John D. MacDonald’s On the Make was first published in 1955 by Dell Publishing (Dell First Edition #62) as A Bullet for Cinderella. Later it was reprinted by Fawcett Gold Medal Books. Now it’s back in print from Vigilante Crime & Pulp, an imprint of Gutter Books.
Tal Howard spent time in a Chinese prisoner of war camp during the Korean War. While he was there, Howard met Timmy Warden, a dying soldier who shares a secret. Warden managed to embezzle $60,000 before he was drafted. The money is buried in canning bottles in a secret location. Before he dies, Warden gives Howard a clue: “Cindy will know where it is.” Also in the camp was a psychopath, Earl Fitzmartin. Fitzmartin heads for the town Warden came from–Hillston–and gets a job. But he’s really busy searching for the money. Howard arrives in Hillston, and Fitzmartin threatens him.
The secret to the location of the buried $60,000 is hidden in Timmy Warden’s past. Howard is determined to find the money before Fitzmartin can. But Warden’s Past is tangled and leads Howard to two women important in Timmy Warden’s Life: Ruth Stamm who cares for animals and Toni Rossele who is involved with gangsters.
John D. MacDonald writes suspenseful books and One the Make is certainly a page-turner. Also included in this new edition is an Introduction–“The Two Sides of John D.”–by Martin L. Kohler and an essay by Matthew Louis, “John D. MacDonald in Context” which delivers a detailed picture of the publishing industry that JDM was writing for. Are you a John D. MacDonald fan? GRADE: B+
It was hard to be a mystery reader of the 50s, 60s, and 70s and not be a fan of John D. McDonald. He had a knack of taking ordinary people and putting them through their paces — not as gritty or as dark a writer as Cornell Woolrich or Jim Thompson, but with a depth of characterization that neither approached. He may be best remembered for THE EXECUTIONERS (the basis of the CAPE FEAR) and for his many novels of Travis McGee. The McGee novels, unique and stunning in their time, now seem tired and cliched, but the vast majority of JDM’s paperback originals of the 50s and 60s remain exciting and profitable reading for his many fans.
Jerry, I started reading JDM in the 1960s. I enjoyed the early Travis McGee novels (and I agree the series has not aged well). My favorite is A DEADLY SHADE OF GOLD.
I am a fan, though it’s been years since I last read one. I knew this didn’t sound familiar. I know it as A Bullet For Cinderella. I haven’t read it, though.
Yes, The Executioners but also The End of the Night.
Jeff, and JDM also wrote some good Science Fiction but decided to concentrate on mystery novels.
I am a fan, though it’s been years since I last read one. I knew this didn’t sound familiar. I know it as A Bullet For Cinderella. I haven’t read it, though.
Jeff, I’ve had A BULLET FOR CINDERELLA on my shelves for decades, but it was this new edition that motivated me to read it. Prime JDM!
I read nearly all of his books, mostly in a 1969-71 run. May have missed a couple like KEY TO THE SUITE that appeared more social commentary than crime. He and Louis,L’Amour were all over the spinner racks, all the time. I also subscribed to the JDM BIBLIOPHILE for three or four years. I re-read a couple Travis McGees recently. They seem terribly mannered now.
Fred, “mannered” is the perfect adjective for the Travis McGee series especially the later books. Like you, I read a ton of JDM from 1969-1972.
Even in the ’80s, the label for McGee was “Rotarian hippie”…the earliest ones were readable enough. But the standalones were, as aging once kids once said, the Bomb.
THE END OF THE NIGHT is one of the more wrenching, and THE EXECUTIONERS is VASTLY better than any film CAPE FEAR has chosen to be, as the parents are forced to become the Executioners of the title, vs. the blithering idiocy of All the characters in every version of the film I’ve seen.
Todd, THE END OF THE NIGHT and THE EXECUTIONERS were a couple of JDM’s best books. Things started to go downhill in the 1970s.
I remember Don Sandstrom was a big John D fan. I don’t remember reading any of his books, but may have years ago