Coffin for a Hood

by Lionel White

Gold Medal Books #775.

The strangers had been in town only a few short hours but fear, lust, and murder walked the streets with them.

It was easy to see they were professionals, in a rare and highly specialized field. They were murderers – hired killers.

Why were they here in this forgotten backwash of a town? Who were they looking for?

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

Lionel White was a crime reporter who wrote around 38 suspenseful thrillers beginning with The Snatchers in 1953 and ending with The Walled Yard in 1978.

Most of his books were translated into a number of different languages and his earlier novels were published as Gold Medal pulp hard-boiled crime fiction, but when Duttons began a line of mystery and suspense books, he also wrote for them.

He was most well known for what a New York Times review described as "the master of the big caper."

A number of his books were made into movies and Stanley Kubrick liked his book 'Clean Break' (1955) so much that he licensed the rights for his film "The Killing" in 1956.

In Quentin Tarantino's film "Reservoir Dogs", Lionel White is listed as an inspiration for the film in the credits.

Gerry Wolstenholme
May 2011

Reviews

[Ben Boulden]

An interesting riff on the men and a bag of money play. In this case, the bag of money is two hired killers with a cast of characters that are each afraid they are the target. A nicely played and ironic ending makes for a satisfying conclusion. This is crime novel is more of a character study than an action novel, but White keeps it interesting with an exotic locale and oddball, often unlikable, characters.

[John Marr]

Borrowing a set-up from Ernest Hemingway, a couple of obvious hitmen types show up in a small Florida Keys town. But this one is a multiple choice question as a fair chunk of the locals have excellent reasons to believe they are the featured attraction. Toss in a hurricane and top it off with a nicely twisted resolution and you have another excellent outing from Lionel White. Recommended.

[Alan]

Fast paced little action thriller.

[Ákos]

ganz unterhaltsam… manchmal etwas seichte figuren.
habs auf deutsch gelesen unter dem titel: wer von uns ist morgen dran?