Bill Pronzini, in his excellent Introduction to this Stark House omnibus, argues that Fletcher Flora never achieved the fame and sales success he deserved. Flora wrote mostly paperback originals for publishers like Avon and Monarch. I liked Leaver Her to Hell (1958) best. A private eye is hired by a beautiful woman to find out why a couple disappeared. The detective finds himself embroiled in murders and double identities. The twisty plot kept me guessing until the end. Let Me Kill You, Sweetheart (1958) begins with a seduction that turns into an eventual murder. Three men are the prime suspects, they all had sex with murdered woman at various times. The crusty Sheriff figures out the crime, but the resolution is a surprise. The final book, Take Me Home (1959), is the weakest. A bisexual young woman escapes a possible murder attempt by her lesbian lover but then flirts with suicide. Very pulpy. But Leave Her to Hell and Let Me Kill You, Sweetheart are solid, enjoyable mysteries. You can’t go wrong with a Stark House omnibus!
Tempting indeed!
Dan, these vintage Fletcher Flora novels were fun to read. You would enjoy them!
Good one. I agree with you that Stark House has published some terrific books well worth reading. I don’t think I’ve ever read one of Flora’s novels. I should check this out.
Jeff, the first two novels are entertaining. The third one…not so much.
Bill Pronzini is a fan of Flora’s SKULLDOGGERY, which I own but have never read.
Bill, I own SKULLDOGGERY, too. I should find it and review it for an FFB.
Hadn’t heard/read the author’s name before – but I have to confess that I stopped reading mysteries a long time ago. Mickey Spillane’s novels were the last ones – in the 80s.
There is so much non fiction around (and of course other things to do – like writing here …) that somehow I don’t find the time …
Only some SF – that just has to be!
Wolf, I have a stack of SF collections that I bought when I saw the reviews on the BLACK GATE web site. I’m reading them as fast as I can! The reviews will be up on my blog soon!
Stark House kindly sent me an advance copy of this triple play omnibus and will be reviewing at least one of the crime titles in a couple of weeks. Coincidentally, I found a copy of Skulldoggery several weeks ago on eBay and it’s a-headed my way. Let’s see who gets to the review first, Mr. Kelley! ;^)
John, you’re on! All I have to do is to find my copy of SKULLDOGGERY!
One has to wonder if Avon or Monarch were paying anything like what Fawcett was…that Wollheim left Avon for Ace suggests something.
I think Robert Arthur might’ve included one of Flora’s novels in his ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS: volumes, and probably at least a few shorter works…should double-check.
Todd, I suspect AVON and MONARCH were low-end publishers. And slow payers.
SKULLDOGGERY is an excellent novel. For some reason, it found its way to Finnish and is easily findable in here.
Juri, SKULLDOGGERY is available here but copies can be pricey.
Those paperback-original guys really knew how to spin a yarn. Glad so many are back in print.
Elgin, STARK HOUSE and BLACK DOG PRESS are doing a great job reprinting paperbacks from the Past. I love the format and the quality!
I really enjoyed this volume George.
Sergio, I liked the first two selections in this volume. This third one was a bit of a dud.