The Brass Monkey

by Harry Whittington

PAPERBACK ORIGINAL FIRST EDITION, Handi-Book #138, published 1951. Paperback original, so stated, "A brand new mystery novel”, no previous hardcover. Features Private Investigator Jim Patterson. Plot “The Brass Monkey! Symbol of what evil was this leering, glittering little gibbon? What connection had it with the murder of Herb Baldwin? Why did it strike fear into ugly old Hattie Contona? Why was it hunted by the sadistic Lieut. Mosani? How did it figure into the violent death of pretty and luscious little Ona Kalani? How did it mean both life and death to the incomparable, the completely seductive Lanai Okazi, golden goddess of the flesh? Jim Patterson, a private eye at war with the world, found the brass monkeyand used his life as bait to trap its secret! But this was not the end, for beyond lay a secret within a secretone more vicious, more vindictive than murder itself!” Paperback, 155 pages, 17 cm.

Genres: Noir

Paperback

First published January 1, 1951

About the author

He also wrote under the names Ashley Carter, Harriet Kathryn Myers, and Blaine Stevens, Curt Colman, John Dexter, Tabor Evans, Whit Harrison, Kel Holland, Suzanne Stephens, Clay Stuart, Hondo Wells, Harry White, Hallam Whitney, Henri Whittier, J.X. Williams.

Harry Whittington (February 4, 1915–June 11, 1989) was an American mystery novelist and one of the original founders of the paperback novel. Born in Ocala, Florida, he worked in government jobs before becoming a writer.

His reputation as a prolific writer of pulp fiction novels is supported by his writing of 85 novels in a span of twelve years (as many as seven in a single month) mostly in the crime, suspense, and noir fiction genres. In total, he published over 200 novels. Seven of his writings were produced for the screen, including the television series Lawman. His reputation for being known as 'The King of the Pulps' is shared with author H. Bedford-Jones. Only a handful of Whittington's novels are in print today.
.

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harry Whittington, King of the paperback writers, could write pulp like no one's business. And, in Brass Monkey, he offers his readers a novel that is absolutely overflowing with pulpy goodness. When I look for pulpy novels from the fifties, this is precisely what I look for.

What makes this novel so great? Although it all takes place on Oahu in the years before Hawaii's statehood, it is a novel that is dark and despairing. It is a novel that is filled with people who have the blues, people in loveless marriages, people who've pretty much given up on anything.

You have two small town guys who somehow end up on the island. One had his heart ripped to shreds and decided to get even by marrying a millionaire heiress whose love he can never return. Though he has a detective office, it's closed six days a week and he doesn't give a damn and his rich wife supports him - failure that he is. And, his buddy has three failed marriages and no prospects - not really. They are not really buddies but something snaps when James can't accept suicide as an explanation for his friend's death.

The story is filled with the usual pulp tropes of murder, marijuana, blackmail, dancing girls, femme Fatales and the like. But what makes it so terrific is Whittington's mastery of the language which allows him to describe things so vividly you can feel the sweat and taste and smell.

[Carla Remy · Rating 3 out of 5]

From 1951
I love Harry Whittington, but I didn't really like this. Well written and there are good scenes. But it felt like parts of a few book ideas stuck together, making a convoluted plot. There are literal brass monkeys.

[Randy Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Lot Of Action, A Little Sex, Too Much Plot

Written with Whittington's usual hard-boiled style and nicely crafted prose, this book has some great lines. It's narrated by a failed private eye trying to prove his best friend (whom he really didn't like all that much) was a murder victim and not a suicide. Along the way he meets the usual cast of characters - an angry cop who wants him to mind his own business, a couple of beautiful women who want to sleep with him moments after they meet, and some lowlifes who want him dead for one reason or another. It makes for an exciting read, but it goes a little too long and gets a little too complicated. It doesn't help that it's set in pre-statehood Hawaii, and the main Hawaiian character is pretty much a stereotype "native girl" out of a bad South Seas movie. If you're new to Whittington and looking for a place to start, I'd recommend you check out some of his other novels, but if you're already a Whittington fan, you'll likely enjoy this one.

[Rob Smith, Jr. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really like Harry Whittington's writings. This is an exception. Whittington starts the book in a muddled fashion with too much narrative of characters and flashbacks. It's nearly midway that the plot loosens and starts to gel. The 2nd half is good, but then Whittington creates a whole new atmosphere with other characters and, in the end, drowns it all in a way I hoped he wouldn't. It was a too obvious.

Not knowing Hawaiian settings, the writing seems accurate, though Whittington will make a specific spot without explaining what it is, or was.

Bottom line: I don't recommend this book, 4 out of ten points.

[Isidore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whittington is considered by some critics "the king of the paperback original", but this book is an odd jumble. We have an interesting and psychologically complex protagonist, but all the female characters are cartoons; the plot is implausible, but Whittington does not take advantage of the opportunities for imaginative set-pieces that loose plotting provides. Nevertheless, there are effective moments, the prevailing tone of over-the-top emotionality is interesting, and Whittington gives us at least one memorable supporting character, the vengeance-driven, sadistic, and deeply hurt Honolulu police lieutenant, Albert Mosani, a sort of anti-Charlie Chan.

[Jan Moens · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10