Helen Nielsen (1918–2002)

During the classic pulp era of the 50's, you could probably count the women pulp writers on one hand. However, if you were so inclined to count them, you absolutely have to include Helen Nielsen on that short list. Nielsen wrote pulp and mysteries just as good as anyone from that era and her books are just fantastic reading. If you enjoy reading Gil Brewer, Talmadge Powell, and Harry Whittington, you ought to give Nielsen a try. Her 1951 work, "Dead on the Level," contains all the classic show more pulp motifs, including a drunk man returning to town after eight long years and "drinking up his last handful of dwindling dollars," "this gorgeous doll (with eyes like purple smoke) [who] had come slithering into the cocktail lounge," five thousand dollars in cash, a blackout as to what happened the night before, a dead man, and a missing heiress. This book is pure pulp from the first page with the protagonist thinking that life was a sour deal "with a beginning you didn't ask for, an ending you couldn't help, and nothing in between that would even sell at a charity auction." And this girl was something else. Casey Morrow didn't have enough dough left to even buy her a drink, but she sat down and bought him one. She had eyes like purple smoke, "a cascade of taffy- colored hair," and a scent of spicy perfume enough to make him dizzy. Whatever proposition she had offered him, he must have accepted because he woke up the next morning with five grand in his pocket and half the police force of Chicago hunting for him. It is a terrific pulp novel and amazingly one of Nielsen's earliest works. It is easy to read as the writing just drags you in without giving you much of a choice. It is short as was typical of novels in the early fifties. Primarily a mystery with a dead body, a drunk without a memory of what happened, and the most ravishing femme fatale of them all. I highly recommend this work. show less

One of the great things that Prologue Books has done is introduce a new generation of readers to forgotten writers from the great age of the pulps. There were few women writers of pulps and mysteries during that age and fewer still that did not write under pen names. Helen Nielsen wrote about a dozen novels from the 1940's through to the 1970's, including The Brink of Murder, Dead on the Level, and Sing Me A Murder. She is, however, most well known for being a screenwriter for Alfred show more Hitchcock Presents and Perry Mason. Her pulp writings often featured either a Mike Shelly, a hardboiled detective, or a female detective. Detour to Death features neither of these. It is nevertheless an excellent book.

The basic plot for Detour to Death is familiar to most pulp readers. A man, through no fault of his own, becomes the chief suspect in a murder and, while he is on the run from the law, other bodies fall in his path and he is the chief suspect in those murders as well. He stands friendless, alone, unable to prove his innocence until the end of the story. Most of the time this plot is found in New York, Chicago, or Philadelphia (if it is a David Goodis story). What is wonderful and unique about Detour to Death is that the familiar plot is not played out in familiar territory. The entire story takes place in a small, desolate town in the west and the murder at the center of the story is of the town's popular doctor, a man everyone loved, and the entire town is arrayed against the protagonist. Who is the protagonist of this story? Danny Ross, a young kid of nearly eighteen, who had set out from Chicago and was headed down to Mexico to start life over. His seventeen-year-old jalopy had given out and, after pushing it to the side of the road, he thumbed a ride with the doctor. "Danny was barely eighteen. Eighteen and skinny in a pair of tight Levi's and an old leather jacket, with his sun-bleached hair cut a quick two inches from his scalp, and his tanned face marked with anger and pride. Danny wasn't running away from life; he was running toward it." This is a well-written story that surprisingly, despite its bleak and desolate location, draws the reader in quickly to a mystery that gets ever deeper. It is a terrific read and highly recommended. show less

Helen Nielsen has a terrific body of mystery work -and it's difficult to understand why she is not more well-known. "Verdict Suspended" is a taut, well-designed mystery. Everyone knows who killed the rich, mean gal. But what If the town ready to lynch the poor guy has it all wrong? What if there's no need to run him and his new wife out of town? Nielsen begins this tale by leading the reader through the coroner's inquest. An interesting beginning, indeed. Although there's not much action in show more this novel, there is never a dull moment. It's a classic mystery filled with upper class people, many of whom have valid motives for wanting the shrewd, Nasty victim dead. show less

After Midnight by Helen Nielsen, published in 1967, begins in the most hardboiled fashion. In fact, there are countless hardboiled novels that begin with the protagonist waking up after a night of drinking and other debauchery only to find the bloody body of a beautiful blonde, redhead, etc, in their bed and no answers nearby as to what happened. Often even the protagonist is not sure if he did it, but all the clues scream in one direction.

The difference here is that the person who wakes up show more confused after a night of drinking is a woman, Wanda Warren to be precise, and the bloody corpse at the kitchen was her husband. What's more they fought all night after Wanda was found in a seaside bar in a booth with three sailors, indulging in drink after drink with her laughter ringing out above all other noise. She was a go-go girl in a glass cage shaking it every weekend evening when they met and her husband came from big money.

The story then morphs into a legal drama with society attorney and Bon vivant Simon Drake offering his services and, against all belief, fighting to prove his lovely client's innocence.
The story may not be as heavy on the action as others in the crime fiction arena, but it is an excellent mystery that takes the reader on a legal and investigative journey as Drake explores one clue after another. The cast of characters is quite good including a retired admiral who lived on a yacht, a proper nurse who took long walks and quotes poetry, Drake's confidant Hannah, and an ambitious district attorney.

It was an compelling read that couldn't be put down and was really enjoyable. show less