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Shell Scott #6
Darling, it's Death
Cover art by Barye Phillips.
Shell Scott. He's a guy with a pistol in his pocket and murder on his mind. The crime world's public enemy number one, this Casanova is a sucker for a damsel in distress. When a pair of lovely legs saunters into his office, he can't help but take the job, even when the case is a killer. Man oh man is she a looker. That's Shell's job, to just look at her--day and, of course, night. But it gets kind of hard to check out those legs that just don't stop with a 350-pound thug in the way. Yeah, yeah, yeah the big boss wants Shell out of town, preferably in a bodybag, but Shell's got a job to do and nothing is going to come between him and that vision of absolute beauty.
Shell Scott. He's a guy with a pistol in his pocket and murder on his mind. The crime world's public enemy number one, this Casanova is a sucker for a damsel in distress. When a pair of lovely legs saunters into his office, he can't help but take the job, even when the case is a killer. Man oh man is she a looker. That's Shell's job, to just look at her--day and, of course, night. But it gets kind of hard to check out those legs that just don't stop with a 350-pound thug in the way. Yeah, yeah, yeah the big boss wants Shell out of town, preferably in a bodybag, but Shell's got a job to do and nothing is going to come between him and that vision of absolute beauty.
181 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1952
8 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Richard S. Prather
93 books43 followersRichard Scott Prather was an American mystery novelist, best known for creating the "Shell Scott" series. He also wrote under the pseudonyms David Knight and Douglas Ring.
Prather was born in Santa Ana, California. He served in the United States Merchant Marine during World War II. In 1945 year he married Tina Hager and began working as a civilian chief clerk of surplus property at March Air Force Base in Riverside, California. He left that job to become a full-time writer in 1949. The first Shell Scott mystery, 'Case of the Vanishing Beauty' was published in 1950. It would be the start of a long series that numbered more than three dozen titles featuring the Shell Scott character.
Prather had a disagreement with his publisher in the 1970s and sued them in 1975. He gave up writing for several years and grew avocados. However in 1986 he returned with 'The Amber Effect'. Prather's final book, 'Shellshock', was published in hardcover in 1987 by Tor Books.
At the time of his death in 2007, he had completed his final Shell Scott Mystery novel, 'The Death Gods'. It was published October 2011 by Pendleton Artists.
Prather served twice on the Board of Directors of the Mystery Writers of America. Additionally Prather received the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) in 1986.
Prather was born in Santa Ana, California. He served in the United States Merchant Marine during World War II. In 1945 year he married Tina Hager and began working as a civilian chief clerk of surplus property at March Air Force Base in Riverside, California. He left that job to become a full-time writer in 1949. The first Shell Scott mystery, 'Case of the Vanishing Beauty' was published in 1950. It would be the start of a long series that numbered more than three dozen titles featuring the Shell Scott character.
Prather had a disagreement with his publisher in the 1970s and sued them in 1975. He gave up writing for several years and grew avocados. However in 1986 he returned with 'The Amber Effect'. Prather's final book, 'Shellshock', was published in hardcover in 1987 by Tor Books.
At the time of his death in 2007, he had completed his final Shell Scott Mystery novel, 'The Death Gods'. It was published October 2011 by Pendleton Artists.
Prather served twice on the Board of Directors of the Mystery Writers of America. Additionally Prather received the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) in 1986.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 19, 2023
I hate the term dated. It is overused as much as it is misused, and before invoking it the reader needs to make an effort to do their part. The copyright page is right there, readily available before word one is read. Readers have an obligation to put themselves into the time and place in which a work was created. It is an obligation to one’s self. If you’re going to invest your time, shouldn’t you give yourself the best chance at enjoyment?
I do not deny there exist books that are actually dated. I do, however, contend that they are rarer than believed. Larger blocks are rarer still. In this case I’m not talking about books rooted in an era whose style has since been rendered antiquated by time. I’m thinking of individual writers whose regard has dipped in a greater proportion than that of their peers. I can think of only two, offhand, whose entire catalog has suffered in this way. The first are the adventure novels of Alistair MacLean. These were once extremely popular. No less than six major motion pictures have been based on his books. I gladly bought the last five as they appeared on the shelves, thoroughly enjoyed four of them, and never regretted the purchase of any of them. Now I look back and I cannot see the appeal. Next time I’m in reread mode, I plan to revisit my favorite in an attempt to discover why.
And then there is Richard S. Prather. In the Fifties only Mickey Spillane outsold him when it came to crime fiction, something of a surprise because they were only superficially similar. They both wrote about tough guy P.I.s who bumped into a gorgeous “dame” every time they turned a corner, and they were both politically, as the saying goes, somewhere to the right of Attila the Hun. Stylistically they were complete opposites. Mike Hammer sought conflict; Shell Scott avoided confrontation when possible. Hammer couldn’t relax in his sleep; Shell was most comfortable when enjoying his everyday life. Hammer was over-the-top serious; Shell Scott’s adventures were farces bordering on screwball comedy. In fact it was the comedic element that lifted Prather’s work above the norm. Without it what was left was run-of-the-mill pulp-style machinations. We often follow Shell Scott taking precautions he couldn’t possibly know he’d need, and of course he eventually does.
In Darling, It’s Death, which takes in Acapulco during 1954, the humor comes, for the most part, in two forms. The first are one-liners, usually in reference to the women Shell meets. For example:
I guess it worked in the day. The other form of comedy is situational. In one example Shell finds himself hanging from the side of a balcony, over a cliff, while secretly trying to get a woman’s attention; and later, after getting sucked into an acrobatic floor show at an outdoor nightclub, he is tossed off a different cliff and into the ocean below. About as anti-Spillane as you can get.
If it had maintained this tone throughout maybe I could look more kindly on Darling, It’s Death. Admittedly it’s not my favorite type of story, though I have enjoyed reading the misadventures of Donald Westlake’s Dortmunder, a series also comedic in nature. Nor was it Shell’s fight to the death with a villain that lost me. You can remove humor without losing the tone. No, it was a completely different incident. When Shell discovers who has the information he's been seeking, he races to the appropriate cottage only to find a scene of torture and death. The condition of the body is described in graphic detail. It’s an image that had no place in this kind of story because once this level of seriousness is introduced, there’s no going back to lighthearted antics. Prather does.
It would not be the last time style posed a problem for Prather. There is another way in which he differed greatly from Spillane. Spillane maintained his popularity through the Sixties and into the Seventies, when he chose to walk away. Prather had not adapted as well. During the Fifties he produced no less than fifteen books. He rode that momentum into the following decade, publishing another fifteen books. On the surface it appeared as if nothing had changed. The difference was that in 1963 Pocket Books offered Prather a ten-year contract in order to steal him away from Fawcett Publications. As sales slowly began to ebb, Pocket Books had no choice but to keep pumping out books in order to try and recoup their investment. After the contract expired, Prather only produce four more books before his death in 2007, one published posthumously. Throughout, his style had changed little. Meanwhile, the world had changed around him.
Shell Scott is affectionately remembered by those who knew him when. New readers seem harder to come by. And it’s not just the politically incorrect innuendo of a gone-by era. There’s a rhythm to these stories that no long translates. It reeks of that word I hate so much. Dated. But it shouldn’t matter. To my mind a book is successful--sometimes mildly so but still successful--if it ultimately achieves what it sets out to be. An automatic 3 Stars. Here I call it a reluctant 3 Stars. There’s that torture scene. It served to invalidate everything that followed and a good part of what preceded it. That couldn’t have been what Prather set out to do.
I do not deny there exist books that are actually dated. I do, however, contend that they are rarer than believed. Larger blocks are rarer still. In this case I’m not talking about books rooted in an era whose style has since been rendered antiquated by time. I’m thinking of individual writers whose regard has dipped in a greater proportion than that of their peers. I can think of only two, offhand, whose entire catalog has suffered in this way. The first are the adventure novels of Alistair MacLean. These were once extremely popular. No less than six major motion pictures have been based on his books. I gladly bought the last five as they appeared on the shelves, thoroughly enjoyed four of them, and never regretted the purchase of any of them. Now I look back and I cannot see the appeal. Next time I’m in reread mode, I plan to revisit my favorite in an attempt to discover why.
And then there is Richard S. Prather. In the Fifties only Mickey Spillane outsold him when it came to crime fiction, something of a surprise because they were only superficially similar. They both wrote about tough guy P.I.s who bumped into a gorgeous “dame” every time they turned a corner, and they were both politically, as the saying goes, somewhere to the right of Attila the Hun. Stylistically they were complete opposites. Mike Hammer sought conflict; Shell Scott avoided confrontation when possible. Hammer couldn’t relax in his sleep; Shell was most comfortable when enjoying his everyday life. Hammer was over-the-top serious; Shell Scott’s adventures were farces bordering on screwball comedy. In fact it was the comedic element that lifted Prather’s work above the norm. Without it what was left was run-of-the-mill pulp-style machinations. We often follow Shell Scott taking precautions he couldn’t possibly know he’d need, and of course he eventually does.
In Darling, It’s Death, which takes in Acapulco during 1954, the humor comes, for the most part, in two forms. The first are one-liners, usually in reference to the women Shell meets. For example:
She came toward me with a walk that wouldn’t have been allowed back home on Hollywood Boulevard. . . She went this way, and she went that way, and most important of all, she kept coming my way.Or:
It [her dress] was cut so low in front that for a moment I thought it was a robe, but it stopped just short of disaster. She was one woman who was obviously unpadded except by Nature, and I’m a Nature lover.
I guess it worked in the day. The other form of comedy is situational. In one example Shell finds himself hanging from the side of a balcony, over a cliff, while secretly trying to get a woman’s attention; and later, after getting sucked into an acrobatic floor show at an outdoor nightclub, he is tossed off a different cliff and into the ocean below. About as anti-Spillane as you can get.
If it had maintained this tone throughout maybe I could look more kindly on Darling, It’s Death. Admittedly it’s not my favorite type of story, though I have enjoyed reading the misadventures of Donald Westlake’s Dortmunder, a series also comedic in nature. Nor was it Shell’s fight to the death with a villain that lost me. You can remove humor without losing the tone. No, it was a completely different incident. When Shell discovers who has the information he's been seeking, he races to the appropriate cottage only to find a scene of torture and death. The condition of the body is described in graphic detail. It’s an image that had no place in this kind of story because once this level of seriousness is introduced, there’s no going back to lighthearted antics. Prather does.
It would not be the last time style posed a problem for Prather. There is another way in which he differed greatly from Spillane. Spillane maintained his popularity through the Sixties and into the Seventies, when he chose to walk away. Prather had not adapted as well. During the Fifties he produced no less than fifteen books. He rode that momentum into the following decade, publishing another fifteen books. On the surface it appeared as if nothing had changed. The difference was that in 1963 Pocket Books offered Prather a ten-year contract in order to steal him away from Fawcett Publications. As sales slowly began to ebb, Pocket Books had no choice but to keep pumping out books in order to try and recoup their investment. After the contract expired, Prather only produce four more books before his death in 2007, one published posthumously. Throughout, his style had changed little. Meanwhile, the world had changed around him.
Shell Scott is affectionately remembered by those who knew him when. New readers seem harder to come by. And it’s not just the politically incorrect innuendo of a gone-by era. There’s a rhythm to these stories that no long translates. It reeks of that word I hate so much. Dated. But it shouldn’t matter. To my mind a book is successful--sometimes mildly so but still successful--if it ultimately achieves what it sets out to be. An automatic 3 Stars. Here I call it a reluctant 3 Stars. There’s that torture scene. It served to invalidate everything that followed and a good part of what preceded it. That couldn’t have been what Prather set out to do.
June 24, 2023
The sixth novel in Prather’s Shell Scott franchise, Darling, It’s Death, takes place entirely in Acapulco, Mexico, with not even a backward glance at Shell’s Hamilton Building office in Los Angeles. It features a blackmail setup on a Jimmy Hoffa type character who corruptly runs a major labor union. Prather refers to labor unions as tools almost of Lenin and his Communist allies. The blackmail papers on this character -known only as Joe – are it turns out of great interest to organized crime who want in on the union pension funds and they are suddenly having a conference in Acapulco at the very Hotel Scott has gone to in search of the blackmail materials, which coincidentally also include military secrets.
Although out of the country and out of his element, Scott has to deal with a virtual army of organized crime thugs. Luckily for him, he has two secret weapons, Gloria, who wants out of her marriage to a hood, and Maria, a singer and acrobat. Outnumbered, outfoxed, and nearly left for dead, Scott somehow manages to survive, but here he also saves the free world.
Although out of the country and out of his element, Scott has to deal with a virtual army of organized crime thugs. Luckily for him, he has two secret weapons, Gloria, who wants out of her marriage to a hood, and Maria, a singer and acrobat. Outnumbered, outfoxed, and nearly left for dead, Scott somehow manages to survive, but here he also saves the free world.
July 12, 2018
Another trip to Beaumont, another quick read. This is an early Scott novel, but it already seems like things are loosening up. He gets rescued at a key moment by a naked woman on water skis! He still doesn’t seem to have the secretary I’ve seen in later novels, and there was no interaction with the local cops, mostly because he was in Acapulco, and had some limited interactions with the FBI. Apparently he’s friends with someone there too.
This was Scott stumbling into a case where he was against the entire global Mafia who were trying to get docs that would allow them to blackmail themselves into the largest union in the US in an attempt to have syndicated crime control labor in America. Huge stakes, and the most brutal hand-to-hand combat I’ve seen in this series yet. Really good stuff.
Maria seems great for Scott. I wonder if anyone has compiled a list of soulmates he’s found over the years.
This was Scott stumbling into a case where he was against the entire global Mafia who were trying to get docs that would allow them to blackmail themselves into the largest union in the US in an attempt to have syndicated crime control labor in America. Huge stakes, and the most brutal hand-to-hand combat I’ve seen in this series yet. Really good stuff.
Maria seems great for Scott. I wonder if anyone has compiled a list of soulmates he’s found over the years.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 28, 2020
This book was everything I hoped it be. 1952, a private eye from L.A. is on a case in Acapulco and soon gets over his head in danger. Shell Scott is a terrific character and I will actively look for more of his adventures.
Plenty of action, thugs, hard drinking, gorgeous women, and great lines.
This is the hard boiled detective novel you're looking for! Absolutely recommended!
Plenty of action, thugs, hard drinking, gorgeous women, and great lines.
This is the hard boiled detective novel you're looking for! Absolutely recommended!
December 13, 2014
My first Shell Scott book and I absolutely loved it. From the witty banter to the beautiful girls to the almost James Bond type action this was a fantastic read for those elements. Definitely not the last book in this series I'm going to read!
September 30, 2025
Kde jinde si může dát detektiv z L.A. dovolenou než v Acapulcu. Válet se na sluníčku u hotelového bazénu, popíjet long drink a pozorovat krásné ženy v titěrných nebo ještě menších plavkách.
V těchto kulisách potkáváme Shell Scotta. A on zase potkává krásnou ženu Glorii. Glorie by si Scotta ráda najala na práci. Potřebuje se zbavit svého trochu natvrdlého, ale nebezpečného novomanžela. Scott nejdříve odmítá, jak říká je na dovolené, ale nakonec pomoc neodmítne. Následuje flashback, kde zjistíme, že dovolená tak úplně dovolenou není. Scott byl najatý předním odborářem aby získal cenné materiály pomocí kterých se jej snaží někdo vydírat a dostat se na čelní pozice v odborech. Pátrání dovede Scotta do Acapulca a k onomu hotelovému bazénu. Než Shell stačí dopít svůj longdrink je až po krk namočený v hledání inkriminovaných materiálů, boji se zhrzeným novomanželem a jeho kumpány a jak brzo zjistí i s jeho šéfem - mafiánským bossem Torrelim a celou mafií. Případy do sebe zapadnou a Scott je rázem v samém centru svého dosud nejnebezpečnějšího případu. Při pokusu nasadit onu nešťastnou manželku jako špióna se jej pokusí velmi vynalézavým způsobem zabít mafiánští poskoci. Donutí ho pod pohrůžkou namířených pistolí vystoupit v taneční show nádherné mexické tanečnice Marie, při které ho "nedopatřením" shodí do oceánu. Shell pád přežije, což nikdo z mafiánských kruhů neví a začne s pomocí tanečnice Marie pátrat po ukradených dokumentech. Jak to je u Shell Scotta obvyklé tanečnice Maria ho dlouho svádí až Shell podlehne. Maria se ukáže být nejen náruživou milenkou, ale i velmi schopnou pomocnicí v pátrání. Tím se celé pátrání stává o to nejbezpečnější. Případ nakonec Shell vyřeší elegantní lstí s nastraženými falešnými dokumenty.
V této knize se změnilo prostředí, přibylo akce - velmi dobré akce, scény z ostrovů plných racků, jsou jako vystřižené z bondovky, ale hlavně zůstává to nejlepší z Pratherových knih - skvělý hrdina, nádherné ženy a detektivka půlku knihy není čtenáři zcela jasné co a proč Shell dělá, aby se v závěru vše ukázalo jako Shellův promyšlený plán.
Pro mě zatím asi nejlepší shellscottovka
V těchto kulisách potkáváme Shell Scotta. A on zase potkává krásnou ženu Glorii. Glorie by si Scotta ráda najala na práci. Potřebuje se zbavit svého trochu natvrdlého, ale nebezpečného novomanžela. Scott nejdříve odmítá, jak říká je na dovolené, ale nakonec pomoc neodmítne. Následuje flashback, kde zjistíme, že dovolená tak úplně dovolenou není. Scott byl najatý předním odborářem aby získal cenné materiály pomocí kterých se jej snaží někdo vydírat a dostat se na čelní pozice v odborech. Pátrání dovede Scotta do Acapulca a k onomu hotelovému bazénu. Než Shell stačí dopít svůj longdrink je až po krk namočený v hledání inkriminovaných materiálů, boji se zhrzeným novomanželem a jeho kumpány a jak brzo zjistí i s jeho šéfem - mafiánským bossem Torrelim a celou mafií. Případy do sebe zapadnou a Scott je rázem v samém centru svého dosud nejnebezpečnějšího případu. Při pokusu nasadit onu nešťastnou manželku jako špióna se jej pokusí velmi vynalézavým způsobem zabít mafiánští poskoci. Donutí ho pod pohrůžkou namířených pistolí vystoupit v taneční show nádherné mexické tanečnice Marie, při které ho "nedopatřením" shodí do oceánu. Shell pád přežije, což nikdo z mafiánských kruhů neví a začne s pomocí tanečnice Marie pátrat po ukradených dokumentech. Jak to je u Shell Scotta obvyklé tanečnice Maria ho dlouho svádí až Shell podlehne. Maria se ukáže být nejen náruživou milenkou, ale i velmi schopnou pomocnicí v pátrání. Tím se celé pátrání stává o to nejbezpečnější. Případ nakonec Shell vyřeší elegantní lstí s nastraženými falešnými dokumenty.
V této knize se změnilo prostředí, přibylo akce - velmi dobré akce, scény z ostrovů plných racků, jsou jako vystřižené z bondovky, ale hlavně zůstává to nejlepší z Pratherových knih - skvělý hrdina, nádherné ženy a detektivka půlku knihy není čtenáři zcela jasné co a proč Shell dělá, aby se v závěru vše ukázalo jako Shellův promyšlený plán.
Pro mě zatím asi nejlepší shellscottovka
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 2, 2024
Shell Scott caper wherein he goes to Acapulco to find a blackmailer but instead tangles with a luscious tomato and gets pitched into the ocean by a couple of goons. Tomatoes and goons, you know. Can't trust any of 'em.
December 13, 2017
Good Shell Scott adventure set in Acapulco. The first Shell Scott in which he battles the evil forces of both Communism, Labor Unions and the Mob. Great 50s period piece.
June 23, 2020
Eski bir kitap olduğu için bazı yerlerdeki çevirilere çok güldüm. Ama çok gerekli bir kitap değil.
Want to read
February 12, 2020Synopsis: Shell's job is to protect a lovely woman, and then a 350-pound thug gets in the way. The big boss wants him out of town in a bodybag.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews