What do you think?
Rate this book
Blonde Bait
A selection from the first chapter:
Telling Hal Anderson about Rose was a mistake. I knew it even as the words spilled out. But this was one time I couldn't keep my fool mouth shut. It was ten years since I had seen him, and I was still sore about the double-cross he'd pulled on me. So now I wanted to rub his nose in it, but good.
I was sitting in a little bar near the waterfront in Port-au-Prince, waiting while my boat, the Sea Princess, was taking on stores. I almost dropped my drink when the familiar, tall, white-uniformed figure appeared in front of me. "Mickey!" he shouted and began to pump my hand. "For a second I thought I was seeing things. Damn, boy, you haven't changed a bit. Still a tub of muscles, same old hat-even smell the same. Great to see you!"
"Sure. Sit down, Hal, and have a drink on me."
"You bet."
He sat down, first carefully creasing his drill trousers, and I ordered two more rums.
Hal grinned as he said, "Funny, we should be drinking together again, after all these years."
"Yeah," I said, wondering if I'd be as well off now if Hal was still my partner. Of course I wouldn't have Rose.
"What are you doing in Haiti, Mickey?"
"Man, you can see what I'm doing; drinking rum. Lazying around."
Telling Hal Anderson about Rose was a mistake. I knew it even as the words spilled out. But this was one time I couldn't keep my fool mouth shut. It was ten years since I had seen him, and I was still sore about the double-cross he'd pulled on me. So now I wanted to rub his nose in it, but good.
I was sitting in a little bar near the waterfront in Port-au-Prince, waiting while my boat, the Sea Princess, was taking on stores. I almost dropped my drink when the familiar, tall, white-uniformed figure appeared in front of me. "Mickey!" he shouted and began to pump my hand. "For a second I thought I was seeing things. Damn, boy, you haven't changed a bit. Still a tub of muscles, same old hat-even smell the same. Great to see you!"
"Sure. Sit down, Hal, and have a drink on me."
"You bet."
He sat down, first carefully creasing his drill trousers, and I ordered two more rums.
Hal grinned as he said, "Funny, we should be drinking together again, after all these years."
"Yeah," I said, wondering if I'd be as well off now if Hal was still my partner. Of course I wouldn't have Rose.
"What are you doing in Haiti, Mickey?"
"Man, you can see what I'm doing; drinking rum. Lazying around."
"You haven't changed."
"Nope. At least I haven't tried to. You have. Why the monkey suit?"
"I'm on the purser's staff of the 'American Spirit'."
He nodded at the liner down in the harbor.
"What do you do, hold hands with the seasick?"
"Cut it out, Mickey."
"I figured by this time you'd have long finished college, be a free wheeling executive."
"Stop it, Mickey," he said calmly. "I did go to college for two years. One summer I signed on as an A.B. I met a girl in Nice and married her on the next trip. Colette and I live in New York City, got us a house there, and two fine kids. She's something, a wonderful girl, an artist, and a ..."
"So you got hooked."
"You're nuts. I'm a very happy guy. What the hell have I to regret? I eat regularly, don't work hard, send my salary home, and see my family every five weeks. Like a honeymoon each time. It isn't a bad deal. My having been an ensign helps and some day I'll ..."
"Some day, will you ever be able to stop saying 'sir' to the clucks?"
He fanned his face with his hat and laughed. "My God, still the same old Mickey. Hell, sir is only a word. You used to ..."
"No, that was your department."
He finished his rum, then he said, "It wouldn't have worked, Mickey. Even with the new boat. I'm not made for that kind of life. You see I like having a wife, kids, a home, worrying and plugging for the future. I'm not built like a ..."
"A bum," I added. "Yeah, maybe that does take a kind of talent." I finished my drink, motioned for another round.
"Still have the Sea Princess?"
194 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1959
8 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Ed Lacy
103 books10 followersEd Lacy was the pseudonymn of Leonard (Len) S Zinberg, who was born in New York City on 25 August 1925. After his mother and father had divorced and his mother remarried, he spent his early years living in relative affluence in the outskirts of Harlem.
During the late 1920s, he attended the College of the City of New York and then, in the 1930s he travelled throughout the United States where he had a variety of odd jobs, including working as a butcher, to support himself. In the early 1940s, he returned to New York, where he married and resided for the rest of his life.
Back in New York, he was a freelance writer and some of his early published work emerged in literary journals, such as a short story titled 'A Leaner' in 'Story Magazine' in November 1936. He was also a member of the League of American Writers, on whose committee, 'Keep America Out of War Committee', he served in January 1940 during the period of the Hitler-Stalin pact.
During World War II he was Private First Class Len Zinberg, serving with the Allies’ 1943 push into Fascist Italy. As PFC Zinberg he had a story titled 'Timing' in the men’s magazine, 'Sir!' in October 1942 and his early detective story 'Pay Telephone' appeared with James M. Cain in 'Popular Detective' in October 1943.
In addition, in the 25 October 1943 issue of 'The New Republic', he won a Soldiers' Prose competition and published a war sketch. His war sketches also appeared in 'Yank', whose motto was 'written by the men ... for men in the service'.
He was later promoted to Sergeant and as such he wrote the scathing satire 'Welcome Home' about a GI returning to his childhood home and a second 'Yank' article recorded the reception in Rome on VJ-Day where 'most people were merely smiling quietly.'
And it was probably the contributions he made to such as 'Yank' and 'The New Republic' that paved the way for his 18 New Yorker pieces, published between 1945 and 1947, which in turn were instrumental in promoting his professional writing career.
As a marketing ploy he adopted Steve April as a pseudonym and he was able to
sell more stories to markets such as 'Esquire' and 'Colliers'. As Steve April he also wrote text for comic strips such as Ranger Comics (1946) and Fight Comics (1951) and a novel, Exit 13 (1954).
The Ed Lacy pseudonymn came about when the original paperback (rather than historic reprints) boom hit America and this presented him with a more lucrative writing opportunity as he turned dedicatedly to detective fiction.
His first published crime and detective novel, 'The Woman Aroused', followed in 1951 and this began an output that totalled 28 novels as well as many short stories, his 'New York Times' obituary suggested 'many hundreds', until his early death in 1968. He also wrote on boxing, both in his novels and historically.
His early books often had lurid titles and he was known to remark, 'Yes, the title made me grit my teeth, too' and the often sexy cover art perhaps did not do these books the justice they deserved as professionally they were regarded as being well written and solidly plotted.
By the mid-1950s, however, he realised he had established a strong presence in the paperback original market so in 1955 he was able to sign with the more prestigious Harper to bring out his works in hardcover and 'The Best That Ever Did It' (1955) gave him his first solid recognition as the book went into a second printing.
Included in his novel output were three separate series of detective novels featuring Dave Wintino, Toussaint Moore and Lee Hayes. A white American himself, Lacy is credited with creating 'the first credible African-American PI' in American fiction, Toussaint "Touie" Marcus Moore. His first novel featuring Moore, 'Room to Swing' (1957) won the 1958 Edgar Award for Best Novel and this clearly marked the high point of his writing career.
His short stories continued to be reprinted in Ellery Queen's Magazine and in var
During the late 1920s, he attended the College of the City of New York and then, in the 1930s he travelled throughout the United States where he had a variety of odd jobs, including working as a butcher, to support himself. In the early 1940s, he returned to New York, where he married and resided for the rest of his life.
Back in New York, he was a freelance writer and some of his early published work emerged in literary journals, such as a short story titled 'A Leaner' in 'Story Magazine' in November 1936. He was also a member of the League of American Writers, on whose committee, 'Keep America Out of War Committee', he served in January 1940 during the period of the Hitler-Stalin pact.
During World War II he was Private First Class Len Zinberg, serving with the Allies’ 1943 push into Fascist Italy. As PFC Zinberg he had a story titled 'Timing' in the men’s magazine, 'Sir!' in October 1942 and his early detective story 'Pay Telephone' appeared with James M. Cain in 'Popular Detective' in October 1943.
In addition, in the 25 October 1943 issue of 'The New Republic', he won a Soldiers' Prose competition and published a war sketch. His war sketches also appeared in 'Yank', whose motto was 'written by the men ... for men in the service'.
He was later promoted to Sergeant and as such he wrote the scathing satire 'Welcome Home' about a GI returning to his childhood home and a second 'Yank' article recorded the reception in Rome on VJ-Day where 'most people were merely smiling quietly.'
And it was probably the contributions he made to such as 'Yank' and 'The New Republic' that paved the way for his 18 New Yorker pieces, published between 1945 and 1947, which in turn were instrumental in promoting his professional writing career.
As a marketing ploy he adopted Steve April as a pseudonym and he was able to
sell more stories to markets such as 'Esquire' and 'Colliers'. As Steve April he also wrote text for comic strips such as Ranger Comics (1946) and Fight Comics (1951) and a novel, Exit 13 (1954).
The Ed Lacy pseudonymn came about when the original paperback (rather than historic reprints) boom hit America and this presented him with a more lucrative writing opportunity as he turned dedicatedly to detective fiction.
His first published crime and detective novel, 'The Woman Aroused', followed in 1951 and this began an output that totalled 28 novels as well as many short stories, his 'New York Times' obituary suggested 'many hundreds', until his early death in 1968. He also wrote on boxing, both in his novels and historically.
His early books often had lurid titles and he was known to remark, 'Yes, the title made me grit my teeth, too' and the often sexy cover art perhaps did not do these books the justice they deserved as professionally they were regarded as being well written and solidly plotted.
By the mid-1950s, however, he realised he had established a strong presence in the paperback original market so in 1955 he was able to sign with the more prestigious Harper to bring out his works in hardcover and 'The Best That Ever Did It' (1955) gave him his first solid recognition as the book went into a second printing.
Included in his novel output were three separate series of detective novels featuring Dave Wintino, Toussaint Moore and Lee Hayes. A white American himself, Lacy is credited with creating 'the first credible African-American PI' in American fiction, Toussaint "Touie" Marcus Moore. His first novel featuring Moore, 'Room to Swing' (1957) won the 1958 Edgar Award for Best Novel and this clearly marked the high point of his writing career.
His short stories continued to be reprinted in Ellery Queen's Magazine and in var
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 12, 2023
04/2020
From 1959
A lot of this involves a boat and fishing (so that explains the word BAIT in the title). A good story but rather long. I like these kind of books for their speed and shortness. I adored his Dead End.
From 1959
A lot of this involves a boat and fishing (so that explains the word BAIT in the title). A good story but rather long. I like these kind of books for their speed and shortness. I adored his Dead End.
January 28, 2019
What should Mickey Whalen do after he drops anchor on a desolate key off the Florida coast and meets Rose, a platinum –blonde bombshell, calmly sitting on a suitcase filled with money, and peeling off her stockings and a ritzy summer dress. She was a little too hardboiled for the coy routine and wants to know if he can make Cuba in his boat. Should he find her presence there all too disconcerting? Should he realize that a babe like this on the run from the law or the mob is going to tie him up in knots and screw up his life?
Should he run for the hills cause this dame is plain crazy and she’s going to make him crazy as well? Or should he welcome her aboard and make a life with her for nine months on a tiny inlet on one of the Cayman Islands and accede to her wishes never to be brought into a city again, never to go anywhere she could be spotted? Should Mickey ever get comfortable or should he always be surprised to find her there when he returned? After all, “how many men come home to see a half-naked movie queen smiling at them from their bed?”
In “Blonde Bait,” Ed Lacy offers the reader a Caribbean adventure of boats and blondes and booze and of a man who can’t just lie back under the sun and wait for the money to run out, but has to poke around and get some answers. The first half of the book is a quiet, gentle sunset and flows at a relaxed pace, that is, until Mickey starts getting some answers to the questions that are bugging him about Rose, answers he may not have really wanted to get.
The second half of the book is a wild chase through the streets of New York and New Jersey with all kinds of post-WWII international intrigue thrown in. Lacy did a good job of keeping the solution to the mystery under wraps until the very end of the book. While not perfect, somehow the whole thing falls together and works well. An enjoyable thriller, not a detective story.
Should he run for the hills cause this dame is plain crazy and she’s going to make him crazy as well? Or should he welcome her aboard and make a life with her for nine months on a tiny inlet on one of the Cayman Islands and accede to her wishes never to be brought into a city again, never to go anywhere she could be spotted? Should Mickey ever get comfortable or should he always be surprised to find her there when he returned? After all, “how many men come home to see a half-naked movie queen smiling at them from their bed?”
In “Blonde Bait,” Ed Lacy offers the reader a Caribbean adventure of boats and blondes and booze and of a man who can’t just lie back under the sun and wait for the money to run out, but has to poke around and get some answers. The first half of the book is a quiet, gentle sunset and flows at a relaxed pace, that is, until Mickey starts getting some answers to the questions that are bugging him about Rose, answers he may not have really wanted to get.
The second half of the book is a wild chase through the streets of New York and New Jersey with all kinds of post-WWII international intrigue thrown in. Lacy did a good job of keeping the solution to the mystery under wraps until the very end of the book. While not perfect, somehow the whole thing falls together and works well. An enjoyable thriller, not a detective story.
February 9, 2026
3.5 stars, actually. I have enjoyed reading all of Ed Lacy's crime novels. His colorful biography is as interesting as his characters are. This one is not quite as good as his other novels. There's too much fussy dialogue and dithering. However, his prose style is as sharp as ever. Fans of 1950s crime pulp paperbacks should get a kick out of it. Don't let the silly title and front cover art deter you.
May 13, 2010
I was cheated! I thought I was in for an irresponsible romp with a shameless blonde bimbo but it turned out to be a lesson in post-war Algerian politics. Dammit. This taut thriller was so slick I got totally hoodwinked and was almost at the end before I realised it was a novel with a conscience. And where was the sex? Do you call that romantic slush on the last page a climax? No wonder Ed Lacy was blacklisted by Hollywood. This guy is just too smooth and too straight.
December 24, 2019
This got really tedious at times in the first half but kicked into higher for the last half. Hard to stay interested, though, so was disappointed. And the boat scenes were sorely lacking.
May 5, 2019
A wonderful pulp page turner
A really engaging read... it has a first person narrative that really has an authenticity to its voice. A pulp from the late fifties. The story has a lot of 'telling' rather than 'showing' but the clipped nature of the story still has a good bit of action and fisticuffs leading to its climax. I look forward to spending a little more time with this author..
A really engaging read... it has a first person narrative that really has an authenticity to its voice. A pulp from the late fifties. The story has a lot of 'telling' rather than 'showing' but the clipped nature of the story still has a good bit of action and fisticuffs leading to its climax. I look forward to spending a little more time with this author..
August 8, 2020
Good Paranoid Thriller
Ed Lacy’s “Blonde Bait” was a fast, fun read told in first person. A boat owner discovers a babe on an island with a suitcase bulging with bucks. The hero is an ordinary Joe named Mickey and grilles Rose about her past, saved her bundle from going up in smoke, and they live together out of wedlock. Authentic sounding, tough guy yarn with just enough grit. This book would make a great movie!
Ed Lacy’s “Blonde Bait” was a fast, fun read told in first person. A boat owner discovers a babe on an island with a suitcase bulging with bucks. The hero is an ordinary Joe named Mickey and grilles Rose about her past, saved her bundle from going up in smoke, and they live together out of wedlock. Authentic sounding, tough guy yarn with just enough grit. This book would make a great movie!
March 21, 2018
Enjoyed this light pulp.
August 4, 2015
A beautiful woman on the run meets a sailboat captain and they go through being chased for the secret she doesn't know she has.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews