Warning Shot

by Whit Masterson

A Man on the run for his life...
A suspense novel to startle and shock...

Detective Sergeant Tom Valens was a tough man in a tough business--with an unblemished record, a long scar in his gut to prove his integrity and a beautiful ex-wife to prove his devotion to the Force.

Then one night he made a cop's worst mistake--and found himself alone, with ten days to clear his name and save his life. Ten chilling days which led to a gorgeous redhead named Liz, a secret potent enough to blow half of Los Angeles society sky-high, and a psychotic killer who would stop at nothing...including triple murder.

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

Whit Masterson is a pen name of authors, Robert Allison “Bob” Wade (1920-present) and H. Bill Miller (1920–61). The two also wrote under several other pseudonyms, including Wade Miller and Will Daemer.

Reviews

[Jimmy Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Whit Masterson,' the author of "Warning Shot" is one of several pen names of Robert Allison Wade and H. Bill Miller, who wrote more than thirty novels together. Several were adapted for film, including this one, which as "Warning Shot" starred David Janssen; the most famous were "Badge of Evil" which became Orson Welles's "Touch of Evil, and their novella "Kitten with a Whip" became the film of the same name. You wouldn't expect this 160-page police detective story to come out of two boys who met at violin lessons when they were 12, but that's their story. "Warning Shot" or, as originally titled "711 - Officer Needs Help," is another story: a dedicated police officer who has come back from near death to the job, kills a man in the line of duty and is charged with murder. Alone and disgraced, he works to clear his name and solve the crime. It's tense, tight, and full of 1965 action.

As so often in 1965, the women are either nurses, models or wives (and sexually frustrated, conflicted or dotty), the men are columnists, district attorneys, police, doctors, criminals (and bad people are just bad, no conflicting morals here). Perhaps it's more noticeable in 1965, since we were right on the cusp of so much change and growth - in earlier decades it seemed a bit more natural to live in black and white. As is, the tone is strongly reminiscent of "Police Story," and "SWAT" if you remember when. And each chapter of the book begins with a multiple-choice question out of the 1960's police promotion quiz, which is particularly interesting given the times we live in today.

I haven't seen the movie based on this book, but with Joan Collins as Mrs. Police Officer, Eleanor Parker as Mrs. Victim, and Stephanie Powers as Ms. Nurse, and even George Saunders playing a key role... I'm going to look for it. It's got to be entertaining.