrote hundreds of stories (under about eight pseudonyms) for detective magazines such as Black Mask, Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock before turning to novels with The Smasher in 1959. The same character was renamed Ed Rivers for a series of five novels including: The Killer Is Mine, The Girl's Number Doesn't Answer, Start Screaming Murder, With A Madman Behind Me, and Corpus Delectable.
July 10, 2023
Talmage Powell may not rank up there with the great names of late 50's and 60's mystery writers and that is a crime The Killer is Mine in my estimation is as solid as anything my Raymond Chandler or Cornell Woolrich.
Ed Rivers is a private eye. A beautiful lady comes to him to help her prove her husband's innocence in a brutal rape and murder of a young girl. It was a major story a few month prior and Wally Tullman has been in prison awaiting his execution. Rivers turns Mrs. Tulman down as he despises the crime that her husband is in prison for. But that night after Laura Tulman has left, Ed goes to a movie because it was air-conditioned and the Florida heat had been stifling. As Ed is returning from the movie He is slugged from behind as he climbs the stairs to his apartment. He's only out for a few minutes and by the time he opens his apartment the phone is ringing. A strange voice informs him to stay away from the Tulman case, telling Ed he should know better than mess in a Mafia affair. Ed has been in the business long enough to know this is not how the Mafis operate. So he knows someone is threatening him off the case which he just turned down. This attack has the opposite effect on Ed Rivers and he calls Laura Tuman and tells her to be at his office at 2PM the next day, he has changed his mind and will do his best to prove Wally Tulman's innocence. No-one scares Ed Rivers off of any case.
Even though I figured out the actual murderer at nearly the half way mark, the bodies begin to pile up to a surprising degree. I do recommend this one, which is the first of five Ed Rivers stories. I will continue reading this series. Ed Rivers is a different breed of the eras private eyes. He has a deep moral code and he follows through to the end, even if it costs him the woman he loves.
Ed Rivers is a private eye. A beautiful lady comes to him to help her prove her husband's innocence in a brutal rape and murder of a young girl. It was a major story a few month prior and Wally Tullman has been in prison awaiting his execution. Rivers turns Mrs. Tulman down as he despises the crime that her husband is in prison for. But that night after Laura Tulman has left, Ed goes to a movie because it was air-conditioned and the Florida heat had been stifling. As Ed is returning from the movie He is slugged from behind as he climbs the stairs to his apartment. He's only out for a few minutes and by the time he opens his apartment the phone is ringing. A strange voice informs him to stay away from the Tulman case, telling Ed he should know better than mess in a Mafia affair. Ed has been in the business long enough to know this is not how the Mafis operate. So he knows someone is threatening him off the case which he just turned down. This attack has the opposite effect on Ed Rivers and he calls Laura Tuman and tells her to be at his office at 2PM the next day, he has changed his mind and will do his best to prove Wally Tulman's innocence. No-one scares Ed Rivers off of any case.
Even though I figured out the actual murderer at nearly the half way mark, the bodies begin to pile up to a surprising degree. I do recommend this one, which is the first of five Ed Rivers stories. I will continue reading this series. Ed Rivers is a different breed of the eras private eyes. He has a deep moral code and he follows through to the end, even if it costs him the woman he loves.
March 24, 2021
This is a pretty enjoyable offering of classic crime fiction from Talmage Powell, a prolific writer in that genre. If you've read one of these books before, you will recognize the tropes immediately. However, unlike his contemporary, Jim Thompson, Powell isn't interested in subverting the genre expectations. He offers you up pretty much exactly what you are expecting, although the story struck me as surprisingly dark for 1959. It's a flawlessly executed piece of crime fiction and moves efficiently toward a satisfying resolution of the central mystery. Really enjoyed this one, highly recommend it if you want to read a classic PI novel with some darker touches.
December 13, 2023
It was a fun read, had me guessing from the start. Good detective character that grew on me. Give the book look.
November 6, 2024
Absorbing detective novel, originally published in 1959. The underlying crime is not the type typically dealt with in 1950s novels.
Want to read
January 15, 2019Synopsis: PI Rivers has re-located to Florida from New Jersey where he was a cop. He falls for a woman who still has a thing for a hood.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews