If you enjoy good 1950's short story literary schlock, you just can't beat Redheads Die Quickly by Gil Brewer. I mean these very short stories, usually no more than ten pages, are the epitome of pulp and have the consistency of mashed grapefruit or papaya. The pages drip blood from dismemberments, flash purple and orange from bruised moll's faces and sting from a left hook to the midriff. These stories are HARSH. These stories are BRUTAL. These stories are an absolute HOOT!
The title story features a punch-drunk redhead, another has a jealous lover willing to blow up his own boat to kill his rival and yet another stars an axe wielding spurned lover around a campsite. All of the stories in this collection were originally published in pulp detective magazines in the 1950's. Reading these stories is like stepping into a forgotten world of fedora's and fists, high pants and twists and maybe an occasional "babe" in a two piece bikini that you just know won't have a happy demise.
Though the term "pulp fiction" refers to the cheap paper the stories were printed on back in the day, in this collection the "pulp" could stand for the bruised faces and smashed bodies that appear regularly. These stories will bash your brains to a pulp with their blunt language and scuzzy characters. Getting beat up has never been this much fun!
Dan @ Central
