Old-Time Crime Stories Brought to Light in New Collection

When Tom Nolan was researching his prize-winning biography of Ross Macdonald (the pen name employed by Kenneth Millar), he uncovered three unpublished stories by the late master of the mystery novel. It was an important literary discovery, particularly for fans of crime fiction. The stories are now available in the collection, “Strangers in Town” (Crippen & Landru, 196 pages, trade softcover, $15). Written over a decade, they not only stand on their own as solid crime fiction, they also demonstrate the changes in Macdonald’s style as he moved from under Raymond Chandler’s shadow to find his own place in the sun.

The earliest, 1945’s “Death by Water,” features Philip Marlowe-like private eye Joe Rogers investigating an apparent accidental drowning in an L.A. apartment-hotel swimming pool. By 1950, the year of the title novelette, the hero had changed (via the 1949 novel “The Moving Target”) into the hard-boiled Lew Archer, with Macdonald embroiling him in a complex and very bloody murder tale involving a smarmy doctor, mobsters and a girl on the run. Both are strong and satisfying. But it’s the superb final novelette, “The Angry Man,” written in 1955, that gives us the best sample of the shrewd but compassionate investigator that Archer will shortly become. His search for a disturbed and violent young man who seems to be systematically destroying his dysfunctional family is intriguing enough to fill a novel, which after a fashion it did when Macdonald used some of its elements for the 1958 novel “The Doomsters.”

Nolan’s remarkably researched introduction and prefaces to each story are filled with fascinating information not included in the biography. One caveat, however: They contain spoilers. Easy enough to handle: Read the stories first. By the way, Nolan’s “Ross Macdonald: A Biography” is now available in trade paperback format (Poisoned Pen Press, 496 pages, $17.95).

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Robert B. Parker’s Boston private eye, Spenser, who took up most of the slack when Lew Archer closed up shop, is back again in “Potshot” (Putnam, 294 pages, $23.95). In it, Spenser is hired by a widow to investigate her husband’s murder, presumably by a gang of homicidal thugs who have taken over the wealthy little tourist town of Potshot, Ariz. In the past, Spenser has called upon an assortment of remorseless gents to assist him with the less scrupulous aspects of his investigations.

Here, he gathers six of them, including his frequent associate Hawk, to help him send the 40-plus bad guys heading for the hills. The not-quite-magnificent seven are a force to reckon with, but also a bit of a handful for a novelist, even an old pro like Parker, to keep in motion when they’re all sharing the stage. And some of the other characters, the town Brahmins, for example, and all of the bad guys save their leader, Preacher, blend into the Arizona background. But there is Parker’s usual brisk pacing, replete with bristling, punchy dialogue. And a shootout reminiscent of Dashiell Hammett’s “Red Harvest.” That, and the reappearance of the idiosyncratic, sociopathic friends of Spenser, should be enough to keep readers happy as clams.

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In “Heckler” (St. Martin’s Minotaur/Thomas Dunne, 277 pages, $22.95), the second booking of Dan Barton’s stand-up comic/sleuth Biff Kincaid, comedians are being bumped off by a serial killer who seems to have a murderously bad sense of humor. Barton is himself a comedian, and his novels vibrate with the pleasure and pain of a life at the mike. They are also enriched with details of club work in L.A. and, in this instance, Las Vegas. On top of that, he has concocted a powerhouse of a tale. Where he falters is in making the otherwise likable Biff just a little too ideal. While an uncompromising protagonist is refreshing in this era of studiously flawed heroes, he’s a little too pure about his comedy (he insults the top manager in the biz), a little too eager to seek justice (initially, he has no strong personal involvement in the murders) and much too durable (even Mike Hammer, in his salad days, would have had trouble shaking off a beating with a baseball bat). This shouldn’t dissuade you from picking up the book. It is entertaining, funny and pays off its serpentine plot with a totally satisfying ending. Maybe at some future date, we’ll look back on it and say this was when Barton was still refining his best-selling hero.

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Dick Lochte’s collection, “Lucky Dog and Other Tales of Murder” (Five Star), and a new edition of his prize-winning novel, “Sleeping Dog” (Poisoned Pen Press), have just been published. He reviews mysteries every other week. Next week: Rochelle O’Gorman on audio books.