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Fredric Brown in the Detective Pulps #2
Before She Kills
Book by Brown, Fredric
Paperback
Published January 1, 1984
2 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
Fredric Brown
809 books354 followersFredric Brown was an American science fiction and mystery writer. He was one of the boldest early writers in genre fiction in his use of narrative experimentation. While never in the front rank of popularity in his lifetime, Brown has developed a considerable cult following in the almost half century since he last wrote. His works have been periodically reprinted and he has a worldwide fan base, most notably in the U.S. and Europe, and especially in France, where there have been several recent movie adaptations of his work. He also remains popular in Japan.
Never financially secure, Brown - like many other pulp writers - often wrote at a furious pace in order to pay bills. This accounts, at least in part, for the uneven quality of his work. A newspaperman by profession, Brown was only able to devote 14 years of his life as a full-time fiction writer. Brown was also a heavy drinker, and this at times doubtless affected his productivity. A cultured man and omnivorous reader whose interests ranged far beyond those of most pulp writers, Brown had a lifelong interest in the flute, chess, poker, and the works of Lewis Carroll. Brown married twice and was the father of two sons.
Never financially secure, Brown - like many other pulp writers - often wrote at a furious pace in order to pay bills. This accounts, at least in part, for the uneven quality of his work. A newspaperman by profession, Brown was only able to devote 14 years of his life as a full-time fiction writer. Brown was also a heavy drinker, and this at times doubtless affected his productivity. A cultured man and omnivorous reader whose interests ranged far beyond those of most pulp writers, Brown had a lifelong interest in the flute, chess, poker, and the works of Lewis Carroll. Brown married twice and was the father of two sons.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 27, 2015
The second volume of McMillan’s “Fredric Brown in the Detective Pulps” series.
This is copy 248 of 350 signed numbered hardcover copies Signed by William Nolan.
5 - Introduction by William Nolan
11 - "A Date To Die" (Strange Detective Magazine November 1963)
33 - "Mad Dog" (Detective Book Magazine Spring 1942)
55 - "Handbook For Homicide" (Detective Tales March 1942)
101 - “Before She Kills,” (Ed McBain's Mystery Magazine No.3 1961)
137 - "A Cat Walks" (Detective Story Magazine April 1942)
163 - "The Missing Actor" (The Saint Detective Magazine November 1963)
There are two stories in this collection of the uncle and nephew team of Ed and Am Hunter.
This is copy 248 of 350 signed numbered hardcover copies Signed by William Nolan.
5 - Introduction by William Nolan
11 - "A Date To Die" (Strange Detective Magazine November 1963)
33 - "Mad Dog" (Detective Book Magazine Spring 1942)
55 - "Handbook For Homicide" (Detective Tales March 1942)
101 - “Before She Kills,” (Ed McBain's Mystery Magazine No.3 1961)
137 - "A Cat Walks" (Detective Story Magazine April 1942)
163 - "The Missing Actor" (The Saint Detective Magazine November 1963)
There are two stories in this collection of the uncle and nephew team of Ed and Am Hunter.
December 9, 2007
I was pleasantly surprised to find a couple of Ed and Am Hunter stories in this collection.
August 21, 2017
I have read five of the series of collections, "Fredric Brown in the Detective Pulps", and this is my favorite. There are six stories, four from 1942 and two from the early 1960's.
"A Date To Die" has a complicated solution and I have no idea whether this would have actually worked. It is about police faced with an "impossible crime", and as with many of Brown's stories, it is clever and funny.
"Mad Dog!" is the story of a man who has escaped from an asylum. He might be planning a murder. A playwright and a psychiatrist get involved.
"Handbook for Homicides" is about murders in an astronomical observatory which has been isolated by floods. Also, someone has let loose a crate of rattlesnakes.
"A Cat Walks" is about someone buying all the cats in a pet store, including one belonging to someone else that gets included by accident. Who bought them...and why?
The other two stories are the ones from the 1960's. They both feature Brown's continuing characters, private detectives Ed and Am Hunter. In "Before She Kills", they are hired by a man who says he believes that his wife may be trying to kill him.
"The Missing Actor" starts with a man coming to them saying he wants them to find his missing son.
Some of Brown's other stories have solutions that are so far-fetched that the endings are, literally, unbelievable. Some of the stories here have very unlikely solutions but not ridiculously so.
There is also a good introduction by William F. Nolan.
Before She Kills would be a fine introduction to the short stories of Fredric Brown.
"A Date To Die" has a complicated solution and I have no idea whether this would have actually worked. It is about police faced with an "impossible crime", and as with many of Brown's stories, it is clever and funny.
"Mad Dog!" is the story of a man who has escaped from an asylum. He might be planning a murder. A playwright and a psychiatrist get involved.
"Handbook for Homicides" is about murders in an astronomical observatory which has been isolated by floods. Also, someone has let loose a crate of rattlesnakes.
"A Cat Walks" is about someone buying all the cats in a pet store, including one belonging to someone else that gets included by accident. Who bought them...and why?
The other two stories are the ones from the 1960's. They both feature Brown's continuing characters, private detectives Ed and Am Hunter. In "Before She Kills", they are hired by a man who says he believes that his wife may be trying to kill him.
"The Missing Actor" starts with a man coming to them saying he wants them to find his missing son.
Some of Brown's other stories have solutions that are so far-fetched that the endings are, literally, unbelievable. Some of the stories here have very unlikely solutions but not ridiculously so.
There is also a good introduction by William F. Nolan.
Before She Kills would be a fine introduction to the short stories of Fredric Brown.
December 21, 2008
I've read seven mystery writers now: Raymond Chandler, A.C. Doyle, Edgar Allen Poe, Jim Thompson (who probably doesn't count) John Franklin Bardin, Harry Stephen Keeler and Frederic Brown. They're all worthy but Brown may be my favorite.
April 30, 2008
This is the first Fredric Brown book I ever read. Great stories. The start of a long love affair with F.B.. Thanks Kurt.
Want to read
March 31, 2025Read so far:
*A date to die
Mad dog!
*Handbook for homicide
*Before she kills
*A cat walks
The missing actor
*A date to die
Mad dog!
*Handbook for homicide
*Before she kills
*A cat walks
The missing actor
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews