Robert E. McGinnis (1926–2025)

The art is, of course, stunning. The text commentary is interesting and well written. My only quibble is that quite frequently the text will refer to a specific painting, and although the painting in question is reproduced somewhere in the book, it's not on the same spread as the text, or even anywhere near it, meaning you have to do a lot of leafing backwards and forwards trying to marry up the two. Therefore, it would have benefited from either (a) cross-references to the page an show more illustration is shown on each time it is mentioned, or (b) some sort of index of titles at the back. show less

This is a classic Mike Shayne mystery and a real good one at that. This story starts with all kinds of action including the appearance of the most beautiful girl Shayne has ever seen, a vicious bar fight, a killing, and all kinds of puzzling elements swirling around. Always great when these stories start with lots of action that never really seems to let up.

This one takes Shayne out of bustling Miami to a small town which is not too keen on outsiders and in which quite a few mysterious show more accidents have taken place. The theme of being a stranger in a strange land is a familiar one to pulp literature, but Halliday does it as well as anybody. You can feel the tension as Shayne walks into the bar and feel every eye on him and no one to bother to lend a hand to aid him. His fame means little here away from Miami, not to the police who think he's just another drunk. show less

A Wartime Shayne Novel

Heads You Lose is one of the early Mike Shayne novels and was written by the original Brett Halliday himself, Davis Dresser. Chronologically, it takes place after Phyllis' untimely demise but secretary Lucy Hamilton doesn't make an appearance. This is a wartime novel and concerns gas rationing, army deserters, patriotism, hoodlums, and murder. It has all of the usual Shayne plot devices including his withholding evidence, being shot at, beaten, kidnapped, and a femme show more fatale. However, this novel was missing something that the better Shayne novels have. It felt a bit stale and lifeless in comparison. Some of the characters seemed a little too designed and less genuine. show less

This book has launched a new collection for me. I have started collecting books by Ian Fleming and others with Robert McGinnis art on the covers. It's a fascination collection. I'm have a wonderful time with it. McGinnis is a very talented artist.