Vintage Mystery Books - Finds - 8/23/13

My partner, Robin, and I took a short trip to Derby, CT to visit a shop called Books By the Falls. It's a used book and record store.We spent about and hour poking around and I was able to pick up 3 vintage murder mystery books. I thought I'd share my finds and see what information is on the net about these books.

Purchase # 1 - Women Are Skin Deep by Paul Whelton - a Gary Dean Mystery

This 1940's mystery promises to be a true hard-boiled detective story. According to the back of the dust jacket the authors former occupations include military pilot, reporter, and cartoonist. "He has personally figured in almost as many imbroglios as his alter ego, Gary Dean, ...."  

There are six books in the Gary Dean series. Some were written directly for Graphic Books, a rather notorious publisher of "alternative classics." Wow, I think that was said with tongue firmly in cheek.

Update:
After reading Women Are Skin Deep I can say that the author background as a reporter was used to its best and worst advantage. Whelton's experience in the field of journalism allowed him to create a very authentic character, Gary Dean reporter for the Press-Bulletin. However, the author slows down the action by providing the reader with seemingly all of the ins and outs of the profession. I would rate it B-.

Women Are Skin Deep - Paul Whelton - Garry Dean

Purchase #2 - Nightmare Alley by William Lindsay Gresham

Another book from the 1940s, this copy has a movie tie-in cover that features Tyrone Power. It's about an ambitious young man who starts out as a phony mentalist on the carnival circuit and ends up becoming a spiritualist leading seances for New York's upper crust.

William Lindsay Gresham attributed the origin of Nightmare Alley to conversations he had with a former carnival worker while they were both serving as volunteers with the Loyalist forces in the Spanish Civil War. (fr. Wikipedia)

Movie Cover with Tyrone Power

Purchase #3 Nita's Place by Harry Whittington

The cover of this book features a review blurb from The New York Times, a rariety for this type of book. This is a fairly rare book that actually commands some decent money in the secondary market. 

According to the web site Florida Authors: "Harry Benjamin Whittington (1915-1989) was a native Floridian and a prolific writer. Besides writing over 150 novels, he also wrote screenplays, television scripts, and short stories. A collection of Whittington's manuscripts is at Florida State University, Tallahassee."

Update:
Having read Nita's Place I now know that this is not a mystery novel, but a pot boiler with a fair amount of sex (tame 1960 sex that is). Most of the action takes place around the swimming pool of the Cape View Hotel, situated near Cape Canaveral Florida. Rocket launches and the beginning of the space program provide a unique back drop for the various goings on. Gotta say it held my attention and kept me reading.

Nita's Place - Harry Whittington