DEAD WRONGJoe Malone grew up on the rough side of the Jersey waterfront, but he’s pulled himself out and gone legit. So when he gets a message that his old drinking buddy, Harry Loomis, is back in town with a present for him, he figures it’s just another gag gift. But the next morning, Harry is found dead, there’s no gift, and the cops think Malone has something to do with it. In fact, everyone thinks that Malone had something to do with Harry’s death and the missing gift, including an unctuous South American, a sadistic killer, and the alky sailor who was supposed to drop it off. They all figure that Malone has got the goods. He doesn’t even know what the goods are, but it’s up to him to find them—and the man who killed Harry—before he finds himself … dead wrong.
Originally published in 1957, Heller’s “Dead Wrong” was republished in 2000 by Stark House Press’ Black Gat Books division. It’s a tough, hardnosed Jersey-style crime fiction that reprises the innocent man framed for murder theme, but also has that Maltese Falcon thing going when a mysterious package disappears. It all starts with Malone getting a call from a sea captain buddy who generally wanted to paint the town from bar to bar. But it’s his long lost daughter who shows up with a letter informing Malone to turn over the package to dear daughter. And everyone wants the package from South American revolutionaries to local tough guys to the homicide detectives. Only problem is Malone never had it and never knew anything about it. Well-written, compelling, fast-moving, and gritty.