Until Bookgasm posted a quick review of this book, I’d never noticed Hard Case Crime. Shelved a few books with the distinctive yellow ribbon on the cover, including one by Stephen King, but they all passed under the radar. But with a cover and title like these (and Hard Case Crime has lots of covers like these), any American male with a pulse is going to sit up and take notice. So I ordered a copy.
Sad to say the book doesn’t live up to my expectations. The good parts: there’s no cookie cutter ending (which I won’t reveal anyway) and the language is blunt and effective. The biggest bad part though is that the criminals (and this is told from the point of view of one of the main criminals) are stupider than my cat. Some parts are repetitive and drag too.
Our main man, Jack Ruxton, owns a small television repair shop. He gets a call one day from Shirley Angela, a comely 18 year old caring for an aging old man with a heart condition. She instantly falls for Ruxton, somehow knowing he’ll help her off the old man so she can take control of the money. The initial plan isn’t too shabby, but it quickly jumps the shark. Ruxton will install a faulty intercom system, and when the old man needs oxygen and help, Angela won’t come running. Old man dies, and everyone will blame Ruxton for a shoddy and negligent, but not criminal, job. That’s the theory anyway.
The problem is that anyone with half a brain would stay the hell away from Shirley Angela after she ignores repeated instructions to avoid contact. If they are to get away with the plot, passersby must not see them together plotting. Or hear them. Remember, this is written in the 1950s when telephone party lines were common. Ruxton ain’t too smart neither. He leaves clues like moletracks through a lawn. The story plods through numerous meetings where the conversation is little more than Can we go through with this?
Think of the money!
I need you so much!
So do I, but think of the money.
I also want to know what the hell is so attractive about Ruxton that three different women throw themselves at him upon first meeting him.
Once all the preliminaries get done with though, it’s quick pacing to a great finish. It’s that there isn’t much worse written in the English language than the build-up to it.
Title: The vengeful virgin
Author: Gil Brewer
Cover artist: Gregory Manchess
Imprint / publisher: Hard Case Crime / Dorchester
Format: Mass market paperback
Length: 220 p.
Publication date: April 2007 (originally 1958)
ISBN-10: 0-8439-5770-0
ISBN-13: 978-0-8439-5770-9
