Stark House’s latest omnibus edition of Carter Brown’s Al Wheeler mysteries collects #19, #20 and #21: The Temptress (1960), Lament for a Lousy Lover (1960), and The Stripper (1961). And yes, I read all three of these mysteries when they were first published in the U.S.–I was 12 years old. I’m sure the covers had something to do with my fascination with Carter Brown’s Al Wheeler series.
Last year, Greg Shepard–the Editor and Publisher of Stark House–asked me if I would like to write an introduction to this latest volume in the Al Wheeler mystery series. I immediately accepted his kind offer and wrote “How Carter Brown Sold 100 Million Books.” I used to teach a college course in Marketing and several excellent marketing strategies resulted in the sale of millions of Carter Brown titles. Before I sent Greg my Introduction, I asked Art Scott to read my work and comment on it. Art’s suggestions for improvements enhanced the final draft. Thanks again, Art!
In The Temptress, Leutenant Al Wheeler, assigned to solve the murder of the private detective, discovers the P.I. was hired to follow a rich woman’s rebellious daughter and her druggie boyfriend. Add to the mix a strange uncle, and shake well. GRADE: B
Lament for a Lousy Lover–my favorite mystery in this volume–features both Lieutenant Al Wheeler and dipsy yet sexy Mavis Seidlitz in an investigation of the murder of a TV western actor. You’ll love the comic interplay between Al and Mavis! GRADE: A
Al Wheeler has his hands full with Deadpan Doris in The Stripper. A young woman’s apparent suicide leads Wheeler to probe a suspicious lonely hearts club run by Mr and Mrs Arkwright. The action alternates between the strip club and the lonely hearts club until Wheeler cracks the case. GRADE: B+
If you’re a Carter Brown fan, this is a must-buy! If you’re looking for mysteries with humor and sexy shenanigans, don’t miss The Temptress / Lament for a Lousy Lover / The Stripper!
I’ve surely written about this before:
During my first semesters at university I still lived with my parents, took the train every morning (40 min) and walked to the university (maybe 20 min) and on my way I passed several bookshops – One had the SF magazines: Astounding and F&SF, the other had those lurid (is that the right word?) Carter Brown novels in his showcase.
And I couldn’t resist …
Those covers would have been impossible on a German book or magazine!
So of course I spent my pocket money there and realized how far away from our reality those stories were an …
Before that I had essentially just read Agatha Christie and Edgar Wallace detective stories which older friends of the family could afford to buy.
Fond memories!
Wolf, Carter Brown sold books all over the world. Yes, those classic covers on the paperbacks certainly spurred sales!
In college, I would sometimes read two or more Carter Brown books in a day. If they had offered a class in Carter Brown, I might have graduated magna cum laude rather than magna cum barroom.
Lucky you!
If I remember correctly the price of those paperbacks was 25 or 35 Cents – in Germany they cost several Deutsche Mark, a bit expensive.
And there was no none to share those books with, my friends didn’t know enough English to enjoy them.
Wolf, in the 1960s Carter Brown paperbacks seemed to be everywhere: grocery stores, department stores, drug stores, and of course bookstores. Availability of the paperbacks was another key to those millions of copies selling so well.
Jerry, like you I used to read a couple Carter Browns in a day when I was stuck in O’Hare waiting for a delayed flight. I suspect you’re Magna Cum Laude in a lot of things…
My favorite fact from the introduction is that E. L. Doctorow was one of Carter Brown’s editors here!
As mentioned before, I used to pick up the original digest-size Horwitz editions (some of which were “by Peter Carter Brown”) in England on book hunting trips. At that point, some of them had not yet been published in the U.S. I haven’t read that many, but I did enjoy the ones I read.
Jeff, I love that E.L. Doctorow fun fact, too! STARK HOUSE is reprinting the Al Wheeler mystery series in order–filling in the gaps with books that were published in Australia but not in the U.S. I’m hoping STARK HOUSE will also reprint the other Carter Brown series: Mavis Seidlitz, Danny Boyd, Rick Holman, etc.
These were books my library didn’t buy and I had no bookstores nor spinner racks in my neighborhood. Even as an adult, I didn’t come across his name until I was online here.
Patti, you’re right about libraries not buying paperbacks like Carter Brown’s sexy mysteries. I remember walking up to an elderly cashier in a convince store with Carter Brown’s HONG KONG CAPER in my hand and she said,”Are you old enough to read this stuff?” I answered, “Yes!” and handed her $.40. She glared at me, but sold me the paperback.
Sorry to be so late commenting here, George. I also never heard of Carter Brown until I started reading mystery blogs. I still have not read one, although I have some because of the lovely covers.
I may have heard of the books first at Scott’s The Nick Carter & Carter Brown Blog.
It is great that you wrote the introduction to this edition, and I will consider this my opportunity to check out some of his books. I look forward to reading your introduction.
Tracy, Carter Brown was a publishing phenomenon back in the 1960s. In the next couple of decades, reading tastes changed and sales slumped. I hope you enjoy my Introduction!