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Mike Shayne #11
Murder is My Business
MURDER AT THE RIO GRANDE
Ten years ago, private eye Mike Shayne did a job for one of the richest men in El Paso, digging up dirt on a boy courting the tycoon’s daughter. Now the daughter’s back, all grown up and dangerous. And so’s Shayne—but this time it’s to investigate murder...
* First publication in 20 years
* One of the most popular detectives of all time, Mike Shayne starred in more than 70 novels, a dozen movies, a TV series, radio dramas, comic books, and the long-running Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine
Filmmaker SHANE BLACK,
creator of Lethal Weapon and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,
on the Work of BRETT HALLIDAY
"In this age of private eyes with cats, funny neighbors, and relationship woes—here’s to 40’s thriller writer Brett Halliday, whose baffling, bullet-paced capers have come to light again.
"Halliday’s books were marvels of misdirection. Red herrings, skewed motives, mistaken identities—he did everything but come to your house and bang cymbals.
"Halliday’s plots are byzantine gems. This is back when mystery writers were so much smarter than you and me. Want an engrossing read? Pick this one up.
"Never heard of this book? No matter. It’s been waiting patiently, poised to dazzle you with raw, ingenious storytelling. Halliday is the king of the baffler novel. Pure pleasure.
"How long can Halliday’s best-selling books remain dormant, undiscovered...? The answer: not a minute longer, thanks to Hard Case Crime."
Ten years ago, private eye Mike Shayne did a job for one of the richest men in El Paso, digging up dirt on a boy courting the tycoon’s daughter. Now the daughter’s back, all grown up and dangerous. And so’s Shayne—but this time it’s to investigate murder...
* First publication in 20 years
* One of the most popular detectives of all time, Mike Shayne starred in more than 70 novels, a dozen movies, a TV series, radio dramas, comic books, and the long-running Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine
Filmmaker SHANE BLACK,
creator of Lethal Weapon and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,
on the Work of BRETT HALLIDAY
"In this age of private eyes with cats, funny neighbors, and relationship woes—here’s to 40’s thriller writer Brett Halliday, whose baffling, bullet-paced capers have come to light again.
"Halliday’s books were marvels of misdirection. Red herrings, skewed motives, mistaken identities—he did everything but come to your house and bang cymbals.
"Halliday’s plots are byzantine gems. This is back when mystery writers were so much smarter than you and me. Want an engrossing read? Pick this one up.
"Never heard of this book? No matter. It’s been waiting patiently, poised to dazzle you with raw, ingenious storytelling. Halliday is the king of the baffler novel. Pure pleasure.
"How long can Halliday’s best-selling books remain dormant, undiscovered...? The answer: not a minute longer, thanks to Hard Case Crime."
223 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1945
11 people are currently reading
398 people want to read
About the author
Brett Halliday
508 books62 followersAKA David Dresser
Excerpt from Wikipedia:
Brett Halliday (July 31, 1904 - February 4, 1977), primary pen name of Davis Dresser, was an American mystery writer, best known for the long-lived series of Mike Shayne novels he wrote, and later commissioned others to write. Dresser wrote non-series mysteries, westerns and romances under the names
Asa Baker, Matthew Blood, Kathryn Culver, Don Davis, Hal Debrett, Anthony Scott, Peter Field, and Anderson Wayne.
Excerpt from Wikipedia:
Brett Halliday (July 31, 1904 - February 4, 1977), primary pen name of Davis Dresser, was an American mystery writer, best known for the long-lived series of Mike Shayne novels he wrote, and later commissioned others to write. Dresser wrote non-series mysteries, westerns and romances under the names
Asa Baker, Matthew Blood, Kathryn Culver, Don Davis, Hal Debrett, Anthony Scott, Peter Field, and Anderson Wayne.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
December 13, 2016
I like to think that I know a little something about American mystery/crime novels. I’ve read Chandler, Hammett, Thompson, Cain, Block, Westlake and dozens of others. And even what I haven’t read, I thought I had at least a passing familiarity with. (For example, I’ve never gotten around to Ross MacDonald’s Lew Archer series, but I know they’re out there.) And of course, just as I get to be a little smug about my vast store of knowledge along comes a Hard Case Crime reissue of Murder is My Business to show me that I don’t know dick.
Check out this blurb from the cover:
“One of the most popular detectives of all time, Mike Shayne starred in more than 70 novels, a dozen movies, a TV series, radio dramas, comic books, and the long running Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine.”
And I had never heard of him.
Even worse, I loved the movie Kiss Kiss Bang Bang from film maker Shane Black and apparently he’s a HUGE Mike Shayne fan and the movie is very loosely based on one of the Shayne books. Hell, part of the plot of KKBB involves a series of mystery novels that were obviously Black’s tip of the hat to the Shayne books, and I still was walking around clueless even though I’ve seen the movie a couple of times.
I am deeply shamed.
*sigh*
Anyhow, it’s 1944 and World War II is still going on. New Orleans private eye Mike Shayne gets a visit from an old woman who wants to hire him to look into her son’s death. Her boy had been working in Mexico and came back to the U.S. to take part in a what seems to be a very outlandish scheme involving enlisting in the army under a false name. The day after completing his fake enlistment, her son was run over and killed in El Paso by Jefferson Towne, a wealthy candidate for mayor.
Shayne knows Towne from a case he worked for him ten years before, and even though the mother can‘t pay much, Shayne smells money and opportunity and is off to Texas. Before long he’s embroiled in a plot that involves soldiers sneaking into Mexico, a bitter mayoral campaign, a journalist with the ethics of Fox News, and Towne’s drunken daughter.
Although you can tell that it’s of the classic hard boiled era this seems a bit different then a lot of those of private eye tales. Shayne is much more of a thinker than a man of action. He’s also not the usual outsider battling the system either. He works closely with the cops in Texas and in Mexico, and they’re more than willing to accept his help. Plus, Shayne makes no secret that he’s come to town to try and make some money off the deal, and he engages in a bit of shady behavior to make sure he won’t walk away empty handed.
This had a clean and quick style to it along with a very engaging mystery. It isn’t the best writing I’ve read from this era, but it holds up a lot better than many other HCC reprints.
Now I just have to figure out how the hell I never heard of it before….
Check out this blurb from the cover:
“One of the most popular detectives of all time, Mike Shayne starred in more than 70 novels, a dozen movies, a TV series, radio dramas, comic books, and the long running Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine.”
And I had never heard of him.
Even worse, I loved the movie Kiss Kiss Bang Bang from film maker Shane Black and apparently he’s a HUGE Mike Shayne fan and the movie is very loosely based on one of the Shayne books. Hell, part of the plot of KKBB involves a series of mystery novels that were obviously Black’s tip of the hat to the Shayne books, and I still was walking around clueless even though I’ve seen the movie a couple of times.
I am deeply shamed.
*sigh*
Anyhow, it’s 1944 and World War II is still going on. New Orleans private eye Mike Shayne gets a visit from an old woman who wants to hire him to look into her son’s death. Her boy had been working in Mexico and came back to the U.S. to take part in a what seems to be a very outlandish scheme involving enlisting in the army under a false name. The day after completing his fake enlistment, her son was run over and killed in El Paso by Jefferson Towne, a wealthy candidate for mayor.
Shayne knows Towne from a case he worked for him ten years before, and even though the mother can‘t pay much, Shayne smells money and opportunity and is off to Texas. Before long he’s embroiled in a plot that involves soldiers sneaking into Mexico, a bitter mayoral campaign, a journalist with the ethics of Fox News, and Towne’s drunken daughter.
Although you can tell that it’s of the classic hard boiled era this seems a bit different then a lot of those of private eye tales. Shayne is much more of a thinker than a man of action. He’s also not the usual outsider battling the system either. He works closely with the cops in Texas and in Mexico, and they’re more than willing to accept his help. Plus, Shayne makes no secret that he’s come to town to try and make some money off the deal, and he engages in a bit of shady behavior to make sure he won’t walk away empty handed.
This had a clean and quick style to it along with a very engaging mystery. It isn’t the best writing I’ve read from this era, but it holds up a lot better than many other HCC reprints.
Now I just have to figure out how the hell I never heard of it before….
April 4, 2011
New Orleans detective Mike Shayne is hired by a little old lady to find her son who had enlisted in the army under an assumed name after working in Mexico as a miner for five years. Shayne's trail weaves a serpentine course through a web of lies and deceit, encountering equally dirty politicians on both sides of a mayoral race, a missing soldier, blackmail, unrequited love, and mistaken identity. Can Shayne solve the mysteries, get out alive, and get paid?
I devoured this in one sitting while my car was being worked on. It was a page turner of the highest order. Brett Halliday is a master of misdirection. I'd say almost 75% of the book was red herrings and false leads. While I suspected the old switcheroo had been pulled at some point, I had no idea how complicated things had become.
Mike Shayne seems like an ancestor of sorts of Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder. He obeys his own code more than the law and is fairly flexible as far as rates go. He took the case initially for fifty bucks and then set about getting a more worthwhile fee during the course of the investigation. I'll be reading more of Mr. Shayne's cases in the future.
While it wasn't my favorite Hard Case, this one is definitely on the worthwhile end of the spectrum. Halliday will keep you guessing until the very end.
I devoured this in one sitting while my car was being worked on. It was a page turner of the highest order. Brett Halliday is a master of misdirection. I'd say almost 75% of the book was red herrings and false leads. While I suspected the old switcheroo had been pulled at some point, I had no idea how complicated things had become.
Mike Shayne seems like an ancestor of sorts of Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder. He obeys his own code more than the law and is fairly flexible as far as rates go. He took the case initially for fifty bucks and then set about getting a more worthwhile fee during the course of the investigation. I'll be reading more of Mr. Shayne's cases in the future.
While it wasn't my favorite Hard Case, this one is definitely on the worthwhile end of the spectrum. Halliday will keep you guessing until the very end.
September 3, 2022
Murder Is My Business is the first Mike Shayne mystery I have ever read, and it holds up remarkably well for a book written in 1945. No cell phones or computers-just old fashioned legwork that saves the day. Keep in mind this book is a child of a different era-there are certainly a few racial slurs I could have done without. Shayne works what Ross MacDonald called "the far side of the dollar" and I actually liked that-Don Quixote will only tilt at windmills if you pay him. Shayne is a working private eye and he wants to get paid for his efforts. He is no Galahad-he can't afford to be. A nice dose of noir from bygone days.
August 21, 2011
Mike Shayne is a slightly more cynical character than Philip Marlowe but he still manages to serve the cause of justice, although Shayne likes to combine this with a healthy personal profit as well. The plot is complex but it all comes together quite satisfactorily.
I suppose that in some ways this book will strike some readers as being Philip Marlowe Lite. It has the background of official corruption that Chandler’s novels had, and it has
the same kind of hardboiled dialogue. But since Halliday published the first of his Mike Shayne novels in the same year that Chandler published his first novel it would be unfair to characterise him as a mere imitator.
Halliday does the hardboiled thing pretty effectively and the result is a highly entertaining little book.
I suppose that in some ways this book will strike some readers as being Philip Marlowe Lite. It has the background of official corruption that Chandler’s novels had, and it has
the same kind of hardboiled dialogue. But since Halliday published the first of his Mike Shayne novels in the same year that Chandler published his first novel it would be unfair to characterise him as a mere imitator.
Halliday does the hardboiled thing pretty effectively and the result is a highly entertaining little book.
February 8, 2020
"Murder is My Business" is Hard Case Crime resurrecting one of the prolific Mike Shayne detective novels from 1939-1958 (and bunches of movies and TV shows and comic books) by Brett Halliday. This novel hails from 1944 (with love, and war) and tells a story where Shayne travels to El Paso to solve crimes during the Second World War, instead of working in his native New Orleans.
Shayne is in El Paso investigating a possible Axis spy ring and the death of a soldier who had just joined the army under an assumed name (according to his mother) to help some shadowy group trying to uncover said spy ring--and also to avoid being punished for avoiding the draft by hiding out in Mexico.
When it turns out that the soldier was run over by the car of an old client/enemy of Shayne's--a mining magnate running for mayor--things get complicated. It turns out that the magnate running for mayor doesn't want the case investigated and claims the incident was a horrible accident. Yet an autopsy that Shayne asks for proves the soldier was murdered before being run over by the magnate's car.
Shayne works with the police as more murders keep piling up connected to the case. And it seems El Paso is loaded with homicide suspects. There's the magnate's alcoholic, lusty daughter, who bitterly resents her father for breaking of her engagement a decade prior--which Shayne had a part in. There's the daughter's jilted lover, who went to work for the Axis powers writing propaganda and managed to get the Gestapo after him. Then there is the writer's best pal, a muckraking yellow journalist who covets the magnate's daughter. And then there's the racketeer backing the other candidate for mayor.
There isn't too much that's relevant to these times in this novel. Yet the idea that a ruthless, unscrupulous businessman is not fit for politics does seem to be an idea ahead of its time. We could have used that kind of wisdom in 2016.
Yes, a 1940s detective novel is somewhat dated overall and a bit culturally insensitive in some spots. The plot of "Murder is my Business" reminded me a little of the "Perry Mason" TV show, which came a decade later--but was from novels written around that same time.
"Murder is My Business" seems to be following a series formula, though it's not a series I have read any other novels from (or seen the movies or TV shows). There are some interesting plot elements to the novel, but I'm not sure why the folks at Hard Case Crime picked this particular novel to dust off. I chose to round down from my two and a half star rating just because the novel was a bit too tame for my tastes.
Shayne is in El Paso investigating a possible Axis spy ring and the death of a soldier who had just joined the army under an assumed name (according to his mother) to help some shadowy group trying to uncover said spy ring--and also to avoid being punished for avoiding the draft by hiding out in Mexico.
When it turns out that the soldier was run over by the car of an old client/enemy of Shayne's--a mining magnate running for mayor--things get complicated. It turns out that the magnate running for mayor doesn't want the case investigated and claims the incident was a horrible accident. Yet an autopsy that Shayne asks for proves the soldier was murdered before being run over by the magnate's car.
Shayne works with the police as more murders keep piling up connected to the case. And it seems El Paso is loaded with homicide suspects. There's the magnate's alcoholic, lusty daughter, who bitterly resents her father for breaking of her engagement a decade prior--which Shayne had a part in. There's the daughter's jilted lover, who went to work for the Axis powers writing propaganda and managed to get the Gestapo after him. Then there is the writer's best pal, a muckraking yellow journalist who covets the magnate's daughter. And then there's the racketeer backing the other candidate for mayor.
There isn't too much that's relevant to these times in this novel. Yet the idea that a ruthless, unscrupulous businessman is not fit for politics does seem to be an idea ahead of its time. We could have used that kind of wisdom in 2016.
Yes, a 1940s detective novel is somewhat dated overall and a bit culturally insensitive in some spots. The plot of "Murder is my Business" reminded me a little of the "Perry Mason" TV show, which came a decade later--but was from novels written around that same time.
"Murder is My Business" seems to be following a series formula, though it's not a series I have read any other novels from (or seen the movies or TV shows). There are some interesting plot elements to the novel, but I'm not sure why the folks at Hard Case Crime picked this particular novel to dust off. I chose to round down from my two and a half star rating just because the novel was a bit too tame for my tastes.
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May 31, 2023The sixty-sixth hard case crime novel finished #murderismybusiness by #bretthalliday starring #mikeshayne originally published in 1945. A private detective from New Orleans goes to El Paso looking for a missing person and gets caught up dealing with people from his past. A good little mystery with plenty of detective work. Why does the candidate for mayor want to take the fall for accidentally killing a soldier with his car when the autopsy shows the soldier was murdered before the accident? Who killed the soldier? Why did the soldier enlist under a false name? I quite liked that Shayne wasn’t afraid to try to shakedown every suspect he comes across to see how much they would pay to keep things under wraps. It’s an effective investigative technique and could make him some extra money if everyone he questions thinks he is working for them! Short and intricate. The final showdown explains most of the mystery but still leaves a few minor plot threads dangling. Great cover as always from #robertmcginnis
May 21, 2021
What's not to like in this hardboiled tale? First, there's the Robert McGinnis cover art: he was the king of Pulp Fiction visual, and this one is classic. Then there's Mike Shayne, one of my favorite detectives, solving a twisty case set in New Orleans and Mexico. Shayne is right up there with Sam Spade, The Continental Op and Rex Stout's Archie Goodwin. He's tough as nails, hell with women and always on the lookout for a way to make a quick buck. A classic!
October 24, 2017
Thirty pages, that's as far as I got before the language became too foul for me. I was disappointed. The radio show was fun and my copy is a first edition hardback in great condition. Oh well, another author to avoid.
October 22, 2025
it was a nice read, but also old. i’ve never read of book of this age & time but i am glad i did!
was a bit hard to follow at times, but in all honesty, i never got fully into the book.
happy to have read & finished finally.
was a bit hard to follow at times, but in all honesty, i never got fully into the book.
happy to have read & finished finally.
April 28, 2012
Although the covers might not have been quite as overtly provocative as the new McGinnis cover on the Hard Case Crime version of Murder is My Business, the Mike Shayne mysteries always had covers that seemed salacious enough that I didn’t dare bring them home to undergo my father’s censorious inspection. And, while I wouldn’t exactly leave my copy of the current version on my coffee table lest it give the suggestion of more titillation than the text actually offers, I am very thankful that Charles Ardai opted to choose this as one of the worthy imprints in the line.
Indeed, it seems like all of the mysteries I’ve picked up in recent days have had some kind of historical perspective to them. Originally published toward the conclusion of World War II, this novel begins with a reference to draft dodgers and the idea of performing one’s patriotic duty. Before it ends, patriotism may not mean what you think it means and one wonders just how open the border was between Juarez and El Paso in 1945.
To be honest, the culprit in this “caper” is patently obvious. I never had any doubt from the moment my suspect was introduced. Yet, what I did enjoy about this mid-40s era mystery was the fact that the detective didn’t get beaten up three or four times in the course of the novel to show how tough he was (I know Chandler’s protagonists provided the defining moments of the genre, but that always bothered me—even before Kaminsky parodied that tendency with his Koko the Clown references in the Toby Peters mysteries). Even more refreshing to me was the fact that Mike Shayne had a cordial working relationship with the law enforcement authorities in this novel. There’s something that goes against the average noir trope. Nor did Mike Shayne sleep with his clients the way I always suspected Mickey Spillane did (I can’t remember specifics—just a general impression that there was an incident or two in each novel—guess I need to re-read some), even though one suspects that he would have liked to have done so with one suspect and one sees that he doesn’t take advantage of one that he could have.
Even though I can’t rate this particular novel as being outstanding, it’s good enough and enjoyable enough that I believe I’ll be looking for some more mysteries by Brett Halliday.
Indeed, it seems like all of the mysteries I’ve picked up in recent days have had some kind of historical perspective to them. Originally published toward the conclusion of World War II, this novel begins with a reference to draft dodgers and the idea of performing one’s patriotic duty. Before it ends, patriotism may not mean what you think it means and one wonders just how open the border was between Juarez and El Paso in 1945.
To be honest, the culprit in this “caper” is patently obvious. I never had any doubt from the moment my suspect was introduced. Yet, what I did enjoy about this mid-40s era mystery was the fact that the detective didn’t get beaten up three or four times in the course of the novel to show how tough he was (I know Chandler’s protagonists provided the defining moments of the genre, but that always bothered me—even before Kaminsky parodied that tendency with his Koko the Clown references in the Toby Peters mysteries). Even more refreshing to me was the fact that Mike Shayne had a cordial working relationship with the law enforcement authorities in this novel. There’s something that goes against the average noir trope. Nor did Mike Shayne sleep with his clients the way I always suspected Mickey Spillane did (I can’t remember specifics—just a general impression that there was an incident or two in each novel—guess I need to re-read some), even though one suspects that he would have liked to have done so with one suspect and one sees that he doesn’t take advantage of one that he could have.
Even though I can’t rate this particular novel as being outstanding, it’s good enough and enjoyable enough that I believe I’ll be looking for some more mysteries by Brett Halliday.
January 10, 2014
I love to start the year with a Michael Shayne mystery. I've already read most of the series in the early 2000s. I didn't get to many that didn't take place in Florida and the ones being pumped out by ghost writers post-Dave Dresser or 1960. I did have this as already read as I mixed this title up with another in the series. Just to note: I hadn't read this before and somehow have two now marked here.
This was a great Shayne novel. This one taking place in Texas. As usual Dresser knows his terrain and locations seem real as well as the characters. The mystery is very good with many layers involved. The reader is kept guessing until the end, though this one has a key clue flipped at a little too opportune time. Still a very good mystery well worth the time - If you can find it.
Bottom line: I recommend this book.
This was a great Shayne novel. This one taking place in Texas. As usual Dresser knows his terrain and locations seem real as well as the characters. The mystery is very good with many layers involved. The reader is kept guessing until the end, though this one has a key clue flipped at a little too opportune time. Still a very good mystery well worth the time - If you can find it.
Bottom line: I recommend this book.
November 7, 2011
This was a pleasant discovery. Mike Shayne is a bit more cynical than most, and he certainly makes sure to get paid. But those are not bad traits as he finds out the truth at the end. The story has as scheme to smuggle army deserters into Mexico, something about a silver mine, and murder. These items are certainly a good recipe for a mystery that Mike Shayne slowly unravels. The author does put in a bit misdirection, but if you are an attentive reader you can figure things out as you read along. Then again, as many detective stories, you will find out the real truth at the end, and I have to say, I did enjoy the ending quite a bit. I will certainly keep my eye out for other Shayne mysteries now. Also, the book is a pretty easy read, so if you enjoy hard boiled detective fiction, you will certainly enjoy this one.
April 23, 2017
I needed a couple of easy reads after Cortazar and this fit the bill. It went down as easily as good Scotch on the rocks. (Apparently NOT Mikes drink BTW.) I'm reigning in my stars so I probably would have given this 4 stars a month ago. It's simply a good "hardboiled" detective yarn with a plot just complicated enough to make you pause and recap now and then.If you like the genre you'll like this. Some minor points I found interesting considering the book was written in 1944. In a nightclub scene the band plays "Estrellita" and "Besame Mucho" - two songs that you don't have to go too far out of the way to hear today. The other thing - a sympathetic character tells Mike early in the book about "forces moving us towards fascism in the US...."
July 7, 2017
Who is Brett Halliday? Halliday was originally the pseudonym of Davis Dresser, who had an assortment of pseudonyms depending on what genre he was writing whether mysteries, westerns, or romances. His other psuedonyms included Asa Baker, Matthew Blood, Don Davis, Anthony Scott. Dresser had an interesting life, which included losing an eye to barbed wire, enlisting in the calvary as a teenager, and doing all kinds of odd jobs as he traveled about the west, particularly west Texas.
Murder Is My Business was published in 1945. In it, Shayne, who apparently is not great at having high-paying clients, agrees to take a job from an elderly woman whose son had been in Mexico when his draft letter came. Eventually, the son returned to the states and enlisted under a pseudonym to serve his country. The mother got a letter from the son, explaining that he was engaged in top secret duty. The following day a newspaper reported the son killed in a car accident. It seemed suspicious. Shayne flies from New Orleans to El Paso, finding that the driver of the car in the accident was a local politician running for Mayor (Jefferson Towne), who it just so happens had employed Shayne ten years earlier to dig up dirt on a guy (Lance Bayliss) dating the politician's daughter.
The rich politician's daughter is Carmela Towne. As Shayne explains upon meeting her in his hotel room, "Her lips were dry and hot and hard. Ten years had done some shocking things to her. She had been a leggy youngster with a rich, dark beauty that burned beneath the surface and glowed in her eyes. She had been vital and alive, tingling with youth and a fervid passion for life and love." "Now," he explains, She was the embodiment of a woman who for a long time had made a habit of drinking too much, and sleeping and eating too little." A lot has changed in ten years.
At Shayne's request, an autopsy is done and, lo and behold, the soldier who had been run over had been killed before the accident. Both Jefferson and Carmela ask Shayne to lay off the case, figuring they are better off the way things are. An accident is easily explained. A murder is messy. Digging into it can lead other things to be exposed, things no one wants to have to explain. But, Shayne tells Carmela, "Murder is my business. And I've got some money and time invested in this thing now. I've got to figure out a way to collect a fee." Thus, the title of this novel.
Carmela's reasons for asking Shayne to stay out of the business are different than her father's though. She hates her father and does not want to see him exonerated. "It was as though something had rotted away inside of her, and her tears were a suppurating excrement bubbling up under the pressure of long decay."
This is my introduction to the Mike Shayne series. Only seventy-six more Shayne novels to go. The writing is fluid and the story flows by very quickly. Very enjoyable. Shayne is no-nonsense in his approach, but he seems honorable, except that he tries to get a fee from anyone he can. This is truly great stuff and stands well the test of age. Hard to believe that this was written almost seventy years ago.
Murder Is My Business was published in 1945. In it, Shayne, who apparently is not great at having high-paying clients, agrees to take a job from an elderly woman whose son had been in Mexico when his draft letter came. Eventually, the son returned to the states and enlisted under a pseudonym to serve his country. The mother got a letter from the son, explaining that he was engaged in top secret duty. The following day a newspaper reported the son killed in a car accident. It seemed suspicious. Shayne flies from New Orleans to El Paso, finding that the driver of the car in the accident was a local politician running for Mayor (Jefferson Towne), who it just so happens had employed Shayne ten years earlier to dig up dirt on a guy (Lance Bayliss) dating the politician's daughter.
The rich politician's daughter is Carmela Towne. As Shayne explains upon meeting her in his hotel room, "Her lips were dry and hot and hard. Ten years had done some shocking things to her. She had been a leggy youngster with a rich, dark beauty that burned beneath the surface and glowed in her eyes. She had been vital and alive, tingling with youth and a fervid passion for life and love." "Now," he explains, She was the embodiment of a woman who for a long time had made a habit of drinking too much, and sleeping and eating too little." A lot has changed in ten years.
At Shayne's request, an autopsy is done and, lo and behold, the soldier who had been run over had been killed before the accident. Both Jefferson and Carmela ask Shayne to lay off the case, figuring they are better off the way things are. An accident is easily explained. A murder is messy. Digging into it can lead other things to be exposed, things no one wants to have to explain. But, Shayne tells Carmela, "Murder is my business. And I've got some money and time invested in this thing now. I've got to figure out a way to collect a fee." Thus, the title of this novel.
Carmela's reasons for asking Shayne to stay out of the business are different than her father's though. She hates her father and does not want to see him exonerated. "It was as though something had rotted away inside of her, and her tears were a suppurating excrement bubbling up under the pressure of long decay."
This is my introduction to the Mike Shayne series. Only seventy-six more Shayne novels to go. The writing is fluid and the story flows by very quickly. Very enjoyable. Shayne is no-nonsense in his approach, but he seems honorable, except that he tries to get a fee from anyone he can. This is truly great stuff and stands well the test of age. Hard to believe that this was written almost seventy years ago.
April 16, 2018
An endorsement by Shane Black (who loosely adapted a Halliday book as Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang) adorns the back cover and first page and it's pretty accurate.
This was a VERY easy read with a twist, unpredictable plot. I could knock elements of it in retrospect - wish there was more sexiness, or more violence etc. But the thrust of the story was waiting for these elements to come to the fore and wondering how things would play out. I couldn't quite get a handle on the movements behind the scenes, which is what I look for in these things.
Another winner from Hard Case Crime, the best label in the world.
This was a VERY easy read with a twist, unpredictable plot. I could knock elements of it in retrospect - wish there was more sexiness, or more violence etc. But the thrust of the story was waiting for these elements to come to the fore and wondering how things would play out. I couldn't quite get a handle on the movements behind the scenes, which is what I look for in these things.
Another winner from Hard Case Crime, the best label in the world.
October 29, 2017
I have seen episodes of the "Michael Shayne" television show, but this is the first Shayne novel I have read. I greatly enjoyed it for its crispness and clever plotting, and will certainly want to read more books in the series. (The original "Brett Halliday," Davis Dresser, wrote the first 28 titles, including this one.) Shayne is a manly, blunt, red-headed detective, not given to irony or angst; and Halliday's prose style is similarly efficient and unfancy. This story is set in El Paso, and I liked the Texan and Mexican local color.
October 3, 2024
Short enjoyable read. Book is strong in terms of characters with the detective Mike Shayne being a compelling but believable P.I.
The background and impacts of the criminal case are also very well worked around the character of Carmela, with her character taking a heavy toll from all the goings on. Although detective Mike Shayne's work is well detailed as being primarily just a job, the book ending is uplifting with his work leaving the opportunity of brighter days ahead for those impacted by the crimes.
4 stars ****
The background and impacts of the criminal case are also very well worked around the character of Carmela, with her character taking a heavy toll from all the goings on. Although detective Mike Shayne's work is well detailed as being primarily just a job, the book ending is uplifting with his work leaving the opportunity of brighter days ahead for those impacted by the crimes.
4 stars ****
September 11, 2020
Private eye Mike Shayne is in the town where I was born, El Paso, Texas, to investigate the death of Private James Brown, who was killed in a traffic accident. Or was he? The private was stationed at Fort Bliss - the base I was born on!
Pretty good noir read! You've got bodies, body doubles, silver mining, the U.S./Mexico border going's on, a mayoral race, and soldiers exchanging clothing! All in a little hard-boiled detective novel/novella (it's a quick read!)! Not quite Raymond Chandler, but good enough to keep me guessing and keep me entertained! I'd read another Mike Shayne mystery based on this book!
Pretty good noir read! You've got bodies, body doubles, silver mining, the U.S./Mexico border going's on, a mayoral race, and soldiers exchanging clothing! All in a little hard-boiled detective novel/novella (it's a quick read!)! Not quite Raymond Chandler, but good enough to keep me guessing and keep me entertained! I'd read another Mike Shayne mystery based on this book!
January 27, 2017
Older woman contacts Shane about her son's death. Tell's him about his joining the army and a spy ring. When the dead man's parents can't be found, Shane goes to Texas to investigate the murder. As usual he finds some one to pay his fee, and find the murder of 3 people to keep his illegal mining operation quiet. Good book, fast read.
November 11, 2019
The book didn't captivate me. Even for pulp crime, the characters were broad-brushed and shallow, the story far from gripping and only in the end there was some suspense. Took me weeks to finish while it should be a fast read with its 220 pages. Not sure if I want to read more of redhead PI Mike Shayne.
February 27, 2022
Interesting little book, a little bit crazy in how it goes so many places in regards to the story and finally the end of the book. Not very long but a little bit complicated nonetheless somewhat interesting to me.
February 20, 2019
A fine example of classic detective fiction released in 1944 with plenty of twist and turns to keep it interesting.
July 9, 2025
My video review of Murder is My Business can be found here: https://youtu.be/Bp-MbCjllE0?si=P_5a7...
July 29, 2010
It's 1944 and Mike Shayne has a little old lady show up at his office in New Orleans wanting his help with her son. She shows him a letter saying he'd enlisted in the army under the name James Brown because he was to help with a spy ring operating out of El Paso. She then hands him a newspaper clipping showing a Private James Brown was killed in a traffic accident the day after the letter was mailed.
What interested Shayne was the name of the car driver that had hit him: Jeff Towne, a man running for mayor of El Paso, a man who'd been a client of Shayne ten years before when he wanted the PI to dig up some dirt on his daughter's boy friend. When none was found, Towne had wanted Shayne to manufacture some, at which point he'd bailed, having his own sort of rough honesty.
When he gets to El Paso, almost everyone warns him off, including Towne, even after Shayne pushes for an autopsy that shows the soldier was already dead before the car hit him. Even then, Towne wanted him to leave it alone.
Throw in a thirty year old daughter still pining for that lost love, the lost love with Nazi connections in the interim, two silver mines, a newspaper reporter that doesn't Like Shayne, plot twists that keep coming, it makes for a quick, satisfying read.
What interested Shayne was the name of the car driver that had hit him: Jeff Towne, a man running for mayor of El Paso, a man who'd been a client of Shayne ten years before when he wanted the PI to dig up some dirt on his daughter's boy friend. When none was found, Towne had wanted Shayne to manufacture some, at which point he'd bailed, having his own sort of rough honesty.
When he gets to El Paso, almost everyone warns him off, including Towne, even after Shayne pushes for an autopsy that shows the soldier was already dead before the car hit him. Even then, Towne wanted him to leave it alone.
Throw in a thirty year old daughter still pining for that lost love, the lost love with Nazi connections in the interim, two silver mines, a newspaper reporter that doesn't Like Shayne, plot twists that keep coming, it makes for a quick, satisfying read.
July 18, 2016
Murder Is My Business by Brett Halliday.
Reviewed by Galen Weitkamp
If you’re old enough you may remember reading Murder Is My Business by Davis Dresser. David Dresser was Brett Halliday’s pen name when he began the Michael Shayne series of pulp murder mysteries. Michael Shayne is the laconic and ever alert shamus who has disentangled some of the most complex mysteries ever penned.
Murder Is My Business was published in 1945. In the novel, the World War is still in progress. Michael Shayne works out of New Orleans. He is visited by a mother who’s son has gone missing after enlisting in the armed services and writing a letter alluding to a spy ring operating across the border from El Paso. Although the mother has no money, Shayne takes the case.
A number of films have been based on or inspired by Brett Halliday novels. Lloyd Nolan played Michael Shayne in the 1942 film The Man Who Wouldn’t Die. More recent films inspired by Halliday are Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Nice Guys. If you like mysteries and you have a day or two to spend at the beach, you can’t go wrong with Murder Is My Business.
Reviewed by Galen Weitkamp
If you’re old enough you may remember reading Murder Is My Business by Davis Dresser. David Dresser was Brett Halliday’s pen name when he began the Michael Shayne series of pulp murder mysteries. Michael Shayne is the laconic and ever alert shamus who has disentangled some of the most complex mysteries ever penned.
Murder Is My Business was published in 1945. In the novel, the World War is still in progress. Michael Shayne works out of New Orleans. He is visited by a mother who’s son has gone missing after enlisting in the armed services and writing a letter alluding to a spy ring operating across the border from El Paso. Although the mother has no money, Shayne takes the case.
A number of films have been based on or inspired by Brett Halliday novels. Lloyd Nolan played Michael Shayne in the 1942 film The Man Who Wouldn’t Die. More recent films inspired by Halliday are Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Nice Guys. If you like mysteries and you have a day or two to spend at the beach, you can’t go wrong with Murder Is My Business.
September 23, 2015
Michael Shayne is hired by Mrs. Delray to look into the death of her son, Jimmie, who has been talked into enlisting in the army under an alias. She believes he was murdered despite the fact the newspapers say he was run over by one of El Paso's mayoral candidate's Jefferson Towne, who happens to be one of Michael's previous clients.
Murder is My Business is a fairly typical pulp novel from the 40s. Michael Shayne is a quick thinking private eye who doesn't miss a beat. There's a myriad of characters who all fit the bill as possible suspects. I have been curious about Brett Halliday's books after seeing Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and discovering that these books were the inspiration for that movie. I enjoyed reading this book. I don't think I enjoyed it as much as some of the other crime novels I've read, but I sure feel kind of dumb for not catching on to some of the clues laid out earlier in the book.
Murder is My Business is a fairly typical pulp novel from the 40s. Michael Shayne is a quick thinking private eye who doesn't miss a beat. There's a myriad of characters who all fit the bill as possible suspects. I have been curious about Brett Halliday's books after seeing Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and discovering that these books were the inspiration for that movie. I enjoyed reading this book. I don't think I enjoyed it as much as some of the other crime novels I've read, but I sure feel kind of dumb for not catching on to some of the clues laid out earlier in the book.
March 22, 2020
Sweet yarn from 1945 where an investigation into the death of a soldier spins into a town's race for mayor, a silver mine in Mexican territory, and the couple that the detective broke apart ten years earlier. This has got it all: murder, politics, crooked newspapers, the military, and border crossing. Really, really fun. The only reason I didn't give it a perfect score was, if you've read enough of these books like I have, I was able to put the pieces together early on. Still, well worth the time to read and I'll be looking out for more stories featuring Mike Shayne, written by Brett Halliday.
June 8, 2011
A neat little mystery. I had never read any Michael Shayne books before. He's little tame for my tastes. He does like the drinking, and the bartering for money, but he's basically an honest good detective, which is not as much fun in my mind.
The character of Carmela Towne in this book seems horribly depressing. I can't imagine the way that her relationship plays out, but spending your entire life willowing away because you're being used in a scam is pretty bad. At no point in the story does she look as strong as on the cover of the book.
The character of Carmela Towne in this book seems horribly depressing. I can't imagine the way that her relationship plays out, but spending your entire life willowing away because you're being used in a scam is pretty bad. At no point in the story does she look as strong as on the cover of the book.
Read
December 2, 2015A pretty good read if you're a fan of 1940s hard-boiled mystery. This was my first Brett Halliday novel and I think I'll be looking for his name on bookstore shelves - probably second-hand stores as they aren't being published anymore. But this one had a great plot; believable, fallible characters who may have been a bit cliched, but not so much so that I would avoid them; and a nice texture to the storytelling that made it a fun road to travel with the detective, Mike Shayne. Don't pass this one by if you come across it.
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