Published by Belmont Books in 1971
Peter McCurtin was born in Ireland in 1929 and immigrated to the US in his youth. He died in 1997. He also wrote under the names Bruno Rossi and Frank Carpetta. His first published book was a sleaze novel published by Midwood called Anything Goes. He was hired on as an editor at Belmont Tower and Leisure. He had many series and contributed to other long running series under their house name and sometimes other authors would use his name as a house name so it’s questionable as to who exactly wrote what but here is a list of some of the titles he had a hand in one or another.
He is responsible for the Western series Carmody.
Peter McCurtin’s Mafia and Crime Chronicles.
The Assassin series.
The Sharpshooter series under the very manly and Italian sounding pseudonym Bruno Rossi.
The Marksman. First two as Peter McCurtin and then continuing on as street tough turned author Frank Scarpetta. (I just added the “street tough” part for flavor)
Soldier of Fortune which is a series about a mercenary.
The Western series, Sundance
(Video review at bottom of this post)
The basic premise: Some mafia hoods show up in a small town in Maine. The local acting in-chief of police isn’t pleased but is very curious as to why they are there. Some corrupt shenanigans seem to be at play. Will this former NYC dirty cop join the payroll?
A large black custom-built Cadillac rolls into Chapmans Corners Maine. Disgraced former New York City detective, Greeley spots it for what it is, a mob car. They pull right up to him on the street and ask where to find the chief. He informs them the chief has had a stroke and is in the hospital and he is the acting chief. He then proceeds to tell them to hit the road.
This book starts with a great opener. It’s simple and lean and pulls you right in. Greeley is a tough talking and thinking embittered anti-hero. He took a bribe back in New York and got caught. Now he’s in the sticks trying to turn things around.
The writing is extremely hard boiled and sarcastic with plenty of self-deprecating remarks. It is also vulgar and crass. I’d say it’s a product of its time but there is literally a scene where Greeley keeps calling a gay character the other F word and then to my surprise justifies why he is saying that and not homosexual, because it “sounds too textbook.”
How about some more raunch on your 70s crime salad?
“…she smelled of Kahula and candy and perfume. I don’t know where she picked up on Kahula- they don’t sell it in the state liquor stores- but she drinks it like a father fucker, and no doubt she stocks up in Boston when she goes there shopping for fresh cock and other things.”
On the crime side, the action is a little slow but not boring. Here is where it also resembles more of a hard-boiled PI novel instead of a balls out crime book. The mob is trying to ease their way into this small town in Maine to reach a northern connection in Montreal. They aren’t doing it with muscle but with money. They have corrupted some of the town and Greeley spends most of the book uncovering the conspiracy. There is lots of manly posturing, some fisticuffs, backroom deals, sleight of hand plot twists and at one point Greely has to bang a hot lady for information. It’s a tough and pulpy working-class escapist fantasy and I loved it.
It also has lots of wintery snow atmosphere. This is all going down in the dead of winter in Maine. It’s a fun alternative setting for a mob story and McCurtin spent some time living in Maine so he knows the location well.
The climax is unfortunately the weakest part of the novel but it doesn’t soil the enjoyment of getting there.
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