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The Hills of Homicide
Librarian's Note: this is an alternate cover edition - ISBN 10: 0553241346
For the first time in book form, Louis L'Amour shares with his readers a personally selected collection of his detective stories. These are vivid stories as memorable and exciting as his beloved frontier fiction.
For the first time in book form, Louis L'Amour shares with his readers a personally selected collection of his detective stories. These are vivid stories as memorable and exciting as his beloved frontier fiction.
Here in the dark alleys of the pulsing cities and the savage criminal wildernesses, Louis L'Amour introduces a new brand of characters: men like Kip Morgan the ex-fighter turned detective who is tough enough to bounce a bouncer, yet has more up his sleeve than sheer muscle; Joe Ragan, dedicated career cop who fears nothing in the pursuit of justice; and women whose soft laughter covers their underlying cruelty.
These are fast-moving stories of brawls where once a man goes down and doesn't get up fast enough he's through, of flashing knives that whisper death, and guns that blaze their fatal fire through the blackest nights.
246 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1983
121 people are currently reading
328 people want to read
About the author
Louis L'Amour
967 books3,514 followersLouis Dearborn L'Amour was an American novelist and short story writer. His books consisted primarily of Western novels, though he called his work "frontier stories". His most widely known Western fiction works include Last of the Breed, Hondo, Shalako, and the Sackett series. L'Amour also wrote historical fiction (The Walking Drum), science fiction (The Haunted Mesa), non-fiction (Frontier), and poetry and short-story collections. Many of his stories were made into films. His books remain popular and most have gone through multiple printings. At the time of his death, almost all of his 105 existing works (89 novels, 14 short-story collections, and two full-length works of nonfiction) were still in print, and he was "one of the world's most popular writers".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
March 23, 2019
Three of the most popular pulp detectives were private eyes, cops, and insurance investigators. Examples of all three are in this anthology of L'Amour's detective stories, and he hit at least a triple with all of them.
The private eye is Kip Morgan, a guy so tough that carpenters could probably use his hair for roofing nails. He takes on killers, shysters, and nearly every other crook that makes these tales so entertaining. His escape from a room filling with water so is well-written, you can almost feel it crashing against you as he rips bars out of a window.
The cop is Joe Ragan, another former boxer like Kip (and a running theme through many of L'Amour's stories). Joe takes on crooks and dirty cops in his tales, eventually solving the murder of a fellow officer. The fight scene near the end of this one is absolutely brutal, and reflects the author's own time as a boxer. The prose is very stilted though, with L'Amour treating all of the police (except for the dirty one) as very erudite and polite. Jars a bit with just how effective Joe is with his fists.
There is only one tale with the insurance investigator, and the author gives him the Continental Op treatment, no name and a client that's worse than the actual killer.
At the end of the book, it is the Kip Morgan stories that pull it into 4 star territory. Definitely worth your time as a fan of L'Amour, pulp, or detective stories.
Find it! Buy it! Read it!
The private eye is Kip Morgan, a guy so tough that carpenters could probably use his hair for roofing nails. He takes on killers, shysters, and nearly every other crook that makes these tales so entertaining. His escape from a room filling with water so is well-written, you can almost feel it crashing against you as he rips bars out of a window.
The cop is Joe Ragan, another former boxer like Kip (and a running theme through many of L'Amour's stories). Joe takes on crooks and dirty cops in his tales, eventually solving the murder of a fellow officer. The fight scene near the end of this one is absolutely brutal, and reflects the author's own time as a boxer. The prose is very stilted though, with L'Amour treating all of the police (except for the dirty one) as very erudite and polite. Jars a bit with just how effective Joe is with his fists.
There is only one tale with the insurance investigator, and the author gives him the Continental Op treatment, no name and a client that's worse than the actual killer.
At the end of the book, it is the Kip Morgan stories that pull it into 4 star territory. Definitely worth your time as a fan of L'Amour, pulp, or detective stories.
Find it! Buy it! Read it!
December 19, 2019
When I was a kid, I got hooked reading westerns primarily written by Louis L’Amour. My dad introduced me to them. While in high school and my early Air Force years, I read every one I could get my hands on. That is quite a lot of books because he has over 120 in print. While on a trip to Montana, I stopped in a used bookstore and found a volume that I had not read. I was thrilled to get my hands on
The Hills of Homicide
. What added to my excitement was that it was a book of short detective stories. I had an opportunity to see another side of L’Amour. Read more
March 8, 2009
Here, L'amour attempts the noir-ish detective genre and the results are laughable. Chandler threw up better plots than L'amour comes up with.
October 8, 2013
Western writer Louis L'Amour also wrote detective stories for magazines. This collection of eight short stories proves that crime does not pay. The are arthor notes for each story.
August 11, 2018
Maybe not a full four, but close. L'Amour is a great western writer, but shows he can tell a fine pulp detective tale too.
December 31, 2019
Full of every noir cliche, in the best way possible! Broken up into smaller stories, so it’s easy to pickup and put down. Not the most intricate crimes, but a light, fun read.
September 13, 2023
Vintage L'Amour stories, except that these are detective short stories and not a Western novel.
L'Amour sticks to what he knows best, fist fights, classic good and bad guys and the beautiful dames.
The short stories in The Hills of Homicide are easy to read and entertaining though old fashioned in style. A good way to pass the time - better at least than bingeing on Netflix!
L'Amour sticks to what he knows best, fist fights, classic good and bad guys and the beautiful dames.
The short stories in The Hills of Homicide are easy to read and entertaining though old fashioned in style. A good way to pass the time - better at least than bingeing on Netflix!
November 12, 2021
Stories about murder, from characters which include police, detectives and one about a guy who takes a bad step. While the stories are good in the style prevalent in the 1930s and 40s, they do not meet his Westerns. Thankfully, the author recognized this. The short stories are good reads, but not as good as other works by L'Amour.
August 10, 2013
Of course Louis L'Amour is known for his western novels and short stories. But most folks don't know that he has also written in other genres, including straight historical fiction, WWII adventure stories, and hard-boiled detective stories. This collection of 8 detective stories were originally written for and published in the same magazines that published Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and others.
I enjoyed reading every one of these stories. Having said that, none of them rise to the level of a typical Chandler or Hammett. They are definitely of the same style but their plots were a little simpler and it was pretty easy to figure out the bad guys early on. Four of the stories feature the character of Kip Morgan, ex fighter turned private detective and two others feature Joe Ragan, a career cop. There were a few times, particularly in the titular story, where the scenes were not all that different from one of his westerns. After all, when the main character is good with his fists, a brawl in a 1950's LA bar isn't very different from a brawl in an 1887 saloon.
But no matter. These stories are filled with mysterious murders, slick fedoras, flashing knives, dangerous dames, and phrases like, "the door opened and a mink coat walked in with a blonde inside."
Gotta love it.
I enjoyed reading every one of these stories. Having said that, none of them rise to the level of a typical Chandler or Hammett. They are definitely of the same style but their plots were a little simpler and it was pretty easy to figure out the bad guys early on. Four of the stories feature the character of Kip Morgan, ex fighter turned private detective and two others feature Joe Ragan, a career cop. There were a few times, particularly in the titular story, where the scenes were not all that different from one of his westerns. After all, when the main character is good with his fists, a brawl in a 1950's LA bar isn't very different from a brawl in an 1887 saloon.
But no matter. These stories are filled with mysterious murders, slick fedoras, flashing knives, dangerous dames, and phrases like, "the door opened and a mink coat walked in with a blonde inside."
Gotta love it.
November 20, 2023
Before he landed the contracts that were to make him America’s most beloved Western writer, Louis L’Amour tried his hand at various other genres of pulp fiction. But the pulp magazine market was drying up, so it was generally a good thing he found other work. Caroll & Graf Publishers collected five of his hard-boiled crime stories from the late 1940s in this volume printed in 1983.
“The Hills of Homicide” is the first and title story, perhaps chosen because it ties to the Western themes of L’Amour’s more famous work. An unnamed private detective (possibly Kip Morgan) is called to a small town named Ranagat, somewhere between Las Vegas, Nevada and Odgen, Utah. (Looking at the map, I think the more westerly route.) It seems that there’s been a murder atop a local butte that can only be accessed from one trail which is carefully watched by the victim’s old partner turned bitter enemy.
That enemy reports that only two people went up that trail that night, the victim’s pretty and formerly estranged niece, and a gambler named Blacky Caronna. The niece claims the victim was alive when she left, and Blacky claims he changed his mind halfway up and never saw the man. The victim was stabbed in the back while facing the only door to his cabin, with no sign of struggle. The enemy could never have gotten the victim to expose his back.
The private eye’s client is Blacky, who is desperate to get cleared of this murder quickly, and isn’t too particular about how it’s done. Maybe he doesn’t want anyone inquiring as to his actual activities in Ranagat?
The detective discovers there’s another suspect, and eventually discovers how that person pulled off the seemingly impossible crime. But not before the requisite fistfight. The solution is a doozy.
“I Hate to Tell His Widow!” is the first of two Joe Ragan tales. This police officer is reassigned from Burglary detail to Homicide to conduct a parallel investigation when his old partner is murdered. This case is complicated when it’s learned that the partner was killed by his own gun–not his service revolver, but one he had for home defense, and his wife has no alibi, and apparently a motive.
It turns out there’s a vicious blackmail racket involved, and the solution to the case is heartbreaking for Joe. Joe plays fast and loose with evidence and getting warrants.
“Collect from a Corpse” has Ragan now in Homicide full time, but seconded to Burglary for a few weeks as there’s some promotion politics going on. Called to a safe job at a nightclub, he and the other officers discover that the theft exactly matches the modus operandi of a particular break-in artist. The rookie is all for putting an all-points bulletin out on this criminal. Ragan happens to know that crook has a perfect alibi–he’s very recently dead, something not known to the other investigators until now.
Which brings into question the case Ragan had the previous week. A criminal supposedly reformed, but the burglary was exactly his M.O. and he didn’t have an alibi, and seemed genuinely surprised that he was being arrested. And there’s a couple of other recent cases that smell fishy in this light. When Ragan brings this up to the head of Burglary, that captain accuses Joe of trying to sabotage his promotion, and sends him back to Homicide.
The nightclub owner turns up dead, and Ragan is back on the case from a homicide perspective. Turns out someone’s committing copycat crimes, but who and why?
Notably, neither this nor the other Joe Ragan story could have been adapted for television or movies at the time without neutering the central twists. Told you these were hard-boiled.
“Stay Out of My Nightmare!” introduces us to Kip Morgan, though his occupation isn’t specified here. A buddy from his Army days has asked to meet up with Kip, apparently to discuss some trouble he’s in. That buddy fails to show, and when Kip goes to his home, both the buddy and his wife have disappeared!
Turns out racketeers have been horning in on a veterans’ charity gambling event, but somehow the buddy got the money and the racketeers are just as baffled about his disappearance. Kip’s going to need help not just from the police, but from his Army buddies.
But before that, he must escape an honest to goodness deathtrap, a room that will be underwater at high tide, with the tide coming in and the door barred from the other side!
“Street of Lost Corpses” reveals that Kip Morgan’s day job is private detective. He’s undercover on Skid Row to investigate the disappearance of an alcoholic. This particular rummy had a sister who saw him once a month to give him a little money, but he didn’t show up for two months. She’d hired another investigator, but that man turned up dead with stab wounds. Suspicious!
Kip’s discovered that the alcoholic was actually sober for two weeks before he disappeared. And two of his rummy friends had disappeared in the weeks before the incident. Come to think of it, there’s been more disappearances here than usual. When Kip is suddenly attacked in his seedy hotel room by a shadowy figure with a knife, he knows he’s on to something. But what?
There’s a bit of a formula to these stories. Each of them will feature at least one lovingly detailed fistfight (both Joe and Kip are explicitly boxers) and a “dame” for the main character to hook up with at the end, though not to continue into the next story. The best of these girl of the week characters is a secretary in “Widow” who turns out to be something of a detective herself, and teaches Ragan a trick he uses in the sequel, though not mentioning her.
They’re not bad stories, but a bit repetitive, and I can see where this was a dead end for L’Amour’s career. Recommended to Louis L’Amour fans, and those that enjoy hardboiled detective tales.
“The Hills of Homicide” is the first and title story, perhaps chosen because it ties to the Western themes of L’Amour’s more famous work. An unnamed private detective (possibly Kip Morgan) is called to a small town named Ranagat, somewhere between Las Vegas, Nevada and Odgen, Utah. (Looking at the map, I think the more westerly route.) It seems that there’s been a murder atop a local butte that can only be accessed from one trail which is carefully watched by the victim’s old partner turned bitter enemy.
That enemy reports that only two people went up that trail that night, the victim’s pretty and formerly estranged niece, and a gambler named Blacky Caronna. The niece claims the victim was alive when she left, and Blacky claims he changed his mind halfway up and never saw the man. The victim was stabbed in the back while facing the only door to his cabin, with no sign of struggle. The enemy could never have gotten the victim to expose his back.
The private eye’s client is Blacky, who is desperate to get cleared of this murder quickly, and isn’t too particular about how it’s done. Maybe he doesn’t want anyone inquiring as to his actual activities in Ranagat?
The detective discovers there’s another suspect, and eventually discovers how that person pulled off the seemingly impossible crime. But not before the requisite fistfight. The solution is a doozy.
“I Hate to Tell His Widow!” is the first of two Joe Ragan tales. This police officer is reassigned from Burglary detail to Homicide to conduct a parallel investigation when his old partner is murdered. This case is complicated when it’s learned that the partner was killed by his own gun–not his service revolver, but one he had for home defense, and his wife has no alibi, and apparently a motive.
It turns out there’s a vicious blackmail racket involved, and the solution to the case is heartbreaking for Joe. Joe plays fast and loose with evidence and getting warrants.
“Collect from a Corpse” has Ragan now in Homicide full time, but seconded to Burglary for a few weeks as there’s some promotion politics going on. Called to a safe job at a nightclub, he and the other officers discover that the theft exactly matches the modus operandi of a particular break-in artist. The rookie is all for putting an all-points bulletin out on this criminal. Ragan happens to know that crook has a perfect alibi–he’s very recently dead, something not known to the other investigators until now.
Which brings into question the case Ragan had the previous week. A criminal supposedly reformed, but the burglary was exactly his M.O. and he didn’t have an alibi, and seemed genuinely surprised that he was being arrested. And there’s a couple of other recent cases that smell fishy in this light. When Ragan brings this up to the head of Burglary, that captain accuses Joe of trying to sabotage his promotion, and sends him back to Homicide.
The nightclub owner turns up dead, and Ragan is back on the case from a homicide perspective. Turns out someone’s committing copycat crimes, but who and why?
Notably, neither this nor the other Joe Ragan story could have been adapted for television or movies at the time without neutering the central twists. Told you these were hard-boiled.
“Stay Out of My Nightmare!” introduces us to Kip Morgan, though his occupation isn’t specified here. A buddy from his Army days has asked to meet up with Kip, apparently to discuss some trouble he’s in. That buddy fails to show, and when Kip goes to his home, both the buddy and his wife have disappeared!
Turns out racketeers have been horning in on a veterans’ charity gambling event, but somehow the buddy got the money and the racketeers are just as baffled about his disappearance. Kip’s going to need help not just from the police, but from his Army buddies.
But before that, he must escape an honest to goodness deathtrap, a room that will be underwater at high tide, with the tide coming in and the door barred from the other side!
“Street of Lost Corpses” reveals that Kip Morgan’s day job is private detective. He’s undercover on Skid Row to investigate the disappearance of an alcoholic. This particular rummy had a sister who saw him once a month to give him a little money, but he didn’t show up for two months. She’d hired another investigator, but that man turned up dead with stab wounds. Suspicious!
Kip’s discovered that the alcoholic was actually sober for two weeks before he disappeared. And two of his rummy friends had disappeared in the weeks before the incident. Come to think of it, there’s been more disappearances here than usual. When Kip is suddenly attacked in his seedy hotel room by a shadowy figure with a knife, he knows he’s on to something. But what?
There’s a bit of a formula to these stories. Each of them will feature at least one lovingly detailed fistfight (both Joe and Kip are explicitly boxers) and a “dame” for the main character to hook up with at the end, though not to continue into the next story. The best of these girl of the week characters is a secretary in “Widow” who turns out to be something of a detective herself, and teaches Ragan a trick he uses in the sequel, though not mentioning her.
They’re not bad stories, but a bit repetitive, and I can see where this was a dead end for L’Amour’s career. Recommended to Louis L’Amour fans, and those that enjoy hardboiled detective tales.
November 15, 2010
I still haven't read any of his novels, or any of his cowboy stories for that matter. Several years ago, I read his short story collection called Yondering. But I don't remember much about it.
Anyway, this collection is about cops and private detectives. The shorter ones are a bit too simplistic. But the longer ones - The Street of Lost Corpses, I Hate to Tell His Widow, and the title piece - are better. More plot development; less telegraphed I guess.
The collection was published in 1983, but the individual stories had been written earlier, some even a few decades earlier. An amusing result is how marijuana use is addressed in a couple of the stories.
Anyway, this collection is about cops and private detectives. The shorter ones are a bit too simplistic. But the longer ones - The Street of Lost Corpses, I Hate to Tell His Widow, and the title piece - are better. More plot development; less telegraphed I guess.
The collection was published in 1983, but the individual stories had been written earlier, some even a few decades earlier. An amusing result is how marijuana use is addressed in a couple of the stories.
November 19, 2008
The only reason I read this book was because Demetri likes this author, and it was a collection of mysteries. It was pretty good, with some good fighting parts, which were quite fun to read.
April 17, 2010
I wasn't sure if Louis could do murder books instead of westerns but I loved these stories and I wish he had written more.
March 9, 2012
A collection of Pulp Magazine detective stories from c1950. Fun reading and comparing to his Westerns.
December 18, 2019
An interesting collection of detective stories from a legendary western writer. The story the book is named for is a typical locked room mystery that was the weakest story for me in the collection though still solid.
Next was an interesting story about how an honest man could make a small mistake that would ruin everything in the story Unguarded Moment.
Then came several stories about ex prize fighter turned private investigator, Kip Morgan. All of these are fun, full of catchy dialogue and fisticuffs. L'Amour himself was a prize fighter so his fist fights had some authenticity to them
And finally it ends with a couple of police detective stories about Joe Ragan. These are great, nice mysteries with an interesting lead.
Again a nice collection where even the worse story is good. Recommended.
Next was an interesting story about how an honest man could make a small mistake that would ruin everything in the story Unguarded Moment.
Then came several stories about ex prize fighter turned private investigator, Kip Morgan. All of these are fun, full of catchy dialogue and fisticuffs. L'Amour himself was a prize fighter so his fist fights had some authenticity to them
And finally it ends with a couple of police detective stories about Joe Ragan. These are great, nice mysteries with an interesting lead.
Again a nice collection where even the worse story is good. Recommended.
Read
June 3, 2025L’amour is, as I understand it, most well known for his westerns, so maybe starting by reading his crime fiction wasn’t the best move. This is an okay collection of stories, but I find that the often complicated noir genre becomes even more so in the short form.
You’re not given an awful lot of time to know the characters, so L’amour largely deals in cliches. The capers themselves are a mixed bag, with the eponymous Hills of Homicide probably being the best one. The pacing is lightning fast, with scenes transitioning sometimes more than once per page.
It’s a fine enough collection, but I think I prefer noir in the long form.
You’re not given an awful lot of time to know the characters, so L’amour largely deals in cliches. The capers themselves are a mixed bag, with the eponymous Hills of Homicide probably being the best one. The pacing is lightning fast, with scenes transitioning sometimes more than once per page.
It’s a fine enough collection, but I think I prefer noir in the long form.
October 24, 2024
A collection of L'Amour's hard boiled stories, several of which feature a detective named Kip Morgan. These are decent reads, although I prefer L'Amour's westerns and historicals. He has all the trappings down of the hardboiled genre but there's nothing ground breaking here and the prose--while suitable and entertaining--doesn't have the kind of poetical descriptions that I much enjoy in his western descriptions of landscapes. If you like hardboiled stories I'm sure you'll find these worthwhile.
May 5, 2022
Louis plays detective!
If you love Louis Lamour westerns, give yourself a treat with his HilYborls of Homicide as he explores the PI genre. This collection of short stories is GRRReat. If by chance you've never read him, this is a wonderful opportunity to see his work without rhe time commitment required by a novel. I only discovered him recently and I am hooked. Check it out, readers, there is a whole lot of upside here.
If you love Louis Lamour westerns, give yourself a treat with his HilYborls of Homicide as he explores the PI genre. This collection of short stories is GRRReat. If by chance you've never read him, this is a wonderful opportunity to see his work without rhe time commitment required by a novel. I only discovered him recently and I am hooked. Check it out, readers, there is a whole lot of upside here.
January 2, 2023
I am pained to rate L’Amour’s work this low, but the stories did not hit home like his westerns. The repetition between the cases and how they unfolded made me feel like I was watching an extremely cheesy (yet violent) episode of A-Team on a dusty, wood-paneled box tv. If I learned anything through these 8 stories, it’s that L’Amour liked bourbon and soda because he mentioned it about 4 times every 30 pages.
January 16, 2023
I am not a big fan of mysteries or crime novels. These stories are well written but not my cup of tea. for those that enjoy these type of stories you will probably love this book. I am including a list of the stories so any who read this will know if which stories maybe printed in other collections.
The Hills of Homicide; Unguarded Moment; Dead Man's Trail; With Death in His Corner; The Street of Lost Corpses; Stay Out of My Nightmare; Collect From a Corpse; I Hate to Tell His Widow
The Hills of Homicide; Unguarded Moment; Dead Man's Trail; With Death in His Corner; The Street of Lost Corpses; Stay Out of My Nightmare; Collect From a Corpse; I Hate to Tell His Widow
February 27, 2019
A different genre for L'Amour with detectives and police officers rather than cowboys and sheriffs. Interesting collection of crime stories written decades ago when technology was just beginning to produce evidence. Deliberate investigation and gathering the clues made for success. Worthwhile read to gain an appreciation for L'Amour's writing.
December 28, 2024
The reason for such a high rating is the trip back to a simpler time. Unlike my favorite author. Hint, i'm a 67 year old "Constant Reader" the lack of politics that smother so much of today's fiction was absent. I just enjoyed the simple straight forward stories. They are dated and a little slow in places but not overly long.
March 15, 2018
I for some unknown reason have had a really difficult time reading Louis L'Amour this go round for the EBN challenge. I had an easy time with some of these short stories, and a hard time with others. My favorite one was the last one though.
January 11, 2022
This was my first collection of L’Amour works, and it didn’t take long to become a fan! This collection of short stories is everything about film noir in a book instead. Highly recommend. It’s a lot of fun!
February 1, 2022
Short stories
Collection of great short stories. I prefer novels over short stories. I like a novel because I like to settle into a story for the long haul. The longer the story the better I like it.
Collection of great short stories. I prefer novels over short stories. I like a novel because I like to settle into a story for the long haul. The longer the story the better I like it.
May 29, 2022
Poor Louis L'Amour! In taking a stab at 50s hard boiled detective fiction, he had to compromise his usually terrific writing style in order to fit the genre.
Less Hammet or Chandler and more like Spillane-not a good comparison.
Thank goodness, his legacy lies in his western novels.
Less Hammet or Chandler and more like Spillane-not a good comparison.
Thank goodness, his legacy lies in his western novels.
November 16, 2022
Short stories. Enjoyable hero-types. Bad guys. Eight stories were original and intriguing until the blow by blow description of the fight scenes. By the last story , I was heartily sick of the detail,
March 27, 2024
The last part of the book was better. But, I wouldn't recommend this book. It was dull and sometimes confusing. It took me awhile to finish. If I like a book, it may only take me about a week to finish.
January 23, 2025
Surprisingly enjoyable. There are a few stories that are kind of westerns in a contemporary setting, but most of it is good old hard-boiled detective stories. These stories were written in the heyday of film noir and it shows. Many of theme would have made good movies.
June 28, 2017
Classic stories of 1950's style crime novels!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews