Stark House’s omnibus volume of The Baby Doll Murders/Killer Take All!/Frenzy hits the trifecta for noir action. James O. Causey amps up the suspense in each of these paperback novels from the Fifties. The Baby Doll Murders (1957) features a cast of characters involved in gambling, corruption, kidnapping, extortion, and murder. Killer Take All! (1957) qualifies as one of the most unusual noirish novels I’ve ever read since it’s set in the world of golf. An unstable love triangle swirls around the desperate drives and passionate putts in a society obsessed with money and power. Frenzy (1960), a book Anthony Boucher pronounced as “a violent, ugly, and believable story of evil in action,” explodes with narrator Norman Sands’s sociopathic spree from dope running to racketeering. Causey’s depiction of the residents of Mason Flats, with their twisted desires, greed, and taste for violence, produces an explosive mixture. Nicholas Litchfield’s “Causey’s Fast, Frenzied Trio of Killer Novels” outlines James O. Causey’s writing career and provides details about this underrated writer. GRADE: B+

Edward Mendelson choses classic novels to illustrate the various stages of Life. You might wonder why Mendelson picked THREE novels by Virginia Woolf. Or why Mendelson included novels all written by women. As you read The Things That Matter (2007), you start to unravel the logic behind Medelson’s choices. Admittedly, these are quirky choices. Thinking about Birth doesn’t immediately conjure up Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Rebirth maybe… And with marriage at the center of Middlemarch, George Eliot’s novel seems more about Bad Choices to me. Mrs. Dalloway, To The Lighthouse, and Between the Acts skews The Things That Matter to the things that matter to Virginia Woolf. All of these writers question the state of women. Mendelson’s book might spur you to revisit these classic novels. GRADE: B
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction p. xi
1 Birth: Frankenstein p. 3
2 Childhood: Wuthering Heights p. 47
3 Growth: Jane Eyre p. 79
4 Marriage: Middlemarch p. 115
5 Love: Mrs. Dalloway p. 160
6 Parenthood: To the Lighthouse p. 204
7 The Future: Between the Acts p. 227
Afterword to the Anchor Books Edition p. 241
Notes on the Novelists p. 245
Further Reading p. 247
Acknowledgments p. 253
Index p. 255

Carrie Vaughn’s The Wild Dead, a sequel to Bannerless (you can read my review here), concerns a mystery and a murder. Set in the future after economic and environmental collapse, the survivors on the Coast Road practice a disciplined existence. Investigators Enid of Haven and her new partner, Teeg, initially resolve a community problem over an ancient structure. But then the body of a young girl is found with her throat cut. The girl isn’t part of the community, she’s from one of the outsider camps made up of nomads and “wild folk” who reject the strictures of the Coast Road communities. Enid finds clues and follows leads to solve the crime. The Wild Dead is a traditional whodunit set in a dystopian future. I thought it took Enid a little too long to find the murderer. I figured it out 50 pages before she did. GRADE: B

Emily Mortimer, daughter of John Mortimer of Rumpole of the Bailey fame, plays Florence Green–a widow who opens a bookshop in Hardborough, Suffolk in 1959. Florence Green runs afoul of wealthy and powerful Mrs. Violet Gamart (Patricia Clarkeson) who desires to turn the building where the bookshop is located into an “Arts Center.” Green’s only supporter is the reclusive Edmund Brundish played by Bill Nighy. I also loved the role young Honor Kneafsey played as Green’s helper in the bookshop.

Despite the wonderful cast, director Isabel Coixet’s adaptation of a Penelope Fitzgerald novel moves at an arthritic pace. The scenes of the countryside and the water look like a National Geographic special. Coixet tends to take plenty of time both to set up a scene and to transition slowly to the next scene. The Bookshop is 113 minutes but it felt a whole lot longer. GRADE: B

Director Jon M. Chu’s romantic comedy, Crazy Rich Asians, based on Kevin Kwan’s best selling novel of the same name features Fresh Off The Boat star Constance Wu as Rachel Chu. Rachel Chu is an Economics professor at New York University (and a specialist in Game Theory). Her boyfriend, Nick Young (Henry Golding), invites Rachel to accompany him to Singapore where he will be the Best Man in his best friend’s wedding. Rachel agrees and finds out during the journey that her boyfriend–who uses Rachel’s Netflix password and plays basketball at a seedy New York City YMCA–is actually a member of a fabulously wealthy family. Rachel, raised by a single mother who struggled to provide Rachel a path to success in America, is not enamored by wealth.

Once in Singapore, Rachel becomes a target both by Nick’s former girlfriends and Nick’s family. Nick’s mother Eleanor, played by Michelle Yeoh from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, takes an instant dislike to Rachel who she considers unworthy of her handsome and rich son. Scenes in Singapore pop with eye-candy like fast cars, beautiful houses, wild parties, and sheik fashions displaying money, money, money.

Rachel seems lost in this elite world, but with the help of her college friend, Peik Lin (Awkwafina from Ocean’s 8), Rachel finally gains some traction on the slippery slopes of family politics, cultural obstacles, and class differences. At the heart of Crazy Rich Asians, the love story of Rachel and Nick hits highs and lows as feisty Rachel solves the puzzles of her Cinderella story without the help of a fairy Godmother. Crazy Rich Asians shows that Romantic Comedy is not dead. Hollywood greenlighted a sequel to Crazy Rich Asians for 2020. GRADE: A-

The Worricker Trilogy includes: Page Eight (2011), Turks & Caicos (2012), and Salting the Battlefield (2014). All are written and directed by David Hare. Bill Nighy plays MI5 intelligence analyst Johnny Worricker. Johnny gets in trouble with the Prime Minister (Ralph Fiennes) and goes on the run. My favorite episode is Turks & Caicos when Johnny is hiding out on a tropical island, a tourist hideawy, but trouble finds him. Christopher Walken, a CIA agent, wants Johnny to help him bring down a ring of greedy businessmen. Johnny seeks to help a publicity agent (Winona Ryder) trapped in a corrupt world. What makes “Turks & Caicos” special is Johnny’s ex-girl friend, Helena Bonham Carter. Nighy and Carter are still on the run in the final episode, “Salting the Battlefield.” They’re running out of resources and MI5 is hassling Johnny’s pregnant daughter.

Bill Nighy hits all the right notes as Johnny Worricker. Watching Helena Bonham Carter act is always a delight. Ralph Fiennes projects just the right mix of ruthlessness and rectitude of a real Prime Minister. This series apparently was shown on MASTERPIECE THEATER, but I missed it. Thank goodness for AMAZON PRIME VIDEO! GRADE:B+ for “Page Eight,” GRADE: A for “Turks 8 Caicos,” and GRADE: B+ for “Salting the Battlefield”

This final volume of The Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels (1958) features Kate Wilhelm’s “The Mile-Long Spaceship”–later to be expanded into a novel and Poul Anderson’s famous “Call Me Joe.” I enjoyed Erie Frank Russell’s “Into Your Tent I’ll Creep.” The rest of the stories in this anthology are average. Anthony Boucher reviewed this book calling it an “assembly of the tedious, trite and ill-reasoned.” THE BEST SCIENCE FICTION STORIES AND NOVELS: NINTH SERIES (1958) is one of the weaker volumes in the Bleiler/Dikty series. GRADE: B-
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
The Science-Fiction Year, by T. E. Dikty
“2066: Election Day, by Michael Shaara
“The Mile-Long Spaceship, by Kate Wilhelm
“The Last Victory, by Tom Godwin
“Call Me Joe, by Poul Anderson
“Didn’t He Ramble, by Chad Oliver
“The Queen’s Messenger, by John J. McGuire
“The Other People, by Leigh Brackett
“Into Your Tent I’ll Creep, by Eric Frank Russell
“Nor Dust Corrupt, by James V. McConnell
“Nightsound, by Algis Budrys
“The Tunesmith, by Lloyd Biggle, Jr.
“Hunting Machine, by Carol Emshwiller
The Science-Fiction Book Index, by Earl Kemp

This 2-CD collection of Aretha Franklin’s singles from the years she became “The Queen of Soul” isn’t coming out until September 28, 2018. No matter. We all know these classic soul songs only this new set looks like it will feature remastered versions of the originals. I started listening to Aretha Franklin in 1967 with “Respect.” More Top 10 hits followed: “Chain of Fools,” “A Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel Like)”, “Think,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” and “(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You’ve Been Gone.” Aretha Franklin had a long, successful career, but I consider these early years with Atlantic Records to be her best. What’s your favorite Aretha Franklin song?
TRACK LIST:
DISC ONE:
1. I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You) [Mono] [Remastered]
2. Do Right Woman – Do Right Man (Mono) [Remastered]
3, Respect (Mono) [Remastered]
4. Dr. FeelGood (Mono) [Remastered]
5. Baby I Love You (Mono) [Remastered]
6. Going Down Slow (Mono) [Remastered]
7. A Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel Like) [Mono] [Remastered]
8. Baby, Baby, Baby (Mono) [Remastered]
9. Chain Of Fools (Mono) [Remastered]
10. Prove It (Mono) [Remastered]
11. (Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You’ve Been Gone (Mono) [Remastered]
12. Ain’t No Way (Mono) [Remastered]
13. Think (Mono) [Remastered]
14. You Send Me (Mono) [Remastered]
15. The House That Jack Built (Mono) [Remastered]
16. I Say A Little Prayer (Mono) [Remastered]
17. See Saw (Mono) [Remastered]
18. My Song (Mono) [Remastered]
DISC TWO:
1. The Weight (Mono) [Remastered]
2. Tracks Of My Tears (Mono) [Remastered]
3. I Can’t See Myself Leaving You (Mono) [Remastered]
4. Gentle On My Mind (Mono) [Remastered]
5. Share Your Love With Me (Mono) [Remastered]
6. Pledging My Love / The Clock (Mono) [Remastered]
7. Eleanor Rigby (Mono) [Remastered]
8. It Ain’t Fair (Mono) [Remastered]
9. Call Me (Mono) [Remastered]
10. Son Of A Preacher (Mono) [Remastered]
11. Spirit In The Dark (with The Dixie Flyers) [Mono] [Remastered]
12. The Thrill Is Gone (with The Dixie Flyers) [Mono] [Remastered]
13. Don’t Play That Song (with The Dixie Flyers) [Mono] [Remastered]
14. Let It Be (with The Dixie Flyers) [Mono] [Remastered]
15. Border Song (Holy Moses) [Mono] [Remastered]
16. You And Me (with The Dixie Flyers) [Mono] [Remastered]

Ben Yagoda’s history of popular music in the Unified States from 1885 to 1968 features a huge cast of characters: George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, Duke Ellington, Hoagy Carmichael, Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein II, and a dozen more. Music started to change in the 1950s and morphed into Rock & Roll. I was surprised by Yagoda’s discussion of Carolyn Leigh, the writer of “Young at Heart,” which became a huge hit when Frank Sinatra sang it. The song was sold for $15,000 giving Warner Records “unlimited usage” to the song which went on to sell 350,000 copies that year. After all the “deductions,” Carolyn Leigh’s check was only $3,500. That’s the way the music business worked back in the Fifties.

Yagoda surprised me again during his story of Burt Bacharach’s development as a hit song generator. Bacharach hired a backup singer, Dionne Warrick. He fell in love with her voice and her “special kind of grace and elegance.” (p.251). In 1962, she recorded “Don’t Make Me Over.” But when the record was released, the name on the label was misspelled “Warwick.” Dionne Warrick adopted the new spelling and became “Dionne Warwick.” I never knew that.

If you’re a fan of music of the first two-thirds of the the 20th Century, you’ll find The B Side a delight! I want to drop everything and listen to The Great American Songbook! Are you a fan of this music? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Prologue: Premises, Premises 1
I Mr. Miller and Mr. Schwartz, 1954 13
II I Get a Kick out of You, 1885-1933 31
III Jukebox Saturday Night, 1925-1942 59
IV As Time Goes By, 1941-1948 87
V What Happened to the Music? 1946-1954 111
VI Brill Building Boys, and Girl, 1950-1955 149
VII The Big Beat, 1951-1968 175
VIII Fly Me to the Moon, 1939-1965 221
Epilogue: Do You Believe in Magic? 1957-1965 241
Acknowledgments 265
Notes 267
Books Cited 286
Index 292