By guest reviewer Nicholas Litchfield,
editor of the Lowestoft Chronicle
IN two tumultuous stories set in 1950s Florida, a jobless
accountant burdened by debt becomes entangled with a seductive femme fatale in
a plan to steal her family’s fortune… and a former cop finds himself the prime
suspect in a murder he witnessed and must track down the real killer to prove
his innocence.
The Squeeze/ —And the Girl Screamed are notable works by
the late American author Gil Brewer (pictured below), a master of gripping crime thrillers. With
50 novels and over 100 short stories to his name, Brewer gained significant
acclaim as one of the most popular noir writers of the 1950s.
Initially published in 1955 as an Ace Double paperback
original, The Squeeze is one of Brewer’s early works, released four years
after his successful bestselling novel, 13 French Street, which sold over 1.3
million copies. In his introduction to this collection, David Rachels notes
that Fawcett, Popular Library, and Avon all rejected the manuscript before it
was accepted by Ace Books.
Jarnigan knows that the attractive redhead Caroline Shreves,
with ‘legs curved like twin dreams’, has been watching Joe in the casino and enquiring
about him. Caroline lives with her stepsister, Sara Lobb, and her
brother-in-law, Ernest. Rumour has it there’s $260,000 hidden in their house,
money given to Ernest by his thieving brother who was executed for causing a
nightwatchman's death during a botched robbery and passed on his ill-gotten
savings before his demise.
The fat, bear-like Ernest never leaves his beach house in
Indian Rocks, and Jarnigan sees an opportunity to connect Caroline with Joe,
with the understanding that Joe will build a relationship with the family and
uncover the hidden loot for Jarnigan. If successful, Joe’s debt will be wiped
clean… if he fails, the consequences could be fatal.
As the days turn to weeks, Caroline’s love for Joe blossoms,
and Joe spends more time inside the house getting to know Ernest and Sara. But
Jarnigan’s thugs regularly inflict beatings on Joe to hasten his progress,
leaving little room for error.
In a moment of desperation, Joe confides in Caroline, and
together they devise a plan to force Ernest to reveal the location of the
hidden money, aiming to escape without involving Jarnigan. The plan is fraught
with risk and danger, and inevitably, things go awry in the worst possible way.
Brewer’s fast-paced thriller is filled with tension and
graphic violence, culminating in a twisty tale with an unpredictable ending. And
yet it’s the strong characterisation and witty descriptions that leave a
lasting impression.
The second tale, —And the Girl Screamed, a paperback
original released under the Crest Books imprint, is a punchy crime thriller
centred on police officer Cliff Reddick who has been on active leave for
fourteen months after getting shot in the arm while apprehending a prison escapee
and, in the process, saving his partner’s life. Troubled by the department’s
decision to reject his return to active duty during a quick-draw test, he
reflects, ‘All I knew right then was that I had wanted to be a cop all my life
and now it was shot.’
Cliff’s longing to return to the force is deeply entwined
with his personal life and his belief that his lover, Eve Thayer, would
eventually leave her powerful husband, Edward. Ed is a big-shot lawyer, ‘handsome,
suave, and bold enough to go after what he wanted the moment he saw it.’ Eve
sees him as ‘a rotten schemer’ but Ed adamantly refuses to let any hint of his
wife’s infidelity surface, will not grant her a divorce, is fully aware of her
affair with Cliff, and is now plotting his revenge.
The opportunity for Ed’s payback arrives when Cliff and Eve
witness a murder on the beach one night. Hearing a scream that ‘ripped across
the soft night, a crazed shriek of pure helplessness and fear,’ Cliff stumbles
over the lifeless body of 17-year-old Jinny Foster. In a desperate attempt to
distance himself from the murder and shield Eve’s infidelity, he delays
reporting the incident to the authorities until he drives Eve home.
Unfortunately, he later discovers that his wallet has
slipped from his pocket into the sand beside the body, making him a prime
suspect in the murder investigation. With the law closing in, he embarks on a
frantic mission to uncover the truth, posing as an investigator to engage with
the victim’s distraught parents and school friends.
What he uncovers is a town beset by a wave of juvenile
delinquency and moral decay, where discerning the truth becomes far more
perilous than facing the police.
Compellingly narrated, —And the Girl Screamed is a
nail-biting, tightly woven suspense novel filled with vividly drawn characters
and exhilarating drama. Paired with The Squeeze, these novels deliver a
thrilling reading experience which keeps you scrambling through the pages to enjoy
the final showdown.
(Stark House Press, paperback, £14.95)