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Timothy Dane #1-2
Perfect .38
PERFECT .38 is the first volume of an ambitious project by Ramble House to bring back all of the excellent hardboiled mysteries written by William Ard. It collects two of the earliest Timothy Dane novels, THE PERFECT FRAME and .38. Ard scholar Francis M. Nevins introduces the first book and Gavin L. O'Keefe provides the cover art. William Ard wrote like no one else -- when everyone was writing like Mickey Spillane -- and the charm of these first novels about the mild-mannered and somewhat inept PI Dane is evident from the opening paragraphs. It's 300+ pages of sheer nostalgic enjoyment.
308 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
7 people want to read
About the author
William Ard
83 books11 followersaka Ben Kerr, Mike Moran, Jonas Ward, Thomas Wills.
William Thomas Ard has been one of the most elusive writers in the collecting world.
Odd for a man who was one of the most popular hardboiled writers of the 1950s. He was praised by critics from the St. Louis Dispatch to the New York Times.
Few imagined the dark side of the city and the entertainment business better than William Ard. When he turned his gaze west, he gave life to one of the genre's most enduring heroes.
Today his name is all but forgotten. His hardboiled titles are scarce. His paperback titles in fine condition are nearly impossible to find.
While he went by many names, he is essentially a man of two faces. Ard was the creator of hard-hitting detective Timothy Dane of New York and an even harder living and loving detective, Lou Largo, of Florida.
William Thomas Ard has been one of the most elusive writers in the collecting world.
Odd for a man who was one of the most popular hardboiled writers of the 1950s. He was praised by critics from the St. Louis Dispatch to the New York Times.
Few imagined the dark side of the city and the entertainment business better than William Ard. When he turned his gaze west, he gave life to one of the genre's most enduring heroes.
Today his name is all but forgotten. His hardboiled titles are scarce. His paperback titles in fine condition are nearly impossible to find.
While he went by many names, he is essentially a man of two faces. Ard was the creator of hard-hitting detective Timothy Dane of New York and an even harder living and loving detective, Lou Largo, of Florida.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 21, 2012
I have to admit to some prejudice - William Ard was my father, and with the help of Ramble House I'm working hard to get his work into the hands of today's readers.
The heroes created by William Ard are ordinary folks thrown into extraordinary circumstances - often to their total dismay - and they resolve their problems with a minimum of physical force and a maximum of personal ethics and fortitude. Good guys don't come in last in a William Ard novel, although they do have to work at it a bit to come out on top. Yes, the books were written in the 1950's and many references in them may come across as 'politically incorrect' to a young reader of today. However, the stories immediately and totally engage the imagination of the reader and give insight to the persona of the writer.
Perfect .38 is a quick read (actually two books, The Perfect Frama and .38) and guaranteed to make you smile - pick it up today!
The heroes created by William Ard are ordinary folks thrown into extraordinary circumstances - often to their total dismay - and they resolve their problems with a minimum of physical force and a maximum of personal ethics and fortitude. Good guys don't come in last in a William Ard novel, although they do have to work at it a bit to come out on top. Yes, the books were written in the 1950's and many references in them may come across as 'politically incorrect' to a young reader of today. However, the stories immediately and totally engage the imagination of the reader and give insight to the persona of the writer.
Perfect .38 is a quick read (actually two books, The Perfect Frama and .38) and guaranteed to make you smile - pick it up today!
September 16, 2011
An omnibus of two Timothy Dane novels from Ramble House. William Ard died way to young, at thirty-eight, of cancer. But in that short span, he wrote thirty-two novels, with two fingers, nine of which featured private investigator Timothy Dane.
THE PERFECT FRAME from 1951 was the first. A woman wants him to handle her divorce, he's not interested, but she's insistent, and sends him to a club to meet a man who has something on her husband. He gets beat up by a large fellow and tossed out for his troubles and that's just the beginning of trouble.
A call to the police gets a raid on the bar, Dane sneaks in to look around later, finding his way into a warehouse through a connecting door. Boxes of bills of lading and insurance papers, with maritime numbers, he finds there. Later that night the warehouse burns down and Dane begins to realize that more than a divorce is going on here.
.38(also published as YOU CAN'T STOP ME) begins when one man wants Dane to find his daughter. He has a letter from her, in her handwriting, saying she's gone away and doesn't want him looking for her. The father doesn't believe it and says her boss, stockbroker Louis Gray, has something to do qwith it.
Dane refuses the case despite the little man's noting he's already told Gray Dane had taken the case. Later that morning, he gets a visit from Gray, a hulking man that Dane thinks looks more hood than stockbroker, demanding he leave it alone. He tries to buy Dane off with a hundred dollar bill, which causes Dane to toss him out of the office, receiving threats from Gray that "No one tosses him out!"
That afternoon, he's visited by a trio of hoods who bind him to his chair and proceed to destroy his meager office, then warn him off.
Wrong thing to do.
THE PERFECT FRAME from 1951 was the first. A woman wants him to handle her divorce, he's not interested, but she's insistent, and sends him to a club to meet a man who has something on her husband. He gets beat up by a large fellow and tossed out for his troubles and that's just the beginning of trouble.
A call to the police gets a raid on the bar, Dane sneaks in to look around later, finding his way into a warehouse through a connecting door. Boxes of bills of lading and insurance papers, with maritime numbers, he finds there. Later that night the warehouse burns down and Dane begins to realize that more than a divorce is going on here.
.38(also published as YOU CAN'T STOP ME) begins when one man wants Dane to find his daughter. He has a letter from her, in her handwriting, saying she's gone away and doesn't want him looking for her. The father doesn't believe it and says her boss, stockbroker Louis Gray, has something to do qwith it.
Dane refuses the case despite the little man's noting he's already told Gray Dane had taken the case. Later that morning, he gets a visit from Gray, a hulking man that Dane thinks looks more hood than stockbroker, demanding he leave it alone. He tries to buy Dane off with a hundred dollar bill, which causes Dane to toss him out of the office, receiving threats from Gray that "No one tosses him out!"
That afternoon, he's visited by a trio of hoods who bind him to his chair and proceed to destroy his meager office, then warn him off.
Wrong thing to do.
December 10, 2013
A collection of two mysteries by William Ard, featuring sleuth Timothy Dane.
In the first, The Perfect Frame, Dane is approached by a beautiful woman to go into a bar. Dane gets thrown out, and into a deadly scam.
In the second, .38, an old man asks Dane to find his daughter, and Dane goes up against the Association.
Really good, but a bit different from most 50s detective fiction.
In the first, The Perfect Frame, Dane is approached by a beautiful woman to go into a bar. Dane gets thrown out, and into a deadly scam.
In the second, .38, an old man asks Dane to find his daughter, and Dane goes up against the Association.
Really good, but a bit different from most 50s detective fiction.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews