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Hell Street
Max Franklin is a pseudonym of Richard Deming.
An honest cop is framed by the powers that be and attempts to clear his name and discover the "Mr. Big" responsible for driving the criminal and political elements in the midwestern US city of "St. Vincent".
An honest cop is framed by the powers that be and attempts to clear his name and discover the "Mr. Big" responsible for driving the criminal and political elements in the midwestern US city of "St. Vincent".
250 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1954
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May 30, 2018
Johnny Blake takes huge risks bucking the criminal combine, crooked police and politicians in a hopelessly corrupt midwestern town. Johnny gets away with it for a while, largely through his personal courage and the support he receives from the common folk. This support disappears when Johnny is framed by the combine and disgraced. Johnny is bitter about his fair-weather friends and pulls an about-face by joining the combine himself and becomes their troubleshooter and enforcer. Johnny has one friend left, a reporter who attempts to uncover the truth about his frame-up, but Johnny seems indifferent to her efforts and has seemingly become part of the corruption.
Max Franklin was one of the pseudonyms used by Richard Deming, prolific pulp and paperback writer who among other writing chores ghosted ten later Ellery Queens and produced a bunch of TV show novelizations. Hell Street features a good story with the best suspense element being the true identity of Mr. Big, the criminal genius behind the combine. Man vs. Corrupt City was a familiar topic for crime thriller books and movies in the 1950s and although this story is well told, the characters never seem to come quite to life. Johnny Blake's conflict between his passion for justice and the bitterness he feels over the betrayal of the "good citizens" he has been working for is well drawn, but the other characters are only slightly thicker than the stock figures that populated this type of crime thriller. The dialogue for the most part is fine, but there is zero humor in the book. A little humor, I feel, would have helped to alleviate some of Johnny's wounded saint aura that becomes tedious after a while. In sum, a solid read for fans of 50's crime thrillers.
Max Franklin was one of the pseudonyms used by Richard Deming, prolific pulp and paperback writer who among other writing chores ghosted ten later Ellery Queens and produced a bunch of TV show novelizations. Hell Street features a good story with the best suspense element being the true identity of Mr. Big, the criminal genius behind the combine. Man vs. Corrupt City was a familiar topic for crime thriller books and movies in the 1950s and although this story is well told, the characters never seem to come quite to life. Johnny Blake's conflict between his passion for justice and the bitterness he feels over the betrayal of the "good citizens" he has been working for is well drawn, but the other characters are only slightly thicker than the stock figures that populated this type of crime thriller. The dialogue for the most part is fine, but there is zero humor in the book. A little humor, I feel, would have helped to alleviate some of Johnny's wounded saint aura that becomes tedious after a while. In sum, a solid read for fans of 50's crime thrillers.
Displaying 1 of 1 review