The Man Who Died Too Soon

Jack "Flashgun" Casey Mystery #4

by George Harmon Coxe

When Casey inherited Johnny Keeler's prized collection of photo negatives, he suspected the legacy was anything but innocent. Keeler had been a fast man with a shutter, adept at catching the embarrassing moment; his files were certain to contain some awkward, even dangerous shots. What Casey hadn’t figured was the kind of trouble police call homicide.

A lot of people wanted some of those negatives — and wanted them badly. Most of them relied on money, big money, as a convincer, but at least one of them was ready to take them by way of murder.

Just why should a Congressman, a broker, a District Attorney, a disreputable private eye, even Keeler’s own daughter want so desperately to latch on to certain films? When the score stood at two dead and more to go, the squeeze was on Casey to find the answer — fast.

All Casey knew for certain was that giving up the negatives might be as deadly as keeping them.

Cover art by Arthur Hawkins.

Genres: Mystery

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

George Harmon Coxe was an American writer of crime fiction.His series characters are Jack "Flashgun" Casey, Kent Murdock, Leon Morley, Sam Crombie, Max Hale and Jack Fenner. Casey and Murdock are both detectives and photographers. He started writing officially from around 1922, his work being for nickel and dime pulp fiction of the time. To earn money, he originally wrote in many genres, including romance and adventure stories, but was especially fond of crime fiction, his character "Jack (Flashgun) Casey" becoming a popular radio show through to the 1940s. He wrote a total of 63 novels, the last being published in 1975. He was associated with MGM as a writer.

Married to Elizabeth Fowler in 1929, Coxe had 2 children.

He was named a Grand Master in 1964 by The Mystery Writers of America.