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+
Golf! I suppose Art Scott has Read it. I see they used the Graphic Books cover on this one. I don’t know Causey, but the golf mystery alone sounds worth the price.
Jeff, there aren’t many noir novels with golf settings. KILLER TAKE ALL! might thrill the Emperor!
When this was announced I’d never heard of Causey so I did a little Googling and found a very favorable ten year old review of “Frenzy” on Bill Crider’s blog, which was enough to make me pre-order it. So now it’s sitting here waiting for me to find time to read it.
Michael, Bill Crider was a fan of James O.Causey’s work. STARK HOUSE is doing a fabulous job bringing these noir paperbacks back into print!
George – All three novels sound like my kind of stories. I’ve never read anything by Causey, so this is a book I need to get. Thanks for the post and let’s hear it for Stark House.
Elgin, STARK HOUSE is one of my favorite publishers. I’ll have a couple more STARK HOUSE omnibuses for FFB in the weeks ahead!
I’m not much of a noir fan any more, so I’ll be skipping this, but I have a lot fo respect for the job Stark House is doing bringing older mysteries back into print.
Rick, I like STARK HOUSE’s choices in the books they reprint. And I like the packaging of these volumes at affordable prices.