In his excellent Introduction to Cornered!/The Long Ride, Bill Crider draws the parallels between John D. MacDonald and James McKimmey. Both writers knew how to generate suspense and narrative tension. I read Cornered! in the late 1960s when I lucked out with big paperback buy of a used bookstore in Buffalo that was closing (soon to be a common though tragic event). Reading my first James McKimmey novel and loving it led me to searching for more. I found The Long Ride in a used bookstore in Madison, Wisconsin. I dropped everything and read The Long Ride in one sitting. The cinematic aspects of McKimmey’s novels that Bill refers to are very evident in The Long Ride. If you’re looking for top-notch suspense, this wonderful STARK HOUSE double-feature has exactly what you crave. GRADE: A
A writer who is always worth your time.
Dan, I hope to read more James McKimmey during my Retirement. Bill Crider mentions McKimmey’s Science Fiction and adventure writings that I’m looking forward to sampling. And I liked your blurb, too!
Thanks for the kind words, George. I don’t have my copy of the Stark House edition yet, but it was fun to reread those two books before writing the intro.
Bill, when you receive your copy of CORNERED!/THE LONG RUN you’ll really like the STARK HOUSE packaging! Greg Shepard and his crew do a great job with these books. Your fine Introduction would motivate me to drop everything and read more James McKimmey, but it’s EXAM TIME again and I have to focus on that. But soon…
I didn’t know about his science fiction writing. I know I had those old Dell editions but I can’t remember if I read them or not, so probably not. Stark House is doing some great work.
Jeff, I didn’t know about McKimmey’s SF and Adventure writings before Bill’s excellent INTRODUCTION. Now I want to read that stuff. STARK HOUSE is one of my favorite publishers! They publish forgotten books in wonderful packages at a great price!
I picked up a few in the free books giveaway at Bouchercon. I wish they had more.
Jeff, I had all the STARK HOUSE books at BOUCHERCON. But, they had some nice books that went fast!
Sounds great, though too bad about the turn-off cover. I’d much rather have the Dell editions!
Rick, far be it for me to tell STARK HOUSE how to run their very successful business, but if I could make one suggestion to them it would be to put the original paperback artwork on their covers. I don’t know the process that would entail but I can guarantee STARK HOUSE sales would increase as a result!
I very much agree. Perhaps they want some kind of recognizable cover style of their own… but I haven’t noticed such on their books.
Rick, I love the old paperback artwork and I think the DELL covers of McKimmey’s books are eye-catching!