15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A terrific unearthing of an underappreciated author, July 18, 2005
This review is from: Branded Woman (Hard Case Crime) (Mass Market Paperback)
Author Wade Miller is likely best known (if he is known at all) as the writer of the novel that Orson Welles used as the source of his late-career masterpiece, Touch of Evil. However, this is only likely once you know that "Wade Miller" was a pseudonym used by Robert Wade and William Miller, who also used other pen names throughout their writing career.
One of those was "Whit Masterson," who is the "personality" credited with that source novel, originally called Badge of Evil. Of course, Welles took considerable license with the characters, switching the identities of a few, as well as locations, and beefing up the role of Hank Quinlan (which he played himself).
Confused yet? I was. (Other similar sounding pseudonyms the pair used were "Will Daemer" and "Dale Wilmer" -- it seems the duo had a wry sense of humor.) What is important now, though, is that the two wrote Branded Woman, a new release from Hard Case Crime.
Cay Morgan was a jewel smuggler, the rare woman in what is considered a man's profession. She was entirely content to smuggle and let smuggle, but The Trader had other ideas; Cay needed to be taught a lesson and, although she had thought there was nothing worse than death, she soon found out otherwise. Half a decade later, she is in Mazatlán, on the trail of a man named Valdes, her only link to The Trader and her only opportunity for revenge.
Branded Woman features one of the more fascinating characters in crime literature in Cay Morgan. She is smart and sexy, seductive and skilled. If she lets her emotions rule her sometimes to her detriment ... well, that just shows that she has remained human, unlike the usual femmes fatales who only seem out for a buck -- or a stabbed or broken heart. Despite all she has been through, she is still open to experiencing hope, and she can still love. That she doesn't have much luck in that arena is simply par for the course. (They wouldn't call the publisher Hard Case Crime if they were interested in printing books about people finding happiness.)
Branded Woman contains a complex chain of events leading up to an astonishing conclusion. Wade and Miller are expert plotters and their situations feel realistic while being entirely out of the ordinary. Having Cay seem like a real woman only ups the ante and makes this novel more impressive.
What I like best about the Hard Case Crime books is how they make me want to seek out authors I've never heard of before (Two for the Money made me an instant Max Allan Collins fan). So, now that I know there are more names to look for, Wade Miller (or Whit Masterson, or whatever the duo call themselves on any given book) is/are getting added to that list.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
No cardboard cutouts - real characters and real plot twists, August 16, 2006
This review is from: Branded Woman (Hard Case Crime) (Mass Market Paperback)
Tough, jaded, and smart, Cay Morgan is like any other jewel smugger except for one thing: she's a female. And a remarkably attractive female at that. In fact, her only physical flaw is a brand on her forehead, which left a permanent scar in the shape of the letter T. A brand inflicted as a permanent warning by "The Trader," a criminal kingpin standing at the top of the smuggling pyramid.
Five years later, Morgan is determined to exact vengeance for the painful imprint. She is in Mazatlan, shadowing a man called Valdes, a known associate of the Trader. A private detective has accompanied her, ostensibly to watch her back and perform some legwork while she hunts for her nemesis. Things go bad, though, when Valdes turns up dead, cutting off her last link to the Trader. And then things go from bad to worse when she stumbles across the body of her private detective.
Stunning plot twists and an utterly unpredictable conclusion are hallmarks of Branded Woman. Further, Morgan is fleshed out as a full-fledged person, not a cardboard cutout the way that many female protagonists are portrayed. All in all, while it's not the finest in the Hard Case Series ("Touch of Death" and "Bust" are two I consider superior), it's certainly high quality work that's helping to resurrect the Pulp genre.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thoughts on Wade Miller's "Branded Woman", July 21, 2005
This review is from: Branded Woman (Hard Case Crime) (Mass Market Paperback)
Wade Miller's BRANDED WOMAN is a fine pulp classic reprinted from the '50's, a tale that unfolds like a black and white film noir of old. Cay Morgan,tough, beautiful, and an international jewel smuggler, runs afoul of a mysterious rival known only as the Trader. As punishment for her transgressions she is kidnapped and scarred, "branded" for life, a life that becomes an obsessive journey for revenge. In the town of Mazatlan, Mexico, Cay discovers a deal going down that involves her sworn enemy, but she will have to work her way through a wall of murder and deceit before she has any chance of settling the score. Miller's attention to detail is clean and precise; his plotting intricate and satisfying. More admirable is his ability to get inside the character of a woman, and fashion a twist on the femme fatale way before it became fashionable in fiction. BRANDED WOMAN rates as a fine additon to the Hard Case Crime series, and the cover is to die for.
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