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Mike Shayne #32
Date with a Dead Man
A strange disappearance leads Mike Shayne to investigate a death on the open sea
Mike Shayne is savoring a nightcap when his secretary calls in a panic. Lucy Hamilton doesn't scare easily and as soon as Shayne hears her voice, he knows this must be a matter of life and death. Hamilton's neighbor has vanished, and only Shayne knows Miami well enough to find him. One of only 2 survivors in a recent plane crash, Jasper Groat had been acting strange ever since his life was spared, and tonight, he walked away and didn't come back. The "lucky" survivor was carrying a deadly secret.
During the 9 days he spent adrift at sea, Groat filled a diary with damning details about the accident and its aftermath. There are people who might kill to get their hands on the incriminating journal—that is, if Shayne doesn't find it first.
Mike Shayne is savoring a nightcap when his secretary calls in a panic. Lucy Hamilton doesn't scare easily and as soon as Shayne hears her voice, he knows this must be a matter of life and death. Hamilton's neighbor has vanished, and only Shayne knows Miami well enough to find him. One of only 2 survivors in a recent plane crash, Jasper Groat had been acting strange ever since his life was spared, and tonight, he walked away and didn't come back. The "lucky" survivor was carrying a deadly secret.
During the 9 days he spent adrift at sea, Groat filled a diary with damning details about the accident and its aftermath. There are people who might kill to get their hands on the incriminating journal—that is, if Shayne doesn't find it first.
192 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1959
47 people want to read
About the author
Brett Halliday
508 books62 followersAKA David Dresser
Excerpt from Wikipedia:
Brett Halliday (July 31, 1904 - February 4, 1977), primary pen name of Davis Dresser, was an American mystery writer, best known for the long-lived series of Mike Shayne novels he wrote, and later commissioned others to write. Dresser wrote non-series mysteries, westerns and romances under the names
Asa Baker, Matthew Blood, Kathryn Culver, Don Davis, Hal Debrett, Anthony Scott, Peter Field, and Anderson Wayne.
Excerpt from Wikipedia:
Brett Halliday (July 31, 1904 - February 4, 1977), primary pen name of Davis Dresser, was an American mystery writer, best known for the long-lived series of Mike Shayne novels he wrote, and later commissioned others to write. Dresser wrote non-series mysteries, westerns and romances under the names
Asa Baker, Matthew Blood, Kathryn Culver, Don Davis, Hal Debrett, Anthony Scott, Peter Field, and Anderson Wayne.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 10, 2017
Shipwrecks, Diaries, & Survivors
Date with a Dead Man was one of the first few of the ghost-written Michal Shayne novels. It's a solid fifties-era mystery involving a shipwreck at sea, the survivors on a tiny raft, and a wealthy family and worth reading. However, compared to early Shayne novels, this one was a bit light on actual action, lacked the ever-present hoodlums, and didn't have that mean streets feel. And, The story takes a little bit to get going.
Date with a Dead Man was one of the first few of the ghost-written Michal Shayne novels. It's a solid fifties-era mystery involving a shipwreck at sea, the survivors on a tiny raft, and a wealthy family and worth reading. However, compared to early Shayne novels, this one was a bit light on actual action, lacked the ever-present hoodlums, and didn't have that mean streets feel. And, The story takes a little bit to get going.
September 2, 2019
1950s pulp fiction.Very poorly written,abandoned.
January 28, 2023
One shouldn't read more than one Mike Shayne in a row. Although the hard-boiled aspect is well done, the similarities from one mystery to the next are quite striking. Mike will look bleak, drink way more cognac in 24 hours than most people drink in a year, and get into at least one fight. He will also behave in shady ways, although his methods usually reveal the bad guy at the end. In this one Mike responds to a call from his secretary about her neighbor Mrs. Groat, whose husband has just survived a plane crash and over a week on a life raft with two other men. One of the men, Hawley, dies before they are rescued. He is heir to a fortune--if he didn't die before his uncle. And who's to inherit? His eccentric family or the wife he divorced over a year ago, but is still the heir to his money. Hawley's sister Beatrice seems heavily modeled on Raymond Chandler's Carmen Sternwood in The Big Sleep. A good twist at the end ties things up nicely, but not before Shayne's secretary Lucy tries to call it quits.
June 10, 2019
"Brett Halliday" was really David Dresser. Dresser wrote teh series from 1938 to 1959. This is the first book after Dresser written by a ghost writer and it shows.
The writing is good and the mystery is better. The plotting is OK with some sloppy parts here and there. The characters are also OK. Mostly distinct.
But this is all a far cry from Dresser's work. The writers botches the two decades of books continuity with un-Mike Shayne moves. There are also many blue areas in the book placing the book in the pulpier side of pulp. Dresser never went as far as the ghost writer did with blue material.
But, I'll judge the book as a single entity.
Bottom line: I recommend this book. 6 out of 10.
The writing is good and the mystery is better. The plotting is OK with some sloppy parts here and there. The characters are also OK. Mostly distinct.
But this is all a far cry from Dresser's work. The writers botches the two decades of books continuity with un-Mike Shayne moves. There are also many blue areas in the book placing the book in the pulpier side of pulp. Dresser never went as far as the ghost writer did with blue material.
But, I'll judge the book as a single entity.
Bottom line: I recommend this book. 6 out of 10.
November 23, 2017
Кто бы мог подумать, что тот, кого взялся отыскать Майкл Шейн, стал причиной раздора в богатом семействе, судьба членов которого теперь зависит от слов другого пропавшего человека, две недели назад потерпевшего крушение в море, а сегодня вернувшегося и сразу исчезнувшего. В каком направлении двигаться, дабы выяснить причину произошедшего? Бретт Холлидей решил помочь найти дневник, где должны быть записаны все интересующие детектива обстоятельства. Тогда станет ясно, куда делся первый искомый и в силу каких причин убит второй исчезнувший.
(c) Trounin
(c) Trounin
April 7, 2019
I discovered Michael Shayne novels years ago and have read most of them. If you have never read one, this is a great jumping off point. This book has everything you want in a solid Private Eye novel: A tough protagonist, dangerous dames, scuzball lawyers and a missing diary. Brett Halliday wove rather complex plots into his hardboiled novels and you really see that in this effort. Check it out !
August 17, 2019
What is the Connection?
What is the connection between a missing gardener, a soldier who died in a life raft after a plane crash, and the co-pilot who went missing on his first night back after being rescued from the life raft? It's up to Mike Shayne, Miami's redheaded private eye to find out. Curious? Read it and find out. You'll be glad you did.
What is the connection between a missing gardener, a soldier who died in a life raft after a plane crash, and the co-pilot who went missing on his first night back after being rescued from the life raft? It's up to Mike Shayne, Miami's redheaded private eye to find out. Curious? Read it and find out. You'll be glad you did.
July 2, 2019
Un buon giallo classico con tutti gli ingredienti: investigatore privato rude, sempre con un bicchiere in mano, ma onesto; donne fatali e mariti senza nerbo; una scomparsa inspiegabile, un diario e qualche segreto di troppo. Ottima lettura estiva.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews