The Vengeance Man / Park Avenue Tramp / the Prettiest Girl I Ever Killed: A Trio of Gold Medals
Three long-out-of-print novels originally published by Gold Medal Books in the 1950s and 1960s are reprinted here. Taking them in reverse order, Charles Runyon'sThe Prettiest Girl I Ever Killedis about a man determined to prove his brother is innocent of murder and who winds up in the crosshairs of the real--and manically determined--killer. Fletcher Flora'sPark Avenue Tramplives up to the seediness of its title by telling the story of a married woman who falls in love, and her husband, who usually puts up with her wandering eye, decides he's taken quite enough. These two novels (by authors who are, sadly, largely forgotten today) are beautiful examples of pulp fiction: sardonic, fast paced, and tightly plotted, with tough-speaking men and beautiful, deceptive women. But it is Marlowe's magnificentThe Vengeance Manthat is this three-in-one book's headliner, and all by itself it's more than worth the price of admission. The tale of a man so hungry for power and status that he will let no one, including his own wife, stand in his way is just plain riveting. Brutally violent, sexually explicit, and completely wicked, the novel reads like Marlowe was tapping directly into the dark side of his mind, the place where all the secret fantasies live, and where there is no such thing as inhibition or self-control. The novel is a masterpiece and deserves--no, demands--to be read by every mystery fan.David PittCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved