Grave Danger

Johnny Liddell #14

by Frank Kane

ONE— The redheaded secretary lay crumpled on the office floor, her blouse ripped to the waist. Blood trickled from her mouth. TWO— The redheaded divorcee sprawled across the bed, the black silk sheet baring her lovely body—and her gaping throat. THREE— The black-haired B-girl lay broken across the steering wheel of the bomb-shattered car. Her open eyes stared sightlessly at the tilted floor. AND OUT! Each had walked into a trap meant for private eye Johnny Liddell, set by the crime syndicate out to get him. Each was a score Johnny had to settle—if he could live long enough to see the end of three brutal bouts with murder!

Genres: Detective

191 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1954

About the author

Frank Kane, Brooklyn-born and a lifetime New Yorker, worked for many years in journalism and corporate public relations before shifting to fiction writing. At the time he was selling crime stories to the pulps he was also sustaining a career writing scripts for such radio shows as Gangbusters and The Shadow.

In addition to the Johnny Liddells, Kane wrote several suspense novels, some softcore erotica, and (under the pen name of Frank Boyd) "Johnny Staccato", a Gold Medal original paperback based on the short-lived noir television series, starring John Cassavetes, about a Greenwich Village bebop pianist turned private detective.

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grave Danger stands out among the Johnny Liddell books. Instead of chasing some penny ante blackmailer, here Liddell goes to war against the entire Syndicate from corrupt union bosses to police officers on the take. And, the Syndicate will stop at nothing in its war against Liddell including car bombs, ice pick murders, shotgun blasts on city streets, and roughing up Liddell's own secretary in front of him. Just like Hammer before him, nothing fazes Liddell in his efforts to bring down the Mob. Back in 1960 when this was published, it might have seemed like the Mob had its tentacles everywhere and, particularly on the docks, had everyone either on the take or cowed into silence. There's also a different side of Pinky shown in this book. She's not just painting her nails.
This is about as action-packed as it gets and never have the odds been this far out of Liddell's favor. What a terrific read.

[Iami Menotu · Rating 5 out of 5]

PERFECT HARDBOILED DETECTIVE AND ONE ARMY STORY