What do you think?
Rate this book
The Wench is Wicked / Blonde Verdict / Delilah Was Deadly: Al Wheeler #1
THE WENCH IS WICKED In which Lt. Al Wheeler must confront— —a murdered Hollywood writer whose body is discovered at the bottom of a gravel pit with three bullet holes in him… —a cop who turns up shot to death the next night in the same gravel pit with $3,000 in his pocket… —and a Hollywood film crew that is shooting a western nearby, starring a cast of characters who all have good reason to see the writer dead… BLONDE VERDICT In which Lt. Al Wheeler must consider— —why a lawyer suddenly collapses and dies in a bar from curare poisoning? —why the lawyer’s wife seems to be so unconcerned about the sudden death of her wealthy husband? —what has become of the handsome fiancée of the murdered man’s mistress? DELILAH WAS DEADLY In which Lt. Al Wheeler must contend with— —the corpse of the social editor found in the safe of the prestigious fashion magazine, in his pajamas and strangled with a girdle… —a second body, stabbed in the back, this time a murdered cop who had been sent to the social editor’s apartment to look around…. —and two more bodies that pile up under similar circumstances, all pointing to someone who could be trying to steal the magazine’s latest designs…
302 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 11, 2017
21 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Carter Brown
556 books52 followersCarter 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 17, 2022
Australian writer, Alan Yates, was in his time one of the most popular writers ever. Under the pen name Carter Brown, he published some 300 novels in several long-running series and numerous other novels under other pen names, selling over 100 million copies. For those who love numbers, Brown penned some 52 books in the Al Wheeler series, some 35 in his Rick Holman series (also set in Los Angeles), 33 in his Danny Boyd New York private eye series, 12 in his Mavis Seidlitz detective series, and 34 in various shorter detective series, for a total of 166 books accounted for there.
Although following in the path of hardboiled detective fiction, Brown's writing was often of the less-serious, less-dark and foreboding mean streets variety. His characters always had an eye for the ladies, a quick wit, and joking attitude. The writing is easily accessible and does not pretend to be literary.
Lieutenant Al Wheeler, of Pine City, a fictional city northwest of Los Angeles, was one of the best of these characters. He plays jazz, tries to date every woman he meets, and has a reputation as an unorthodox detective which has led to his being fired or suspended more times than you can count.
Recently, Stark House has been reprinting the Al Wheeler series in packages of three. These are short, easy-to-read stories that fit this format quite well. The Wench is Wicked was the first of the series, published in Australia in 1955, and not published in the U.S. until this three-novel edition. This novel introduces the character of Al Wheeler, hardworking and hard-playing police lieutenant, who finds himself in the middle of a Hollywood set for a Western out in the hills where bodies keep turning up, gossip columns explode, and buxom movie stars enlist his aid. Quite a fun read.
Blonde Verdict, first published in Australia in 1956, and later reprinted with revisions in 1960 as the Brazen, in the United States, is the second book in the series featuring Al Wheeler. This one has Wheeler promoted to acting head of Homicide for his exploits in the first book. Although purportedly set in the same out of the way town as the first book, it seems as if it is much more based in a fictional version of Hollywood and Beverly Hills as Wheeler makes his way through fancy restaurants, wealthy estates, and lawyer's offices. That makes sense as it opens up with a lawyer dropping dead in front of his table at a restaurant. So much for off-duty time.
Delilah was Deadly was published in 1956 originally and is perhaps the weakest of the three selections. It focuses on the fashion industry and the idea of locked-room mystery as several of the corpses involved are found in a locked safe with only a few having the combination. The first corpse is strangled with a girdle. The fun here is how Wheeler pokes fun at the uppityness of the fashion mavens and they do not even realize he is poking fun at them.
Although following in the path of hardboiled detective fiction, Brown's writing was often of the less-serious, less-dark and foreboding mean streets variety. His characters always had an eye for the ladies, a quick wit, and joking attitude. The writing is easily accessible and does not pretend to be literary.
Lieutenant Al Wheeler, of Pine City, a fictional city northwest of Los Angeles, was one of the best of these characters. He plays jazz, tries to date every woman he meets, and has a reputation as an unorthodox detective which has led to his being fired or suspended more times than you can count.
Recently, Stark House has been reprinting the Al Wheeler series in packages of three. These are short, easy-to-read stories that fit this format quite well. The Wench is Wicked was the first of the series, published in Australia in 1955, and not published in the U.S. until this three-novel edition. This novel introduces the character of Al Wheeler, hardworking and hard-playing police lieutenant, who finds himself in the middle of a Hollywood set for a Western out in the hills where bodies keep turning up, gossip columns explode, and buxom movie stars enlist his aid. Quite a fun read.
Blonde Verdict, first published in Australia in 1956, and later reprinted with revisions in 1960 as the Brazen, in the United States, is the second book in the series featuring Al Wheeler. This one has Wheeler promoted to acting head of Homicide for his exploits in the first book. Although purportedly set in the same out of the way town as the first book, it seems as if it is much more based in a fictional version of Hollywood and Beverly Hills as Wheeler makes his way through fancy restaurants, wealthy estates, and lawyer's offices. That makes sense as it opens up with a lawyer dropping dead in front of his table at a restaurant. So much for off-duty time.
Delilah was Deadly was published in 1956 originally and is perhaps the weakest of the three selections. It focuses on the fashion industry and the idea of locked-room mystery as several of the corpses involved are found in a locked safe with only a few having the combination. The first corpse is strangled with a girdle. The fun here is how Wheeler pokes fun at the uppityness of the fashion mavens and they do not even realize he is poking fun at them.
December 25, 2024
If you want serious Detective fiction this is not it,
cheesy, Aussie writing about a city he never was in,
yet if you want fun reads and corny dialogue this is great stuff.
cheesy, Aussie writing about a city he never was in,
yet if you want fun reads and corny dialogue this is great stuff.
September 22, 2025
Apart from the cover...
Apart from the cover, these three stories were well written and great yarns. Carter Brown is such a great author that he didn't need a XXX cover to sell his works, in my opinion. This is my first read of CB, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
Apart from the cover, these three stories were well written and great yarns. Carter Brown is such a great author that he didn't need a XXX cover to sell his works, in my opinion. This is my first read of CB, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
December 23, 2022
early Al Wheeler entries.Plenty of dames and corpses,what more
Can you ask for?
Can you ask for?
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews