What do you think?
Rate this book
Al Wheeler #8
The Corpse
The blonde was able. The brunette was willing. And Al Wheeler was ready...for love. Until three corpses got in his way. The free-wheeling California cop found the first body in a jive joint run by a sultry blonde singer who called the tune when it came to music or men. The second corpse turned up in a backstreet rooming house that was a front for dope peddling. The third - smack on his doorstep. Here is a torrid tale of blondes, brunettes and blackmailers - the bullet-sparked story of a plug-happy killer who is out to make a cop his fourth corpse. A cop named Al Wheeler.
128 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1958
2 people are currently reading
94 people want to read
About the author
Carter Brown
556 books52 followersCarter Brown was the pseudonym of Alan Geoffrey Yates (1923-1985), who was born in London and educated in Essex.
He married Denise Mackellar and worked as a sound engineer for Gaumont-British films before moving to Australia and taking up work in public relations.
In 1953 he became a full-time writer and produced nearly 200 novels between then and his retirement in 1981.
He also wrote as Tex Conrad and Caroline Farr.
His series heroes were Larry Baker, Danny Boyd, Paul Donavan, Rick Holman, Andy Kane, Randy Roberts, Mavis Siedlitz and Al Wheeler.
He married Denise Mackellar and worked as a sound engineer for Gaumont-British films before moving to Australia and taking up work in public relations.
In 1953 he became a full-time writer and produced nearly 200 novels between then and his retirement in 1981.
He also wrote as Tex Conrad and Caroline Farr.
His series heroes were Larry Baker, Danny Boyd, Paul Donavan, Rick Holman, Andy Kane, Randy Roberts, Mavis Siedlitz and Al Wheeler.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 17, 2012
The unorthodox cop becomes somewhat juvenile in Carter Brown's mystery offering 'The Corpse'. An episode involving a corpse in Wheelers apartment bathroom, the discovery of said corpse by the police (Hammond and Sheriff Lavers), a getaway by trickery, and an open window felt rather out of place for the womaniser and all round tough guy. That said, 'The Corpse' shouldn't suffer by virtue of a single scene and luckily this was the only momentary lapse in persona for the charismatic Wheeler.
For Wheeler and fellow cop (and enemy) Hammond, its a race against one another to solve the murder of a prominent businessman's son at a jazz club. Soon the water turns murky when the son is deemed to have underworld connections with the drug trade. Enter Midnight O'Hara, a nightclub owner whose talent for tune is second only to her looks and ability to make men swoon on her every word as the prime suspect (Hammond's that is - Wheeler's not convinced). Naturally Wheeler strikes up an entirely 'profesional' relationship with Midnight in an attempt to dig out the truth to the killing and also a little action between the sheets for himself. To complicate matters, the investigation leads Wheeler into the embrace of a sex crazed brunette (Rena) who wants nothing more than to get satisfaction for her brothers murder and her personal needs.
Throughout the novel, Carter Brown plays both Midnight (the blonde) and Rena (the brunette) against one another in the whodunit sweepstakes while also throwing in some jazz influenced cats with a liking for reefer in the mix just to add a little gender diversity to the list of suspects.
Unlike other Al Wheeler books, 'The Corpse' deviates from the semi police procedural/lone PI formula and introduces the killer far sooner to focus on the events post discovery verses the search for the killers identity. In doing so, Carter Brown added an extra layer to the crime which traps some of the bit players into the drug scene and clouds the single suspect angle.
Al Wheeler is growing on me and it's good to get a sense of continuity to these books now that I've read a few. Enjoyable and well worth tracking down the other books in the series. 3 stars.
For Wheeler and fellow cop (and enemy) Hammond, its a race against one another to solve the murder of a prominent businessman's son at a jazz club. Soon the water turns murky when the son is deemed to have underworld connections with the drug trade. Enter Midnight O'Hara, a nightclub owner whose talent for tune is second only to her looks and ability to make men swoon on her every word as the prime suspect (Hammond's that is - Wheeler's not convinced). Naturally Wheeler strikes up an entirely 'profesional' relationship with Midnight in an attempt to dig out the truth to the killing and also a little action between the sheets for himself. To complicate matters, the investigation leads Wheeler into the embrace of a sex crazed brunette (Rena) who wants nothing more than to get satisfaction for her brothers murder and her personal needs.
Throughout the novel, Carter Brown plays both Midnight (the blonde) and Rena (the brunette) against one another in the whodunit sweepstakes while also throwing in some jazz influenced cats with a liking for reefer in the mix just to add a little gender diversity to the list of suspects.
Unlike other Al Wheeler books, 'The Corpse' deviates from the semi police procedural/lone PI formula and introduces the killer far sooner to focus on the events post discovery verses the search for the killers identity. In doing so, Carter Brown added an extra layer to the crime which traps some of the bit players into the drug scene and clouds the single suspect angle.
Al Wheeler is growing on me and it's good to get a sense of continuity to these books now that I've read a few. Enjoyable and well worth tracking down the other books in the series. 3 stars.
April 11, 2023
Carter Brown is the pen name of Alan Geoffrey Yates (1923-1985), a prolific writer of mysteries, and quite successful to boot. About once a year I pull out a Carter Brown from my stash and read it. I know exactly what it's going to be: mindless entertainment for about two hours. Sometimes that's just what the doctor ordered.
This time I chose "The Corpse" from 1958. As a jazz fan, the tag line on the cover sold me: "She was a well-stacked blonde who ran a jive joint that specialized in cool jazz...and hot corpses."
Midnight O'Hara is a female jazz singer (and femme fatale) who owns a jazz club. One night as her house band is romping through "South Rampart Street Parade," a young man staggers onto the stage with a bullet hole in his chest, screams out the word "Crazy!" and drops dead. The rest of the novel is officer Al Wheeler's attempt to solve the mystery: No witnesses, no murder weapon, and no one heard the shot.
This book is typical Carter Brown. A puzzling mystery with a clever ending. Along the way Al Wheeler tosses out wise cracks and deduces up a storm. He also navigates a bevy of "well-stacked" beauties who may or may not be involved in the nefarious goings on.
I enjoyed the jazz flavor of the novel. Numerous standard tunes are mentioned with some fifties jazz jive talk mixed in. And true to the times and setting, everyone is smoking. The one thing that irked me was the author's insistence on referring to the bass player's instrument as a "bass fiddle." I've never heard of a jazz person calling it a bass fiddle. It's a bass or an upright bass or a string bass, but it isn't a bass fiddle. A bass fiddle is what they play in a country or bluegrass band.
But I digress...
If you're a high-brow reader, you probably won't like Carter Brown's books. But if, like me, you can roll with a wise-cracking cop who has an eye for the ladies...and if you don't mind some of the awkward thinking and stereotypes that were common in the 1950's...and if you have a couple of hours to kill, you should give him a try.
This time I chose "The Corpse" from 1958. As a jazz fan, the tag line on the cover sold me: "She was a well-stacked blonde who ran a jive joint that specialized in cool jazz...and hot corpses."
Midnight O'Hara is a female jazz singer (and femme fatale) who owns a jazz club. One night as her house band is romping through "South Rampart Street Parade," a young man staggers onto the stage with a bullet hole in his chest, screams out the word "Crazy!" and drops dead. The rest of the novel is officer Al Wheeler's attempt to solve the mystery: No witnesses, no murder weapon, and no one heard the shot.
This book is typical Carter Brown. A puzzling mystery with a clever ending. Along the way Al Wheeler tosses out wise cracks and deduces up a storm. He also navigates a bevy of "well-stacked" beauties who may or may not be involved in the nefarious goings on.
I enjoyed the jazz flavor of the novel. Numerous standard tunes are mentioned with some fifties jazz jive talk mixed in. And true to the times and setting, everyone is smoking. The one thing that irked me was the author's insistence on referring to the bass player's instrument as a "bass fiddle." I've never heard of a jazz person calling it a bass fiddle. It's a bass or an upright bass or a string bass, but it isn't a bass fiddle. A bass fiddle is what they play in a country or bluegrass band.
But I digress...
If you're a high-brow reader, you probably won't like Carter Brown's books. But if, like me, you can roll with a wise-cracking cop who has an eye for the ladies...and if you don't mind some of the awkward thinking and stereotypes that were common in the 1950's...and if you have a couple of hours to kill, you should give him a try.
September 5, 2019
In a way, you know what you're going to get picking up a pulpy detective novel based on a gorgeous Robert McGinnis cover. However, there's an unfortunate streak of misogyny that runs through a lot of the Carter Brown books, depending on the ghost-writer of the month.
Luckily, The Corpse delivers on its promise of cool jazz and hot corpses. Its sexual politics are fine (for its genre and day) and the mystery itself is fairly standard—but the protagonist is great, it moves at a quick pace, it has interesting set pieces, and it has a ton of weird flavor to it. I especially loved throwing on the many jazz tracks referenced in the book while reading it!
Luckily, The Corpse delivers on its promise of cool jazz and hot corpses. Its sexual politics are fine (for its genre and day) and the mystery itself is fairly standard—but the protagonist is great, it moves at a quick pace, it has interesting set pieces, and it has a ton of weird flavor to it. I especially loved throwing on the many jazz tracks referenced in the book while reading it!
May 31, 2017
Carter Brown novels are the only paperbacks that actually live up to the promise of the sleazy covers. Written in 1958, this is sleazier than the Mickey Spillane novels of the time, yet never takes itself seriously and has loads of humor(Carter was an Aussie, so that's a given). I need to see if there's any truth to the jazz music references.
February 17, 2025
Interesting interweaving of real music cal facts. Orchestra positions. The score. Who’s playing when. But the style….a series of letters from the Scotland Yard detective to his wife…not my favorite
July 20, 2025
Set society back 200 years
January 12, 2010
Lt. Al Wheeler’s on the case of the mystery of the annoying, drugged-out hepcat that got iced in front of the bandstand at the hippest beatnik jazz coffee house. The only reason his murder’s a big whoop is because he’s the son of a powerful newspaper magnate. The Fifties jazz club vibe of the book will remind you of John Cassavetes’ terrific detective show, “Johnny Staccato”. Lots of babes, booze, billionaires and beatnik bongos abound. The Robert McGinnis cover doesn’t disappoint either.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews