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Cornered!
In two days his brother would be in the gas chamber, and before that happened, Tony wanted the satisfaction of knowing that the bitch who'd sent him up was dead. He'd been clever about tracing her. She'd changed her name after the trial, dyed her hair. For a while she'd worked as a secretary. Then she'd married some hick farmer and moved to a burg called Arrow Junction. He'd watched and waited, and now it was time...
160 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 1960
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 29, 2021
Cornered! By James McKimmey promises a cat and mouse chase of a woman "cornered." The plotline here is all about what happens when big city crime comes to a small midwestern town, Arrow Junction. The seeds were planted for this episode a year earlier when Ann testified against mobster Tony Fearon. Now facing the electric chair, he now wants to spend his hidden loot on taking out the innocent woman whose testimony put him on death row. Strangely enough, Fearon didn't think if this before the trial when witness execution would have helped him, but only now when the trial is long over and the sentence about to be carried out. He hires two men, one of them being Billy Quirter, a tough, hard-nosed guy, rather quick with us trigger finger.
Post-trial, Ann's fled to Omaha and, assuming a new name, marries the first eligible farmer she sees, who turns out to be an odd one who doesn't like to sleep with her, but beats her in jealousy. This quiet town, Arrow Junction sports a series of other odd characters, including a pudgy shopkeeper who tries to blackmail Ann into sleeping with him, a doctor who couldn't perform surgery and therefore settled in a small nowhere town where no one trusted him, a sheriff who has never faced trouble and has nightmares about the trouble that's come his way, two feuding reverends, and Sam and Gloria Dickens, who drive through town in a flashy car and her wearing a mink coat. Of course, the best character of all is this mean little twerp with a gun, Billy Quirter, who singlehandedly takes on the whole town in his mission to take out Ann.
There's not much mystery where Ann is hiding so it turns out not to be the cat and mouse game readers might expect. The read here is about these odd characters faced with the shock of their lives - Crazy Billy - and how they handle it.
Post-trial, Ann's fled to Omaha and, assuming a new name, marries the first eligible farmer she sees, who turns out to be an odd one who doesn't like to sleep with her, but beats her in jealousy. This quiet town, Arrow Junction sports a series of other odd characters, including a pudgy shopkeeper who tries to blackmail Ann into sleeping with him, a doctor who couldn't perform surgery and therefore settled in a small nowhere town where no one trusted him, a sheriff who has never faced trouble and has nightmares about the trouble that's come his way, two feuding reverends, and Sam and Gloria Dickens, who drive through town in a flashy car and her wearing a mink coat. Of course, the best character of all is this mean little twerp with a gun, Billy Quirter, who singlehandedly takes on the whole town in his mission to take out Ann.
There's not much mystery where Ann is hiding so it turns out not to be the cat and mouse game readers might expect. The read here is about these odd characters faced with the shock of their lives - Crazy Billy - and how they handle it.
April 18, 2013
James McKimmey was in almost the right place at almost the right time to be counted as one the great writers of noir’s greatest decade, the 1950s. Had he published his first book with Gold Medal in 1951 (as opposed to first appearing with Dell in 1958), McKimmey would be mentioned along with the likes of Charles Williams and Gil Brewer as one of the era’s best, and more than one of his novels (1962’s Squeeze Play) would have come back into print by now. The upside to this, however, is that McKimmey’s OOP books are not exorbitantly expensive, given that they still fly below most readers’ radar. Cornered!, from 1960, is well worth seeking out. The plot centers around Ann Burley, an attractive young woman who provided eye-witness testimony in a California murder trial and since then has improvised her own less-than-ideal witness protection program in small-town middle America. The novel gets off the a fast start when a pair of hoods, who are getting close to finding her, believe that they have been spotted by law enforcement at a local gas station.
March 22, 2021
A nice, lean little crime thriller about a hitman out to nail the witness who put his crime boss brother in the chair. Although the it lacks the nihilistic edge of top-shelf mid-century noir (no surprise that much of McKimmey's writing original appeared in places like Cosmopolitan), the solid characterization and crisp plotting compensate for the occasional smarmy touches.
March 21, 2025
James McKimmey is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors. This 1962 novel was fast (160 pages) and loads of fun.
The story centers on a beautiful young woman who happens to witness a murder. She courageously testifies against the gangster who pulled the trigger and helps get him a death sentence. In his fury, he swears to the world that she will die before he does. Naturally, she changes her name and appearance and moves to a small town in the middle of nowhere, a quiet little town where nothing ever happens. But boy, is something going to happen now because the gangster's hit man, who happens to be his own brother, is closing in.
I love thrillers set in small towns, maybe because I grew up in one and understand the social dynamic. The author hits all the right notes with the townspeople. From the local preacher to the grocer with a dark secret to the handsome young doctor, every character plays a significant role in the story. You'll love some and hate others. And the ending is terrific.
Mr. McKimmey's writing is exceptional. I love the fact that he doesn't overwrite. He tells you what you want to know and need to know, but doesn't piddle around with a lot of nonessential foolishness. I highly recommend this novel.
The story centers on a beautiful young woman who happens to witness a murder. She courageously testifies against the gangster who pulled the trigger and helps get him a death sentence. In his fury, he swears to the world that she will die before he does. Naturally, she changes her name and appearance and moves to a small town in the middle of nowhere, a quiet little town where nothing ever happens. But boy, is something going to happen now because the gangster's hit man, who happens to be his own brother, is closing in.
I love thrillers set in small towns, maybe because I grew up in one and understand the social dynamic. The author hits all the right notes with the townspeople. From the local preacher to the grocer with a dark secret to the handsome young doctor, every character plays a significant role in the story. You'll love some and hate others. And the ending is terrific.
Mr. McKimmey's writing is exceptional. I love the fact that he doesn't overwrite. He tells you what you want to know and need to know, but doesn't piddle around with a lot of nonessential foolishness. I highly recommend this novel.
February 19, 2025
Real good. I liked it a lot.
February 2, 2014
Cornered! is the third book I've read by James McKimmey and so far they've been great. This one is about a woman who, by identifying a suspect in a shooting, has put the guy on death row. As his execution gets closer he offers his half-brother the $50,000 in cash he's got hidden, if he will kill the woman who got him an appointment with the gas chamber before he's executed. But time is running out and the girl is already on the run.
February 22, 2023
Great example of a book written for rent money.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews