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Dragnet: Case No. 561
A TV series tie-in featuring L.A. Detectives Joe Friday and Frank Smith.
It took Joe Friday and Frank Smith six minutes to get to the scene.
Seven radio cars, two Felony units and an ambulance were already there. Officer Crane had been shot in the stomach, Sargeant Skinner in the chest. More cops came. They blanketed the area.
Friday got a good description and that was about all. The suspect made a clean getaway.
Joe Friday and Frank Smith followed down every clue. Months went by. The man they were after (or some man) committed crime after crime. And always got away. They learned a lot about him. But not his identity.
Then, one day, Joe Friday had a bright idea. After that, if they lived, it was only a question of how and where and when.
Pocket #1120.
It took Joe Friday and Frank Smith six minutes to get to the scene.
Seven radio cars, two Felony units and an ambulance were already there. Officer Crane had been shot in the stomach, Sargeant Skinner in the chest. More cops came. They blanketed the area.
Friday got a good description and that was about all. The suspect made a clean getaway.
Joe Friday and Frank Smith followed down every clue. Months went by. The man they were after (or some man) committed crime after crime. And always got away. They learned a lot about him. But not his identity.
Then, one day, Joe Friday had a bright idea. After that, if they lived, it was only a question of how and where and when.
Pocket #1120.
181 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1956
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 22, 2025
This is a solid police procedural that captures the voice and personality of the show's characters quite well.
Read
November 11, 2021Found this in a library book sale, very authentic, like a longish episode of the TV series, easy to hear the familiar on-screen actors delivering the dialog and performing the action.
Knight is Richard S. Prather, creator of Shell Scott.
Knight is Richard S. Prather, creator of Shell Scott.
February 24, 2016
If you are a Dragnet TV or radio fan, or if you enjoy police detectives, you'll enjoy this. Reading this! I could see Jack Webb and Harry Morgan.
Did Not Finish
September 16, 2017Took a long break because the dry recounting of events got really boring. Picked it back up over a year later and almost immediately my eyes started to glaze over. I'm calling it. Time to officially bail on this book. Just the facts.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews