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Mike Shayne #44
Never Kill a Client
Mike Shayne finds himself caught up in a strange conspiracy when he’s invited to Los Angeles by a terrified woman
It’s the end of summer and Miami is as quiet as the grave. To Mike Shayne, the city’s most notorious private detective, it seems as though he’ll never have another case like the ones that made his reputation: matters of life and death that can only be solved by quick thinking, fast fists, and an itchy trigger finger. And then comes the letter from Los Angeles. It holds a plane ticket, half a $1,000 bill, and a desperate appeal. Come to L.A., begs the woman who penned the letter, or it will be my death sentence.
Before he even lands in L.A., Shayne is enmeshed in a plot straight out of Hollywood. And when his mysterious client proves impossible to find, the detective worries he’s been lured into a deadly trap.
Never Kill a Client is the 44th book in the Mike Shayne Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
It’s the end of summer and Miami is as quiet as the grave. To Mike Shayne, the city’s most notorious private detective, it seems as though he’ll never have another case like the ones that made his reputation: matters of life and death that can only be solved by quick thinking, fast fists, and an itchy trigger finger. And then comes the letter from Los Angeles. It holds a plane ticket, half a $1,000 bill, and a desperate appeal. Come to L.A., begs the woman who penned the letter, or it will be my death sentence.
Before he even lands in L.A., Shayne is enmeshed in a plot straight out of Hollywood. And when his mysterious client proves impossible to find, the detective worries he’s been lured into a deadly trap.
Never Kill a Client is the 44th book in the Mike Shayne Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
- GenresCrime
282 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 1963
2 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Brett Halliday
509 books63 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 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 19, 2021
The Best Mike Shayne of All
The story starts off with Shayne getting an airplane ticket to L. A. , for a job to be explained upon arrival. When he gets to L.A. a limo picks him up. they go to a hotel. He gets shot at. He calls Miami, they think he is still in Miami? He was spotted with his Secretary Lucy leaving by car headed up-state for a vacation? The Police in Miami also want him for a murder. I really liked this book.
The story starts off with Shayne getting an airplane ticket to L. A. , for a job to be explained upon arrival. When he gets to L.A. a limo picks him up. they go to a hotel. He gets shot at. He calls Miami, they think he is still in Miami? He was spotted with his Secretary Lucy leaving by car headed up-state for a vacation? The Police in Miami also want him for a murder. I really liked this book.
January 23, 2020
Mike Shayne and his secretary Lucy are set up to make it look like they murdered a client in their office. Lucy is missing and Mike is determined to find her and whoever is responsible for the murder.
This was the first Mike Shayne book that I have read and I must say it was a fun fast book that I enjoyed reading. I am looking forward to reading more in this series. Worth checking out.
This was the first Mike Shayne book that I have read and I must say it was a fun fast book that I enjoyed reading. I am looking forward to reading more in this series. Worth checking out.
November 8, 2023
I cracked this open expecting a dated pulp mystery, and that's exactly what I got. I haven't read any of the others in the series, and some of the meta-humor fell pretty flat, but it was decent for what it was.
January 21, 2023
Never read one of these before. It was fun, filler reading! I would read more for sure.
December 25, 2025
One of the best Mike Shayne books.
Enjoyed Mike's mission to find Lucy. Mike was fooled for a time by a sexy blonde but ultimately saw thru her.
Enjoyed Mike's mission to find Lucy. Mike was fooled for a time by a sexy blonde but ultimately saw thru her.
July 15, 2017
Big redheaded Shayne, no matter who penned the stories, was a very popular and some might say even generic hardboiled detective. Based in Miami, Shayne had a long term relationship with his secretary Lucy Hamilton, often tangled with the local police who didn't want him butting into police business, and was best buds with a local reporter. This one is probably not the pinnacle of the Shayne series as the plot is a bit convoluted and it's a bit slow to get rolling. Despite that, none of the Mike Shayne stories are really a bad read. This particular tale involves a trip to Hollywood, a night chasing Fidel Castro's ex-mistress, a man with a knife in his gut in Shayne's office, and strange mysterious twists.
August 28, 2014
Never Kill a Client is a book that starts off with an interesting premise and many of the tropes of good Michael Shayne novels but doesn't quite pay off. Michael Shayne gets half of a thousand dollar bill and a ticket to Los Angels where he chases a phantom woman around who gives him a nonsense story. However, while he's away, someone impersonates and uses his office for a murder. The story has its moments but is a bit of a dud with both its pay off and the overall solution. This one felt like going through the motions.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews