Catch Me a Phoenix

Danny Boyd

by Carter Brown

"They don't speak English in England!"
So thought Danny Boyd when he met a black-haired London bombshell who free-wheeled a juggernaut through the quiet English countryside...
She talked about ponces, and birds, and skivvies, and layabouts...whatever they were!
But then the hell-raking brunette took off her shiny leather skirt...she took off her black sweater...she stood there in her glistening black boots and black garters...and Danny, jet-propelled, crashed through the language barrier!

Genres: Pulp

125 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 7, 1965

About the author

Carter Brown was the pseudonym of Alan Geoffrey Yates (1923-1985), who was born in London and educated in Essex.

He married Denise Mackellar and worked as a sound engineer for Gaumont-British films before moving to Australia and taking up work in public relations.

In 1953 he became a full-time writer and produced nearly 200 novels between then and his retirement in 1981.

He also wrote as Tex Conrad and Caroline Farr.

His series heroes were Larry Baker, Danny Boyd, Paul Donavan, Rick Holman, Andy Kane, Randy Roberts, Mavis Siedlitz and Al Wheeler.

Reviews

[Rosa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the beginning! Funny and noir-ish. But I didn't like the ending. I hate traitors, Lonny didn't deserve what he got, and Inspector Chalmers inflamed the patriotic, Brit-distrusting sensibilities that I didn't even know I had. Also, too many people died and I lost track of how Boyd knew what he knew at some point. These are my usual complaints with mysteries.

[Patrick Hayes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel published in 1965 follows a private detective who's hired by a beautiful antiques dealer to go to London to be sure that an item she wants to purchase is legit. He's your typical smart mouth detective who's a fish out of water, but he has a heart of gold and wants to see that his client is treated well. Naturally, there are some unscrupulous dealers--including the Red Chinese!--but Danny Boyd is going to play it straight.

This was an okay diversion. I read it two weeks ago in about two hours and remember nothing about it, except it was enjoyable while reading.