A Fistful of Death

Peter Chambers #15

by Henry Kane

The proposition sounded like a pushover. All Peter Chambers had to do was find out where a teen-aged chorine had been for the past month and why. And for that information, the girl's father - a prosperous banker - would pay Chambers a cool thousand dollars. It was a quick way to earn some easy money. Or so Chambers thought . . . until he found out that the fistful of cash carried a little something extra along with it - A Fistful of Death .

Paperback

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

Author Henry Kane was a lawyer who seemed to prefer writing. In his career, wrote over 60 novels, including about 30 featuring Peter Chambers. Other short-lived series characters were PIs Marla Trent and retired NYPD detective inspector turned P.I. McGregor. He also wrote the movie adaptations for Ed McBain's 87th Precinct's Cop Hater and The Mugger. And, in light of his experience with Chambers, Kane was the perfect choice to pen an original novel starring television's Peter Gunn.

He also wrote under the pseudonyms Anthony McCall, Kenneth R. McKay, and Mario J. Sagola. He is the creator of Peter Chambers, a private eye in New York City, McGregor, an ex-cop turned private eye in New York City, and Maria Trent. Kane also contributed to the series of 'Ellery Queen' novels ghostwritten by other authors.

Reviews

[Francis · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was young ...much younger, I grew up in a small town. We did not have a bookstore. You bought books at either the drug store or the grocery store. They had those tall rotating displays that you turned in order to see the current paperback stock. If you were male your reading choices were primarily westerns, detective stories, world war two stories plus few science fiction novels scattered here and there in the racks. The detective novels typically had garish covers featuring semi-nude women with titles like ...like 'Fistful of Death'. I couldn't buy them of course because I had a mom. So I would just steal an occasional glance at the cover and let my imagination wander. Well turns out there were some pretty decent writers behind some of those books. Henry Kane was one of those prolific paperback writers who did indeed specialize in detective novels featuring garish covers and lurid titles. I can't pretend to an expert on his writing because this is the first book of his I have read.
For me it was more a nostalgic ride than an engrossing story. Kinda like watching an old episode of Perry Mason or staying up late at night and viewing a Charlie Chan movie.

So this is my long-winded way of saying ...if you are into nostalgic reads ...it was OK

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

pld fashioned pulp crime novel, featuring a great cast of showgirls, producers, investigators, wronged wives/ girlfriends, and killings aplenty. Great fun.