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Man-Killer
Her real name was Vicky Hustin, but to the people of Big Hominy she would always be ''that uppity mountain gal, that piece of hill trash who thinks she's so high and mighty.'' And when her ex-husband was found brutally murdered, they had still another name for Man-killer! They also had a name for someone like Wade Calhoun, who dared to believe in Vicky's innocence. Crazy, that's what he was. Shell-shocked from the war, probably. Just ignore him till the trial's over and that no-good gal's had her comeuppance on the gallows! But Wade Calhoun wasn't giving up that easily. He'd turn up the one bit of evidence the town couldn't ignore. Because even if it meant pitting his life against that of a killer, he was determined once and for all to balance the scales of Big Hominy's justice!
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First published January 1, 1960
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About the author
Talmage Powell
137 books4 followersPen Names: Robert Hart Davis, Robert Henry, Milton T. Lamb, Milton T. Land, Jack McCready, Anne Talmage, and Dave Sands.
U.S. Author (1920 - 2000) Talmage Powell began his writing career in 1942. Mr. Powell created over 200 stories for the pulp fiction magazines writing in almost every genre and for all of the top magazines. After the demise of the pulps, Mr. Powell continued to write another 300 plus short stories for fiction magazines such as Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, Mike Shayne, Manhunt and Suspense.
Powell also had a number of successful novels published during the 1950s and 1960s. His Ed Rivers series is recognized as some of the best Private Investigator stories from that era. Mr. Powell also had written a number of novels under the Ellery Queen by line as well. He also contributed his creative talents to screenwriting and television work.
Talmage Powell has had a long and successful career by delivering suspensful, intelligent, action based stories that any reader would enjoy.
Pulp Magazines (Partial): Dime Detective, Dime Mystery, Detective Tales, Ten Detecive Aces, Doc Savage, The Shadow, G-Men Detective, Ranch Romances, Fifteen Western Tales, Hollywood Detective, Crack Detective, Black Mask, and many more.
U.S. Author (1920 - 2000) Talmage Powell began his writing career in 1942. Mr. Powell created over 200 stories for the pulp fiction magazines writing in almost every genre and for all of the top magazines. After the demise of the pulps, Mr. Powell continued to write another 300 plus short stories for fiction magazines such as Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, Mike Shayne, Manhunt and Suspense.
Powell also had a number of successful novels published during the 1950s and 1960s. His Ed Rivers series is recognized as some of the best Private Investigator stories from that era. Mr. Powell also had written a number of novels under the Ellery Queen by line as well. He also contributed his creative talents to screenwriting and television work.
Talmage Powell has had a long and successful career by delivering suspensful, intelligent, action based stories that any reader would enjoy.
Pulp Magazines (Partial): Dime Detective, Dime Mystery, Detective Tales, Ten Detecive Aces, Doc Savage, The Shadow, G-Men Detective, Ranch Romances, Fifteen Western Tales, Hollywood Detective, Crack Detective, Black Mask, and many more.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 8, 2019
"Man-Killer" is a short novel of country pulp by Tampa Bay writer Talmage Powell. You won't go wrong picking up anything by Powell. His writing style is not filled with fancy prose and probably most of his books don't stand out from the pack as being unique, but he is certainly a great writer. He knows how to tell a story and, in the end, that's what is most important.
The plot here consists of the following: Wade Calhoun is head over heels in love with Vicky Hustin, who while waiting for her two-years of spousal desertion to run its course, has split her time between Calhoun and a rich, dapper gentleman from the City. Vicky is from the McCalls, hillbilly trash from up in the hills. No one in this small-town thinks she is any good to begin with and, when her husband comes back and is soon killed, she is the only suspect. It doesn't help that she is seen leaving the murder scene and her fingerprints are all over the murder weapon. It doesn't help that she was pretty much forced to marry Rock Hustin, who was pretty much a pathological criminal.
The town, just about every last one of them, is ready to see her hang for this crime. Calhoun, however, isn't going to give up on her even if everything he does to save her turns against him.
Powell does a great job in this novel of painting this small mountain town and the insular community there. As a reader, you really get a feel for Calhoun being alone with no one else he can really count on.
It is a story about trust and loyalty and betrayal. It is also a story about cages and finding a way out of cages. Although as a reader you are never quite sure of whether or not you should be rooting for Vicki, you feel her pain as she tries to escape from all the cages of her life, beginning with being born into the no-good McCalls and being forced into a marriage with Rock, who was himself no-good in his way. Being locked in the county jail seems almost to her like being locked away in the final cage.
One of the things about reading Talmage Powell's novels is that he writes so smoothly that, before you even realize it, you've rocketed your way through the book.
The plot here consists of the following: Wade Calhoun is head over heels in love with Vicky Hustin, who while waiting for her two-years of spousal desertion to run its course, has split her time between Calhoun and a rich, dapper gentleman from the City. Vicky is from the McCalls, hillbilly trash from up in the hills. No one in this small-town thinks she is any good to begin with and, when her husband comes back and is soon killed, she is the only suspect. It doesn't help that she is seen leaving the murder scene and her fingerprints are all over the murder weapon. It doesn't help that she was pretty much forced to marry Rock Hustin, who was pretty much a pathological criminal.
The town, just about every last one of them, is ready to see her hang for this crime. Calhoun, however, isn't going to give up on her even if everything he does to save her turns against him.
Powell does a great job in this novel of painting this small mountain town and the insular community there. As a reader, you really get a feel for Calhoun being alone with no one else he can really count on.
It is a story about trust and loyalty and betrayal. It is also a story about cages and finding a way out of cages. Although as a reader you are never quite sure of whether or not you should be rooting for Vicki, you feel her pain as she tries to escape from all the cages of her life, beginning with being born into the no-good McCalls and being forced into a marriage with Rock, who was himself no-good in his way. Being locked in the county jail seems almost to her like being locked away in the final cage.
One of the things about reading Talmage Powell's novels is that he writes so smoothly that, before you even realize it, you've rocketed your way through the book.
July 19, 2023
great stuff! Hill women, drunk rednecks and peckerwoods from hell!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews