The first two pages of Shakedown For Murder describes a murder in chilling detail. Dr. Edward Barnes is murdered while making a house call. At the end of that step-by-step execution, I thought…this is the Perfect Murder!
But, no. Ed Lacy introduces an unlikely detective in NYPD cop, Matt Lund. Matt Lund, a reluctant traveler, takes a one-week vacation in a Long Island coastal town called End Harbor. Lund’s plan was to visit his adult son Dan and his wife Bessie, and there a young son named Andy. And have some fun.
Just by chance Lund and Andy visit the murder site. Lund pisses off the Chief of Police, who thinks the death of Dr. Barnes is an accident. Lund shows him why the death of Dr. Barnes is a murder. But when Bessie’s good friend, Jerry, who drives the town’s taxi, is charged with the Barnes murder, Lund launches his own investigation.
Shakedown for Murder dissects small town life and all the secrets hidden in the shadows. Lund is a clumsy investigator, but he uncovers clues and information that escaped the local police. Lacy presents a sociological picture of small town life in the 1950s along with the hidden dangers. Shakedown for Murder is a classic paperback original from that era. GRADE: A
Breathe No More My Lady is a very different type of story. Yes, there is a crime to be solved, but the focus for most of the novel is on Ed Lacy satirizing both the 1950s publishing industry and common misconceptions about what popular writers are really like.
When a best-selling writer is arrested and charged with murdering his wife, the publishing executives have some hard decisions. They could continue to promote the writer which could cause publicity problems, but that decision could bring in plenty of sales given the notoriety of the case. My favorite character is Norm Conner, a scheming publishing executive, without morals and obsessed by marketing. For a devastating picture of publishing in the 1950s with all its greed and deception, Breathe No More My Lady captures the chicanery and the deadly maneuvers of that time. GRADE: B
In his excellent introduction to this new Stark House omnibus, Cullen Gallagher notes that 1958 was a big year for Ed Lacy (aka, Leonard Zinberg). Not only did Lacy win the Edgar, he published two more novels: Breathe No More My Lady and Shake Down for Murder. Both novels have be out-of-print for years. This wonderful Stark House omnibus brings back two of the better paperback originals from the 1950s and a brilliant essay by Gallagher on Ed Lacy’s life and work.
I’ve been an Ed Lacy fan since I first read Room to Swing, the Edgar Award–winning 1958 novel (you can read my review here). Lacy is truly an underrated writer who deserves more readers!
I’ve been a fan of Lacy’s since I read THE MEN FROM THE BOYS back in my missquandered youth, and it happens I’ve read both the above books in earlier paperback incarnations. SHAKEDOWN is a compact, well-done piece, but BREATHE never worked for me. I just couldn’t believe that the writer at the center of it all wouldn’t tell anyone–even his own lawyer!–the circumstances behind his confession.
Dan, BREATHE NO MORE MY LADY is more of an”Exposé” of the publishing industry than a crime novel. But SHAKEDOWN FOR MURDER is a clever mystery with excellent, believable characters.
Sounds good!I’ve never understood why Lacy, who did win the Edgar as you pointed out, is not more well known and widely read. I know most of his books just came out in paperback.
Jeff, Lacy had a lot of bad luck with his career as Cullen Gallagher chronicles in his great “INTRODUCTION.”
I never heard his name until now.
Patti, Ed Lacy is best known for his Edgar Award winning novel, ROOM TO SWING: http://georgekelley.org/fridays-forgotten-books-761-room-to-swing-by-ed-lacy/
Another jazz novel, Patti, to hearkin back to a discussion years ago.
Nope…I provisionally take that back…I think I’m thinking of another CF novel of similar title.
Or even hearken! I Have old Dem men such as Harkin on my mind, clearly.