Hard Case Crime discussion

Are there any writers whose work hasn't yet appeared in HCC that you'd really really like to see them publishing? I'm talking about writers of the past of course, not modern writers.

I don't think they've done anything by Donald Hamilton. It would be super if someone would republish that series, especially the very last book that he finished shortly before he died.

I've read that the son of the late Donald Hamilton has a Matt Helm novel of his dad's never published, but that he wasn't ready to put it out yet.

Also, Richard S.Prather, in an interview before he died, mentioned an unpublished Shell Scott novel. That one might take a little editing. He said a thousand pages.

HCC has done one Donald Hamilton, but it wasn't a Matt Helm. And I believe that they tried unsuccessfully to get the rights to publish the last one.

It's too bad they couldn't get the rights to that last Helm novel. I've only read one book in the series, but I thought it was great, and I plan to read more.

I've read all the Helm series several times. I think I reread the entire thing last year. They are fun reads, but my copies are falling apart. Some are over 40 years old.

I just read that Titan Books of England, the one's that are publishing Hard Case Crime, is going to start republishing Donald Hamilton's Matt Helm series in 2013.

Jim wrote: "I just read that Titan Books of England, the one's that are publishing Hard Case Crime, is going to start republishing Donald Hamilton's Matt Helm series in 2013."

I've seen that as well. No mention of the unpublished Helm though. A few years back, I read an interview with Hamilton's son and he said he wasn't ready to publish it yet. Whatever that means.

I've got my fingers crossed that they'll do that one as well. I'll be buying all of the new ones, not only to show my support, but for reading. My old Helm paperbacks are still readable, but some are barely hanging in there. Some are closing in on 50 years old, though.

Jim wrote: "I've got my fingers crossed that they'll do that one as well. I'll be buying all of the new ones, not only to show my support, but for reading. My old Helm paperbacks are still readable, but some..."

Tell me about that. Some of my copies, the earliest, are nearly that old. Once I found them, I bought them as they came out.

I re-read the series a year or two ago & replaced some of my books from BookMooch & PaperBackSwap. They're old, but weren't read as much. Still, they're old & brittle.

There are some old Ed Gorman's that have been OOP for years and I think would fit in with HCC's style.

There'are some great Neal Barrett Jr. mysteries that would fit in as well, but I don't think those books have been as out of print as long as some of the other HCC reprints.

My favorite modern hard-boiled/noir writer is probably Norman Partridge. Unfortunately, Norman doesn't seem to get published much anymore. I just saw that my favorite book from him, the hard-boiled supernatural tale WILDEST DREAMS, is on sale from Amazon Kindle for a buck!

I really wish I had a better working knowledge of the classic pulp writers like some you guys here. I've had a blast discovering some of the classics thanks to HCC.

With regards to Hamilton, I'm just starting The Wrecking Crew. I would start with Death of a Citizen, but the cheapest copy I'm seeing on Amazon is about $70. I'm no collector, so I'll take a pass on that.
Allen mentioned finding some pulp for a Kindle for $1. I'll do ya one better: Everything on this site is free:
http://www.munseys.com/detail/mode/ca...
I think the way copyright law works is that after an author has been dead 50 years, his works are public domain. That said, I'm not sure why there's a copy of John D MacDonald's A Bullet for Cinderella on there. (JDM died in 1986.)

Let me check with a friend of mine about a copy of Death of a Citizen. I think I found one & sent it to him. I doubt he wants to keep it. I'll let you know.

I checked Ebay & while I didn't find that book, there's a 10 of Hamilton's books for $18 here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-pb-lot-DON...
8 are Helm novels, another is a similar sort of thriller, the "Mona Intercept", but Mad River is a real treat. It's a western & very well done.

Copyright keeps changing. Other countries have different laws & collections, so it is sometimes possible to get stories elsewhere. I know Project Gutenberg has at least 2 different sites. The one in Australia has a lot of REH that the regular one doesn't.
http://gutenberg.net.au/plusfifty-a-m...
http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/autho...

Thanks for the link you posted.
http://www.mobiles24.com/downloads/fr...
has a lot of new books for free. I don't know how, though.

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Main_Page
is a good place for reading out of copyright stuff online.

Joe wrote: "With regards to Hamilton, I'm just starting The Wrecking Crew. I would start with Death of a Citizen, but the cheapest copy I'm seeing on Amazon is about $70. I'm no collector, so I'll take a pass ..."

Joe, that friend of mine is willing to send you the copy of Death of a Citizen, if you want it. Just PM me your address & I'll pass it along.

Will do. You da man! Thanks!

I always seem to forget about AbeBooks & they are great. I was the Secret Santa for a gal in England this year & it was going to cost me a bundle through Amazon, but with Abe Books, shipping could be local.

---------

You're welcome, Joe. Always glad to spread the wealth of books.
;-)

I checked Ebay & found 2 copies of "Death of a Citizen" today. One is $14 or so, but the other is in batch of 14 other Hamilton books & is only $1 for the lot, with just over a day left to go on the auction.

It's here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-15-Donald...

If no one here is bidding on the lot of 14 Matt Helm books, you probably should. 11 hours left & only 1 bid for $1. $5 shipping in the US.

More Charles Williams would seem logical. Although it appears some of his better books are available via print-on-demand. Anyone have these?