

Between 1954 and 1984 Alan Geoffrey Yates published 215 “Carter Brown” novels. Although the 52 Al Wheeler books were the most popular series, I’m fond of the 28 books in the Danny Boyd series, too. Summer is a great time to play Catch-Up on long-running series so I decided to read a couple Carter Brown mysteries from the Sixties starting with The Ice-Cold Nude.
Billed as “New York City’s toughest private eye,” Danny Boyd is both tough and smart. Boyd also shares the same smugness that saturates Al Wheeler and is inordinately proud of his profile. In The Ice-Cold Nude Boyd is hired to investigate a theft of a diamond tiara during a Beauty Contest in California. As usual in a Carter Brown novel, the bodies mount up as Boyd gleans clues from the suspects in the heist. After a Near-Death Experience, Danny Boyd solves the case with panache. GRADE: B
I’m also fan of the 35 Rick Holman mysteries Yates wrote. Rick Holman specializes in solving “problems” of Hollywood stars and celebrities. Rick considers himself as an “industrial consultant.” Most of the time Holman’s clients are Hollywood bigshots: producers, actors, and directors. Sex and drugs are often involved, with blackmail, extortion and large sums of money added to the mix.
In The Blonde on the Rocks, starlet Della August hires Rick Holman to discover why she’s been blacklisted in Hollywood. She hasn’t worked in six months and frequently receives whispered threats on her phone. Show business detective Rick Holman follows a trail of murder and extortion to discover who is behind the plot to ruin Della August. Are you a Carter Brown fan? GRADE; B+
Publication Order of Danny Boyd Books:
| The Ever-Loving Blues / Death of a Doll | (1956) | |
| Eve, It’s Extortion / The Victim / Walk Softly, Witch | (1956) | |
| Tempt a Tigress | (1958) | |
| Suddenly By Violence | (1959) | |
| Terror Comes Creeping | (1959) | |
| The Dream Is Deadly | (1960) | |
| Graves, I Dig! / Cutie Wins a Corpse | (1960) | |
| The Wayward Wahine / The Wayward | (1960) | |
| The Myopic Mermaid / A Siren Sounds Off | (1960) | |
| The Sad-Eyed Seductress / The Seductress | (1961) | |
| The Savage Salome | (1961) | Revised edition of Murder is My Mistress |
| Angel! | (1962) | |
| The Ice-Cold Nude | (1962) | |
| Lover Don’t Come Back! | (1962) | |
| Nymph to the Slaughter | (1963) | |
| The Passionate Pagan | (1963) | |
| Silken Nightmare | (1963) | |
| Catch Me a Phoenix | (1965) | |
| The Sometime Wife | (1965) | |
| The Black Lace Hangover | (1966) | |
| House of Sorcery | (1967) | |
| The Mini-Murders | (1968) | |
| Murder Is the Message | (1969) | |
| Only the Very Rich | (1969) | |
| The Coffin Bird | (1970) | |
| The Sex Clinic | (1971) | |
| Manhattan Cowboy | (1973) | |
| So Move the Body | (1973) | |
| The Early Boyd | (1975) | |
| The Pipes Are Calling | (1976) | |
| Savage Sisters | (1976) | |
| The Strawberry Blonde Jungle | (1979) | |
| Rip-Off | (1979) | |
| Kiss Michelle Goodbye | (1981) | |
| The Real Boyd | (1984) |
Publication Order of Rick Holman Books:
| The Ever-Loving Blues / Death of a Doll | (1956) | |
| The Swingers | (1961) | |
| Zelda | (1961) | |
| A Murderer Among Us | (1962) | |
| Murder in the Key Club / Murder in the Harem Club | (1962) | |
| Blonde on the Rocks | (1963) | |
| The Jade-Eyed Jungle / The Jade-Eyed Jinx | (1963) | |
| The White Bikini / The Ballad of Loving Jenny | (1963) | |
| Wind-Up Doll | (1964) | |
| The Never-Was Girl | (1964) | |
| Murder Is a Package Deal | (1964) | |
| Who Killed Dr. Sex? | (1964) | |
| The Girl from Outer Space | (1965) | |
| Nude with a View | (1965) | |
| Blonde on a Broomstick | (1966) | |
| No Tears from the Widow | (1966) | |
| Play Now… Kill Later | (1966) | |
| Deadly Kitten | (1967) | |
| Long Time No Leola | (1967) | |
| Die Anytime, After Tuesday | (1969) | |
| The Flagellator | (1969) | |
| Streaked-Blond Slave | (1969) | |
| The Hang-Up Kid | (1970) | |
| A Good Year for Dwarfs? | (1970) | |
| Where Did Charity Go? | (1970) | |
| The Coven | (1971) | |
| The Invisible Flamini | (1971) | |
| Pornbroker | (1972) | |
| The Master | (1973) | |
| Phreak Out | (1973) | |
| Negative in Blue | (1974) | |
| The Star-Crossed Lover | (1974) | |
| Ride the Roller Coaster | (1975) | |
| Remember Maybelle? | (1976) | |
| See It Again, Sam | (1979) | |
| The Phantom Lady | (1980) | |
| Wicked Widow | (1981) |









