Harold Adams (1) (1923–2014)
Author of The Man Who Was Taller Than God
For other authors named Harold Adams, see the disambiguation page.
About the Author
Harold Adams was born in Clark, South Dakota in 1923. He worked at the Minnesota Charities Review Council and the Better Business Bureau. He wrote the Carl Wilcox Mystery series, The Thief Who Stole Heaven, When Rich Men Die, and The Fourth of July Wake. He won the Private Eye Writers of America's show more Shamus Award and a Minnesota Book Award for The Man Who Was Taller than God. He died on April 4, 2014 at age of 91. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by Harold Adams
The Missing Woman 2 copies
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1923-02-20
- Date of death
- 2014-04-04
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Clark, South Dakota
- Place of death
- Eden Prairie, Minnesota
- Places of residence
- Minnetonka, Minnesota, USA
- Education
- writer
- Occupations
- Mystery Writer
Minneapolis Better Business Bureau
Members
Reviews
Paint the Town Red by Harold Adams
This is the second entry in the Carl Wilcox Mystery series, and it feels a little like a book pulled from the reject pile before the first one was published. Instead of the grit of the first one, there's a lot of b-movie dialog, and while the plot is busy, the story feels ham-handed. Oh well.
I didn't finish this book. Carl Wilcox returns to his home town of Corden, South Dakota and a young woman is killed. He is accused because he has a criminal history. The story takes place in or about the depression and reads like a stiff tough guy story. I got about a quarter of the way into the book and gave it up. I have way too many books to spend time forcing my way thru something I'm not particularly enjoying.
This won't take you anytime at all to read. Barely 156 pages it is a quick one. You could read it in one sitting, for sure. Anyway, the plot:
It's the first murder the town of "hopeless" Hope, South Dakota has ever seen. Felton Edwards, a tall, womanizing, good for nothing and better-off-dead man, is found face down in a gravel pit. Some shot to death this tall drink of water and like Hatchet Job there is no shortage of suspects because everyone had a beef with Mr. Edwards. Never mind the fact he hasn't been in Hope for the last 15 years. Enter Carl Wilcox, our hero. As a retired police officer he has been called back into service by Hope's mayor, Christian Frykman. Frykman can't bear the thought of a murder happening in his little town. Wilcox may have an unorthodox way of solving crimes (he makes more dates with single women than finding clues), but he always gets the job done.… (more)
It's the first murder the town of "hopeless" Hope, South Dakota has ever seen. Felton Edwards, a tall, womanizing, good for nothing and better-off-dead man, is found face down in a gravel pit. Some shot to death this tall drink of water and like Hatchet Job there is no shortage of suspects because everyone had a beef with Mr. Edwards. Never mind the fact he hasn't been in Hope for the last 15 years. Enter Carl Wilcox, our hero. As a retired police officer he has been called back into service by Hope's mayor, Christian Frykman. Frykman can't bear the thought of a murder happening in his little town. Wilcox may have an unorthodox way of solving crimes (he makes more dates with single women than finding clues), but he always gets the job done.… (more)
En ex-con goes home to a little town shimmering in the heat in South Dakota and ends up playing detective to a triple murder. I liked the atmosphere and the casual tough-guy rhetoric, and the plot was just complicated enough to be interesting. But what I really liked was the sense of heat and itch of hay and small-town life the writer evokes..
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 20
- Also by
- 1
- Members
- 510
- Popularity
- #48,631
- Rating
- 3.5
- Reviews
- 8
- ISBNs
- 60
- Languages
- 1