Saturday, March 31, 2012

The Interlopers by Donald Hamilton

Who stands between the President and an assassin's bullet?
Matt Helm.....


Mission #12
Matt Helm finds out just how fatal blond hair can be when he takes over another man's identity, fiancee, and fate.



Matt Helm has had some pretty tough assignments but this one beat them all. For the fate of the entire free world rests on his cunning skill in outwitting a madman bent on destruction. The madman's quest? To assassinate the President of the United States! How can Matt Helm stop him? By putting his very life on the line as a decoy. In one of the most bizarre mixed-doubles counterespionage missions anyone's ever heard of. Matt Helm discovers that he isn't immune to fear, but that sheer guts will come to rescue every time.


Printing History
Copyright May 1969

Fawcett Gold Medal Books
449-02464  M2494  ($0.95)
449-13994 (14th Printing) ($1.75)

Ballantine Books
1st Printing December 1983
2nd Printing (449-12907) February 1986

Thursday, March 29, 2012

A Dirty Way To Die by Gene Curry

Saddler #1
He had a quick eye and a steady hand with a gun. 
Or a woman!


They called her Angel
But she was a devil in bed, as Saddler found out when he sampled her favors at Miss Molly's New Orleans bordello. When he awoke, he found that his Angel had flown, and so had Saddler's gambling winnings of $5,000. His search for the money and the girl led him into more danger than even Saddler had known before. He'd have to be quick on the trigger and fast on his feet if he wasn't going to wind up in Boot Hill!


Printing History
Written by Peter McCurtin

Belmont Tower Books
Tower Publications Inc. 
ISBN 505-51398 (1979)

Leisure Books
Dorchester Publishing Company
ISBN 8439-2966 (July 1990)

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Operation Vendetta by Joseph L Gilmore

Nick Carter tracks down an international murderer.
Who's killing in his name.

Unknown cover artist
There's a madman cold-bloodily murdering the commissars of Russia. A madman who calls himself Nick Carter. And the KGB is ready to do away with the real Nick Carter to stop him. Unless Killmaster N3 can eliminate the imposter first, and do it before he sparks an international incident that would blow AXE's cover wide open. And lead to all-out global war.

Printing History
Written by Joseph L Gilmore

Charter Books
441 63430
June 1983

Trivia
Charter Books unveiled a new cover design. Unknown cover artist painted the cover. The working title for this title was called Who's Killing the Commissars?

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

The Hong Kong Caper (Reprint) by Carter Brown

Ladykiller Andy Kane is propositioned by two exotic adventuresses with lovely smiles, lethal bodies, and a treasure map. Where X marks murder!


Printing History
Horwitz Publications
ISBN 7255 0118
 International Edition #71 (1971)

Read more here. From December 26, 2010.

 Notes
First published in a slightly different form under the title Blonde, Bad, and Beautiful in September 1957 and reprinted in July 1960. Then revised as The Hong Kong Caper in October 1962.


Monday, March 26, 2012

The Kali Death Cult by Robert E Vardeman

Agent N3 enlists the aid of a bizarre cult to stop a Russian takeover!

George Gross Cover
Subduing the Russians single-handedly is an awesome assignment, even for Killmaster Nick Carter. But when David Hawk informs him that the Russian invasion of Afghanistan is an attempt to seize the strategically located Khyber Pass, Nick has no choice. Still, he has to get some help. And the only place to get it is from an ancient religious death cult high in the Hindu Kush. But first Nick has to get to their leader...alive.

Printing History
Written by Robert E Vardeman

Charter Books
441 42781
May 1983

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Crime of Passion by Kay Hooper

Wealth and Power breed dark desires.... And sometimes, murder.



Lane Montana is a finder of lost objects, misplaced jewelry, missing heirlooms, even people occasionally. But when a summons on her answering machine sends Lane to the home of wealthy Jeffrey Townsend, the able locator finds something she was definitely not looking for. A corpse with a knife in it's chest. Someone murdered Atlanta's richest, most powerful citizen. Then erased Lane's message tape to make the bewildered sleuth the most likely suspect. The police, with the exception of Lieutenant Trey Fortier, are all too eager to brand her a killer. Now, to clear her name, Lane must sift through the debris of Townsend's sordid life, and uncover an ugly, dangerous secret she would be well advised to leave hidden.

Printing History
Avon Books
ISBN 380-76197
February 1991

Friday, March 23, 2012

Murder Is So Nostalgic! by Carter Brown

The century's sexiest sleuth finds herself snarled in a wild orgy of sex, witchcraft, and murder!

Robert McGinnis Cover

Well, That's Show Biz!
Some of filmdom's biggest names had been trapped in the scandal. There had been a ritual murder, a gory suicide, and a secret ceremony with the devil. And it had wrecked the lives of all concerned.... But that was several decades ago. or was it? For suddenly the aging stars of that Satanic show had assembled in the same house once more. And from the looks of things, they were planning a bloody comeback. Only this time, there would be no rave reviews, For not only was Mavis Seidlitz the only member of the audience, she was also to be cast as the star....

Horwitz Photo Cover
Printing History

Horwitz Publications 
Horwitz Group Books Pty Ltd
Numbered Series #165
ISBN 7255 0197 (1973)
Printed in Hong Kong by Peninsula Press

New American Library
Signet Books
T 5064 (June 1972)

Thursday, March 22, 2012

The Menacers by Donald Hamilton

Mission #11
What better  man to track down a flying saucer scare than a hardhead like Matt Helm.



In a little town on the Mexican coast a young American women is under heavy guard by U.S. agents, and under heavy surveillance by Soviet operatives including Matt Helm's old mistress Vadya. The captive women not only to have witnessed a flying saucer, but to be the only survivor of its attack on her boat. Matt is to accompany her back to the States. Or kill her instantly if it looks like the Russians are even getting close to a snatch.


Printing History
Written by Donald Hamilton
copyright 1968

Fawcett Gold Medal Books
T2189 (0.75) February 1970
449 14077 15th printing

Monday, March 19, 2012

Hide And Go Die by Jack Canon

A madman betrays AXE.
And sets the stage for the
total destruction of the U.S.!

George Gross Cover
AXE is in trouble! Killmaster N1 has jumped ship and taken with him enough top secret defense information to completely destroy U.S. security. But the worst of all, he's crippled the agency but putting every one of its master spies out of commission.....for good. Except, Nick Carter "Killmaster N3", that is. He is only one left who can stop N1. It's a job that will take every bit of Nick's cunning and skill. And will lock him in a death struggle with the very agent who taught him every trick he knows!

Printing History
Written by Jack Canon

Charter Books
441 33068
April 1983

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Immer eine Frau uaf Eis by Carter Brown

German Edition of The Sometime Wife


Read more here from May 27th 2011.
The Sometime Wife

Printing History

copyright (1966) Verlag Ullstein GmbH Frankfurt Germany
Ullstein Bucher #1079 (1967) West Berlin Germany
Translated by Sigrid Kellner

Friday, March 16, 2012

The Saint And the Templar Treasure by Leslie Charteris

The Return of The Saint


Chance brought the Saint to the Chateau Ingare, in Provence. But when his visit entangled him in a bitter struggle for the mysterious treasure of the Knights Templar, he could not help feeling that Fate had a hand in it too....

Printing History
Written by Leslie Charteris
Original Outline by Donne Avenell
Developed by Graham Weaver
copyright 1978

Coronet Books
ISBN 340 23934

Staring
Ian Ogilvy as Simon Templar

Trivia
I remember watching this program on late night tv with the New Avengers and Night Stalker.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

The Outback Ghosts by Robert E Vardeman

The Australian desert harbors a deadly enemy.
Nick's mission: Find and destroy!

George Gross Cover
Nick Carter "Killmaster N3" is anxious to test his new desert warfare training when a mission to the Australian Outback offers him the perfect chance. A Russian radar base is hidden somewhere in the cast desert, and it's Nick's job to track it down and eliminate it. Led by beautiful anthropologist Daniela Rhys-Smith, Nick's target is a lonely sheep station deep in the aboriginal wilderness. But when a suspicious plane crash leaves them stranded miles into the barren desert without food or shelter, Nick realizes that he has more to worry about than the aborigines or the KGB. Someone very unexpected and very dangerous, is out to make sure Nick Carter does not get out of this mission alive!

Printing History
Written by Robert E Vardeman

Charter Books
March 1983
441 64433

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Bury The Past by Richard Reinsmith

Meet Ray Martin
Bodyguard!

He's fast with his fists and handy with a gun. 
As for the women, he can take them or leave them. 
And usually does both!


She hired him as a bodyguard. 
But the lady wanted to die!

Estelle Curtis was not hard to take. She was beautiful, wealthy, and someone was trying to kill her. When she hires Ray Martin, she told him she hoped they'd succeed. Martin had his work cut out for him. How do you protect somebody who does not care if she lives or dies? But Ray cared. He cared a lot, because the would-be killer had trained his sights on him as well, and now Ray had two bodies to guard. His client's and his own!

Printing History
Written by Richard Reinsmith

Tower Publications Inc
Belmont Tower Books
505 51558 (1980)

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Caress Before Killing (II) by Carter Brown

She got more and more broadminded as the night grew longer.....


From December 11, 2010

Printing History

Horwitz Publications Inc.
Numbered Series #30 (1956)
Reprinted By Demand Series #7 (May 1959)

Sunday, March 11, 2012

The Betrayers by Donald Hamilton


In sunny Hawaii, a U.S. troopship is scheduled to blow sky high. It's time to call Matt Helm


Matt Helm #10
Far out in the Pacific, among the sunny islands of Hawaii, a dark venomous plot was being engineered by one of the United States' own agents, an angel-faces man called the Monk, who had a special fondness for high explosive.


His target: An American troopship with three thousand U.S. soldiers scheduled to blow sky high. Unless Matt Helm could stop it. But first Matt had to trust the beautiful stranger who claimed to be his sister-in-law and insisted that his former "wife" had just willed him a million dollars....


Printing History
copyright 1966
Fawcett Publications Inc.

Fawcett Gold Medal Books
November 1966
d1736 (0.50)
18th printing 449 14060 (2.25)

Ballantine Books
August 1986 (13036)

Friday, March 9, 2012

The Greek Summit by Robert Randisi

An American scientist becomes the target of an unknown killer.
And Nick Carter must protect him, with his own life!

George Gross Cover
 From the moment David Hawk tell Nick Carter that he has a nice easy one for him, Nick expects the worst, and gets it. Yet he had to admit the assignment did seem unusually easy. In the role of private investigator, play bodyguard to an American scientist attending an international summit meeting of scientists from all over the world. But from the moment Nick Carter "Killmaster" arrives in Athens, vicious attempts are made on the lives of the scientist and his beautiful wife. And then suddenly the worst occurs to Nick. Could the United States government be setting up their most celebrated scintillate to be killed?

Printing History
Written by Robert Randisi

Charter Books
441 30272
February 1983

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Al Wheeler und die Malerin by Carter Brown

German Edition of The Lady Is Available


Read more here from April 8, 2011
The Lady Is/Not Available

Printing History
Die Mitternachtsbucher #264
Copyright 1965
Printed in German
Translated by Georg Ackerman

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Secret Mission: Tibet by Don Smith

Assignment #6
Destroy Chinese death ray wrecking U.S. and Russian space ships. Sherman's only ally is the American traitor who built the weapon for Red China!

Award Edition
In an ancient Buddhist monastry, high in the Himalayas, a Chinese scientist named Dr Liu Chung-lin operates a lethal laser beam that is destroying both American and Russian manned space flights. But the monastry houses more than the incredible death ray. The captives within the walls include an unrepentant ex-Nazi, a traitorous American scientist, and a beautiful blonde Eurasian. The CIA thought that Phil Sherman was a a match for the combined treachery of all three. Sherman was a lot less sure, but he was the only available expert around, and time was running out.

Tandem Edition
General von Kruger: His trade was violence and he perfected his craft under the savage tutelage of the Nazis. He would need all his cunning brutality to make his last, his biggest, coup succeed.

Suway: In the past she had given her body for love, for amusement, for barter. Now she was selling herself in a desperate bid to stay alive.

Dr Rogers: His game was money. He had betrayed America to her deadliest enemy, Red China, now he was ready to sell out his Peking masters if the price, in dollars was right.

So Phil Sherman plunged into a living nightmare, tracking down a deadly laser beam in the remote wildness of the Himalayas...

Printing History
Written by Don Smith

Published by Universal Publishing and Distributing Corp
Award Books 
A522X (1969)

Tandem Books
 426 5856 (1971)

Trivia
This title was published in the UK as #4 in the Secret Mission series.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Tumult Op Het Internaat by Carter Brown

Dutch Version of The Unorthodox Corpse

Cover by W Lapp

Originally published on December 22, 2010
The Unorthodox Corpse

Printing History

Middernacht #29
No Date

Saturday, March 3, 2012

The Devastators by Donald Hamilton

Mission #9
The Devastators


On a bleak and lonely heath in northern Scotland they discovered the body of the third agent sent out on this mission. He had died, been murdered, of bubonic plague. It was up to Matt Helm to take it from there. For somewhere among those desolate Scottish moors was a half-crazed scientist genius who could devastate entire populations with one hideous, raging plague. It was Matt's job to get him, with the help of a beautiful American operative who was supposed to be his wife, and a beautiful Russian operative who make it clear she was his deadly enemy.

Printing History
Fawcett Gold Medal Books
copyright 1965
d1608 (0.50) February 1968
R2185 (0.60) January 1970


Friday, March 2, 2012

The Christmas Kill by Jospeh L Gilmore

A toy factory explosion in Japan sets the stage for another Hiroshima disaster!

George Gross Cover

When an old friend of Hawk's enlists his aid to check into a toy factory explosion in Hiroshima, Hawk send Nick Carter to Japan to handle the routine assignment. But when Nick is welcomed with a barrage of snipers' bullets at Tokyo International Airport, he begins to uncover an insane plot that threatens the lives of millions of Americans. It is up to him to destroy the group known as the Sons of August Six before they cause death and destruction across the American continent. Making the bombing of Hiroshima look like a mere fireworks display in comparison.

Printing History
Written by Joseph L Gilmore

Charter Books
441 10505
January 1983

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Al Wheeler Und Das Komplott by Carter Brown

German Edition of The Desired

No 1641

From January 31 2011, read more here.
The Desired

Printing History

Wilhelm Heyne Verlag
ISBN 3 453 10233
Munich West Germany
No 1641 (1975)
Translated by Walter Spiegl