I remember buying Fit to Kill in the early 1960s because I liked the Robert McGinnis cover. The glitter on the cover hints at the McGuffin in the story.
Fit to Kill is the 31st book in the Mike Shayne series. After 1958, beginning with Fit to Kill, Brett Halliday became a house name used by several authors. Most were written by Robert Terrall (who ghosted Fit to Kill), with some written by Ryerson Johnson and Dennis Lynds.
Timothy Rourke, a Miami crime reporter and long-time friend of private eye Mike Shayne, visits an unnamed country in the Caribbean to investigate a story. In this corrupt country, a student group begs Rourke to report the truth about the dictatorship’s beatings and murders. Rourke meets a beautiful blonde, Carla Adams, who convinces him to help her escape the government thugs who are hunting for her.
When Rourke’s investigations result in his kidnapping, Mike Shayne races to save his friend’s life. Shayne deals with smugglers, kidnappers, revolutionaries, thugs, and gamblers in this noirish novel. If you’re a fan of Mike Shayne, you’ll notice that Robert Terrall’s writing style is very different from the style of “Brett Halliday” (aka, Davis Dresser). All in all, Fit to Kill is a quick, fun read. GRADE: A
I suppose everyone, except maybe George, has some holes in their genre reading, and the Mike Shayne novels are one of mine. Despite having seen a few episodes of the tv show, and even a couple of the movies, I can’t recall having read a single one of the novels. If I had read one it would have been in the 60s when I was going through private eye novels as if they were candy, and I just don’t remember it. Probably too late to catch up now.
Michael, I read private eye novels as if they were candy during the 1960s, too! I was attracted by Robert McGinnis cover artwork. Yes, I did buy a lot of books because of their covers.
One of my (many) holes. Never read a one. Some of it is I basically read books from the library and they never bought this sort of book.
Patti, back in the Sixties Mike Shayne paperbacks were everywhere: convenience stores, used bookstores, regular bookstores–but few Libraries bought the paperbacks.
I’ve actually read a couple of Davis Dresser’s early non-series books but never read a Shayne novel.
Jeff, Art Scott owns all the Mike Shayne paperbacks with Robert McGinnis covers.
My father read the Shayne books when we were living in northern Manitoba in a town with no library so about the only books available in the town were paperbacks for sale at the local tobacco shop and drugstore. I later read some of his Shayne books along with George Harmon Coxe and Erle Stanley Gardner. I stiil have several of my father’s copies and since then have made an effort to complete the series. Have several of the titles with different covers. May have to find this one and read it again.
Kent, I pick up Mike Shayne paperbacks whenever I encounter them. But lately, the Mike Shayne paperbacks are few and far between.
I’ve read many of them, and always enjoy one when I read it. My plan was to start with the first and read them in order, but nowadays I just grab the next on the shelf. I have several on the TBR and have been thinking of reading one next, but the library – or Azon – keeps coughing up other things. So you’re a step ahead of me here. This sound unusual in that Shayne is out of the country.
Hugh “Ward Cleaver” Beaumont made a few movies as Mike Shayne! It took me years to track them down but a set finally showed up and I watched them all!
Bob, I’m impressed!
I enjoy Mike Shayne paperbacks, but I like the MIKE SHAYNE MYSTERY MAGAZINE even more!
I have bought a good number of paperback books because they have a Robert McGinnis cover. I have this book but I am not sure if it has this cover.
I have read two books in the Mike Shayne series, both of them earlier ones. I should try this one, to see how Terrall’s writing is different from Halliday’s. I have read Kill Now, Pay Later written by Robert Terrall as Robert Kyle. I liked that one.
Tracy, in the early Mike Shayne novels, it seemed like Shayne was knocked-out nearly every book!
Totally OT:
Just saw that a German TV channel will show part 3 of the DIvergent movieseries – the last part with a cliffhanger.
George, have you written about this yet?
Couldn’t find anything via goggle search …
Wolf, I saw the first DIVERGENT movie and skipped the rest of the series. As you probably know the movies are based on a Young Adult book series. http://georgekelley.org/divergent/
George, thanks!
I probably won’t watch it, not having seen the first two parts and not being too interested in “young adult” stuff.