Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Nothing In Her Way by Charles Williams

Nothing In Her Way - good crime noir story.


Nothing In Her Way - a story by one of the past masters of the genre.When Michael Belen runs into the cherubic con man named Wolford Charles in New Orleans, he has no idea he had just opened the door to his ex-wife Cathy. She and Charles and Judd Bolton are working a con on a man named Goodwin, who had been a partner with a contractor named Lachlan down in South America. Lachlan had worked a swindle which had wiped out Cathy and Michael’s parents, and now as far as Cathy is concerned, it’s payback time.

From Goodwin to Lachlan, Belen commits himself to Cathy and her scheme. When a drug-addled gangster named Donnelly starts threatening her, Belen takes care of him. When Charles and Bolton try to work a double-cross, Cathy matches them with a cross of her own. They are the perfect team. Until they go up against Lachlan—and then all bets are off.

Who is the master of who-done-it? You know? The inexplicable corpse. The nasty abrupt tragedy of terror. The seemingly random sequence of events that don't make sense and stink of evil. Or wicked creepy, question mark people who target other people and enjoy being mean. Who is this one who can go beyond kingdom come and have fun figuring it out? Why it's The Saint in 1940 Miami, a black sheep who does good and becomes an American hero.

Nothing In Her Way by Charles Williams

Nothing In Her Way - good crime noir story.


Nothing In Her Way - a story by one of the past masters of the genre.When Michael Belen runs into the cherubic con man named Wolford Charles in New Orleans, he has no idea he had just opened the door to his ex-wife Cathy. She and Charles and Judd Bolton are working a con on a man named Goodwin, who had been a partner with a contractor named Lachlan down in South America. Lachlan had worked a swindle which had wiped out Cathy and Michael’s parents, and now as far as Cathy is concerned, it’s payback time.

From Goodwin to Lachlan, Belen commits himself to Cathy and her scheme. When a drug-addled gangster named Donnelly starts threatening her, Belen takes care of him. When Charles and Bolton try to work a double-cross, Cathy matches them with a cross of her own. They are the perfect team. Until they go up against Lachlan—and then all bets are off.

Who is the master of who-done-it? You know? The inexplicable corpse. The nasty abrupt tragedy of terror. The seemingly random sequence of events that don't make sense and stink of evil. Or wicked creepy, question mark people who target other people and enjoy being mean. Who is this one who can go beyond kingdom come and have fun figuring it out? Why it's The Saint in 1940 Miami, a black sheep who does good and becomes an American hero.

Monday, February 5, 2018

River Girl by Charles Williams

River Girl - one terrific, top-notch piece of fiction.


River Girl - The story of a man and a woman who met and knew instantly that not all the world would tear them apart. This story first published in 1951 as "The Catfish Triangle." A book that shares some similarities with Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice. Down in swamp country a deputy sheriff meets and falls in love with a young lass. Her husband stands in the way, probably more for a time.

Deputy Jack Marshall's life a mess. His boss, the Sheriff totally corrupt. His wife spending money like there's no tomorrow, and all he wants to do get up to the lake for some fishing. On his trip he spots a young gorgeous woman swimming, and they meet. She's married to a bad guy, and who on the run from something. Their attraction, as it does in these kinds of books, spins the world out of control for Jack.

It a southern noir piece taking place in and around a small Southern town and a swamp around the town. The narrator, Jack, a corrupt Southern Deputy Sheriff. He stuck in an unhappy marriage with a woman who barely makes an appearance in the book. Who only seems to want money and, at that, more money. Louise was very pretty, a taffy blonde with wide, green eyes and a stubborn round chin. Their lives were constant fights and endless bickering over money.

River Girl by Charles Williams

River Girl - one terrific, top-notch piece of fiction.


River Girl - The story of a man and a woman who met and knew instantly that not all the world would tear them apart. This story first published in 1951 as "The Catfish Triangle." A book that shares some similarities with Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice. Down in swamp country a deputy sheriff meets and falls in love with a young lass. Her husband stands in the way, probably more for a time.

Deputy Jack Marshall's life a mess. His boss, the Sheriff totally corrupt. His wife spending money like there's no tomorrow, and all he wants to do get up to the lake for some fishing. On his trip he spots a young gorgeous woman swimming, and they meet. She's married to a bad guy, and who on the run from something. Their attraction, as it does in these kinds of books, spins the world out of control for Jack.

It a southern noir piece taking place in and around a small Southern town and a swamp around the town. The narrator, Jack, a corrupt Southern Deputy Sheriff. He stuck in an unhappy marriage with a woman who barely makes an appearance in the book. Who only seems to want money and, at that, more money. Louise was very pretty, a taffy blonde with wide, green eyes and a stubborn round chin. Their lives were constant fights and endless bickering over money.

Gulf Coast Girl by Charles Williams

Gulf Coast Girl - A sea tale about a search for treasure.


Gulf Coast Girl - a tale of a couple on the run from mobsters and filled with car chases and brawls and bodies strewn about. It's also a deep sea tale about a search for buried treasure on a sunken plane and the desperate search to find it. It's a tale of trust and betrayal. And it may just be the best book you read all year.

An American tanker, finds a small, abandoned boat drifting in the Gulf of Mexico. On the boat, a coffee pot is still warm. Clearly, the boat has not been abandoned for long. But what has happened to its occupants? The answer lies in a log book in which our protagonist, Bill Manning, has written his story.

Action, Adventure, and love – who could ask for anything more?

Gulf Coast Girl, first Published in 1955, is yet another testament to the excellence of Charles Williams' writing. This book, like other Charles Williams novels, is so damn good, it's in a class by itself.

The story begins with the finding of an abandoned boat in the Gulf, well provisioned, the dinghy aboard her, the coffee pot still warm, and a satchel filled with $80,000 on the deck. There's a log and a strand of ash-blonde hair and the tale the log tells is something else entirely.

Gulf Coast Girl by Charles Williams

Gulf Coast Girl - A sea tale about a search for treasure.


Gulf Coast Girl - a tale of a couple on the run from mobsters and filled with car chases and brawls and bodies strewn about. It's also a deep sea tale about a search for buried treasure on a sunken plane and the desperate search to find it. It's a tale of trust and betrayal. And it may just be the best book you read all year.

An American tanker, finds a small, abandoned boat drifting in the Gulf of Mexico. On the boat, a coffee pot is still warm. Clearly, the boat has not been abandoned for long. But what has happened to its occupants? The answer lies in a log book in which our protagonist, Bill Manning, has written his story.

Action, Adventure, and love – who could ask for anything more?

Gulf Coast Girl, first Published in 1955, is yet another testament to the excellence of Charles Williams' writing. This book, like other Charles Williams novels, is so damn good, it's in a class by itself.

The story begins with the finding of an abandoned boat in the Gulf, well provisioned, the dinghy aboard her, the coffee pot still warm, and a satchel filled with $80,000 on the deck. There's a log and a strand of ash-blonde hair and the tale the log tells is something else entirely.