dragnet

by Richard Deming

FRONT COVER BEGINNING TO DETACH FROM BINDING. PAGES INTACT AND TIGHTLY BOUND. CELLOPHANE COVERING ON OUTSIDE OF BOOK IS BEGINNING TO PEEL AWAY. NAME STICKER AND A BIT OF WRITING ON TITLE PAGE. PAGES CLEAN WITH AGE RELATED TANNING.

282 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1957

About the author

Richard Deming (1915-1983) was a solid and reliable pro whose crime-writing career extended from late 1940s pulps to early 1980s digests. He also wrote several volumes of popular non-fiction late in his life.

He is most likely to be remembered as one of the most prolific contributors to Manhunt and the early days of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and as a paperback original writer, sometimes of novels based on TV shows (Dragnet, The Mod Squad, and under the pseudonym Max Franklin, Starsky and Hutch). He was also a frequent ghost for the Ellery Queen team on paperback originals and for Brett Halliday on lead novelettes for Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine.

Reviews

[Cindy B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clean, interesting set of Police dramas performed by original cast members of the later-to-come TV show, written by (often) and starring Jack Webb. Some say a simpler time but the crimes sound familiar. Enjoyable for all ages.

[Shawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intended for kids, this is a set of 8 stories almost certainly adapted from radio or television scripts by Richard Deming, the same man who wrote Dragnet: The Case of the Courteous Killer. The stories are written in the same dry, police-procedural mode as that novel and their originating source - clipped, naturalistic dialogue, flat, weary and authoritarian bon-mots - almost no realistic description because these, as I said, were intended for kids so the story just needs to move forward. Still, not bad - it captures the show, gave kids some things to think about and occasionally even throws a little curve ball (the semi-juvenile delinquent did NOT commit a hit and run that he confessed to, a spinterish young lady and a prize fighter, both victims of the same con man, start a relationship after looking over mug shots). Cute, nice, utterly disposable but if you like the show, you won't be disappointed. And that's a pretty nice cover painting, even if it does make Joe Friday look a bit too much like Dick Tracy!

[John Peel · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Dragnet" was one of the very first successful TV crime shows, with Detective Joe Friday becoming an icon by reciting lines like "Just the facts, ma'am." The stories tended to be simple-seeming and dealt with the personalities of victims and criminals. This book novelizes eight of these stories (six, if you're reading the reprint version) in a straight-forward and simple style. It gives us the quirks of the characters and the solidity of Friday, and perfectly captures the feel of the TV show. Very readable and enjoyable.

[Hugh Atkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this Whitman at an antique shop. My brothers and I were big fans of the TV series. We found humor in Jack Webb’s fast-talking, smart ass detective, Joe Friday. This book of “case files” was a fun read and likely would by classified as YA by today’s standards. Reading the dialogue in this book brought back many fond memories.