Customer Reviews

Baby Moll (Hard Case Crime)

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By republishing old, out-of-print crime novels, Hard Case Crime has given new exposure to some early works by really great writers. In this year alone, they've released books by, among others, Lawrence Block, Donald Westlake and Robert Bloch, not to mention a pseudonymous Michael Crichton. Baby Moll, by the less well-known John Farris, is another such reissue and is decent enough in its own right.

The narrator of Baby Moll is Peter Mallory, who years earlier had quit his associations with Florida mobster Macy Barr. Barr is an old-time mobster with both a vicious and paternalistic streak. It's this latter quality that allowed Peter to leave without being killed, but you can never leave the past fully behind. Macy needs Peter to track down a killer who is offing some of Macy's best workers.

These killings all seem to be tied to a family murdered decades earlier (prior to Peter's days with Macy) after the father resisted an extortion attempt. One child did survive, however, and Peter will spend much of the book trying to track this child down. He will also have to contend with a paid assassin, a rival mobster and various squabbles within the Barr household. It's not something Peter wants to do: he'd rather live his quiet, legitimate life with his soon-to-be wife, but Macy can coerce Peter through blackmail.

As stated before, this is a decent enough novel, though not on the same quality level as some other Hard Case Crime novels. It has the same lean prose style that you see in many of these pulpier mid-century mysteries, but it isn't quite as compelling as others in the set, making it clear why Farris isn't quite the name that a Block, Bloch or Westlake is. But it's good and a quick read, so if you're a fan of these books, you won't be disappointed.

Hard Case Crime's latest pulp offering comes from 1958, and from a writer who'd published the book under the pseudonym, Steve Brackeen. Today, however, John Farris is known more for his novels of unrelenting suspense and horror offerings. The book is dressed up in lethally sexy new cover by Robert McGinnis, the absolute master of paperback covers in the 1960s and 1970s (in my opinion). The cover caught my eye first and I knew it was a Hard Case Crime novel.

Most of those reprints are incredibly short by today's novel standards, and this one is no different. The book begins fairly quickly, showing our hero - Peter Mallory - in his present life with no indication of his violent past. Except for the back cover copy on the book, of course. He's quickly approached and strong-armed into working for his old boss/mentor, Macy Barr (and yep, the names sound like they come straight from old PERRY MASON reruns).

Farris's tale is simple and straight-forward, though he does throw in the odd curveball or two, like having Macy taking care of an adoptive daughter. But the first-person narrative drives from Point A to Point B without pause or distraction.

Macy's group was involved with a heist that went sour and ended up killing a family. They died in the fire that resulted in the aftermath. And now the butcher's bill has come due. Someone is methodically tracking down the men responsible for that heist, and they're saving Macy Barr for dessert. Macy's got a houseful of people, none of whom he particularly trusts, and the few he does trust aren't smart enough to figure out how to stop the unknown killer.

Mallory hits the bricks like a traditional gumshoe and tries to figure out who is behind the murders. He applies pressure indirectly and directly, never trusting anyone - including Macy - more than he needs to.

I really like the tough guy first person narrative. Farris does a really good job with it. Likewise, his pacing is first-rate. He uncovers the plot and the backgrounds of the characters at a controlled rate, giving the readers snippets of information that don't distract from the headlong plunge through the story.

But a lot of the rest of the story just feels too familiar. This is all old ground and any dedicated reader of pulp and noir is going to figure this one out long before he gets to the end. Still, at a little over 200 pages, BABY MOLL is a fun romp through the 1950s crime scene. There's even a bit about Elvis Presley on the radio, even though the singer isn't mentioned by name.

Fans of the hardboiled pulp era are going to enjoy this one more from nostalgia than from anything new offered. And readers that haven't sampled the wares from Hard Case Crime are encouraged to pick this one up. This is the popular culture I was raised on, and I love the chance to go back and relive parts of it.

This is an excellent book for the Hard Case fans. East to read and very enjoyable. Also, check out the McGinnis' cover. Worth the money alone.

In the 1982 reprint of his modern classic Harrison High, author John Farris mentions in passing some "other novels" he wrote during the time it took him to write that book: "suspense thrillers ... published by Gold Medal Books under a pen name."

Baby Moll was the second of five novels that first saw print under the moniker Steve Brackeen, and Hard Case Crime is publishing it under Farris's own name for the first time. Farris also admits that, at the time of their first publication, he "fondly imagined [they] rivaled the best of John D. MacDonald."

Baby Moll is the story of Pete Mallory, who used to work for gangster Macy Barr, until he got tired of Barr (and his "whole rotten business") and walked out. Pete then settled down with a nice girl named Elaine and spent six years trying to forget his past.

The trouble comes, though, when others don't forget your past, and Barr uses Pete's most closeted skeleton to get him to come back and protect Barr from veiled death threats. But no sooner is Pete back in town than it seems he's also on somebody's hit list, so he's then on the hunt for two potential killers.

If "the best of John D. MacDonald" includes one of my favorites, Cry Hard, Cry Fast, then the young Farris comes very close, at least in terms of characterization. In general its embarrassing to realize what a skilled and confident proseslinger he was right out of high school. Because, to read Baby Moll, you'd never know that Farris wasn't a world-weary 50-year-old spilling his disappointment on the page -- that he still had his whole career ahead of him.

Baby Moll offers up a rogues gallery of characters, dark underworld types and otherwise. Its not very predictable nature -- along with its fairly atypical, original style -- makes for an engaging read, and Farris offers an ending that is both touching and satisfying.

Peter Mallory is on the verge of obtaining everything he has ever wanted. He owns a business, he is a respected resident of the community, and he is set to marry a beautiful and intelligent woman. He is in a good place, but when an old associate appears at his bait shop Mallory's past threatens everything he has built.

Mallory was a lieutenant in the Florida Mob when he walked away six years earlier and now the boss wants him back. He doesn't want to go, but he wants his past to stay where it is and when the boss threatens to share a few details with his fiancée he unwillingly agrees.

When he arrives he finds the Don a shadow of his former self. He has aged and lost control of his own turf. He no longer protects territory from rival gangs and even worse old associates are being murdered one by one. After each murder a news clipping is delivered that tells the story of a murder he and the others committed years earlier. It's getting to the Don and he needs Mallory to look into it and figure who it is and stop it.

BABY MOLL is the best reprint Hard Case Crime has released. It was originally published in 1958 as by Steve Brakeen and while it is very much a product of its era it has lost little of its impact. The story is told with a sparse and economical style that reminded me very much of Michael Crichton's early John Lange novels, but the mystery and plotting are one step beyond what Crichton was doing in the 1960s.

The characters are perfect--the aging mobster is drawn with a brilliantly nuanced mixture of menace, sorrow, bluster and loss. The supporting cast is an oddball group that Mr. Farris effectively uses to clutter the mystery and build tension. Mallory never quite gets a handle on their motivations or even who a few of them truly are.

The mystery is structured perfectly; it is a balance of hardboiled American mixed with a flavoring of an intricate whodunit with a dash of suspense novel thrown in for good measure. The whodunit is the mystery itself--the diverse cast and their conflicting motives interlaced with the careful release of clues and even a few red herrings to keep both Mallory and the reader off-balance. But it is presented and stylized as a down and dirty hardboiled novel that will appeal to anyone who enjoys an old style suspense novel.

-Gravetapping

The Hard Case Crime series from Dorchester is outstanding. John Farris, in Baby Moll, returns after 50 years in an average book not quite up the same standards as some of the entries.

Old murder can be more dangerous than 'new' crime. That's what Peter Mallory discovers as he is dragged back into a life of crime. Temptations surround him as he is forced to watch his steps even more dilligently than before. Mob life can be so interesting.

Gotta love the the Robert McGinnis cover too! No-one could paint scantily clad women quite so well.

Hard Case Crime has made a habit of consistently bringing back into print books that came out decades ago along with a few brand new titles. Such is the case with this novel originally published in 1958 by Fawcett Books. While it is a pleasant enough diversion, it certainly doesn't meet the usual standards set by Hard Case Crime.

Peter Malloy had been a part of the Florida mob. He managed to get out, taking his secrets and knowledge with him and managing to leave on his own terms. He eventually opened up a fishing supplies place called "The Angler's Shop." He got himself a girl friend, Elaine, who means the world to him. But, he always knew that the price of the illusion of freedom was expensive and someday the tab would come due.

That someday is now as his old boss wants his help. Rudy Mask has been sent to bring Pete back. Macy has sent for Pete because somebody is trying to kill him. Somebody is taking out the old gang one by one and Macy is feeling fear and his age. Macy has let control slip through his fingers and now the old crime boss needs Peter to stop whoever is trying to kill him. If he won't cooperate, Macy has information that could ruin forever his relationship with Elaine and according to Rudy, will definitely use it.

Of course, Peter Mallory isn't going to let that happen. Elaine means everything to him and she doesn't know about his dark past and it is very questionable whether their relationship could survive the knowledge. So, he will go to Macy's estate, see the old man and do what needs to be done to get free once and forever. While the players have for the most part changed, his skills haven't dimmed nor has his assumption that everyone is against him.

This is simply a book by the numbers. Almost all the male characters are violent knuckle dragging thugs except for Pete. Pete is the only one who can see the big picture and he is the only one with a certain style and class. The women are stunningly beautiful and either evilly cunning using their bodies as bait or mind boggling stupid and using their bodies as bait. Violence is just a few pages away throughout the book and seems to be used in most cases as a way of avoiding any depth to the story or characters. Instead, the violence is usually unnecessary and serves only as a vehicle to move the story forward in some way. Virtually all of the characters are stereotypically bad actors in one way or another.

While the story does have two minor surprises, most of the book is one that any reader of mysteries is going to easily figure out. The writing is distant and the characters never really come alive for the reader. There is a flatness to the book from start to finish as Pete tells readers how much he is tormented by various things, but that fact and many others never really come alive for the reader.

The August 2008 selection of the Hard Case Crime Book Club doesn't meet the normal standards of the published books. From a flat uninspired cover to a stereotypical story, this isn't one of the really good ones readers have come to expect. Therefore, it can only be of real interest to devoted readers determined to read every single title published by this company.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2008