The latest Kindle “Big Deal” sale runs through May 28. Of the 500 books selected, an impressive number are Nathan Heller titles:
True Detective
True Crime
The Million-Dollar Wound
Neon Mirage
Stolen Away
Carnal Hours
Blood and Thunder
Damned in Paradise
Flying Blind
Majic Man
Angel in Black
Chicago Confidential
Chicago Lightning: The Collected Nathan Heller Short Stories
Triple Play: A Nathan Heller Casebook
If you’ve never read a Nathan Heller novel, then…well, first of all, how the hell did you wind up here? But let’s say you drifted in looking for some other Max Allan Collins. I guess I’d suggest starting with the first written/published novel, TRUE DETECTIVE, although chronologically the later STOLEN AWAY and DAMNED IN PARADISE come before it. Another possibility for newbies (my God, what a horrible word) would be the short story collection, CHICAGO LIGHTNING, or the novella one, TRIPLE PLAY. The latter has the added value of the lovely Barbara Collins appearing on the cover.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch….
I continue work on THE BIG SHOWDOWN. I should wrap up the novel this week, although the process of re-reading, checking for continuity goofs, doing minor rewriting, and assembling the manuscript itself will take me into next week.
If this turns into a full-blown series – I’ve committed to three – the new book may be more indicative of where subsequent ones will go. LEGEND is something of a crime novel set in western terms; but SHOWDOWN is a mystery, with the protagonist operating as a detective. I don’t know how my editor will react, but my feeling is that with Spillane and Collins as the byline, readers should expect a genre-cross between hard-shooting western and noir mystery.
Response to THE LEGEND OF CALEB YORK has been very good. Check out Tom McNulty’s fine review here.
And here’s another great one. Wow, you people are smart.
This may be the biggest LEGEND rave yet.
Of course, CALEB YORK isn’t the only Spillane/Collins title out there right now. There’s KILL ME, DARLING…which Mystery Maven says is the best of the Mike Hammer series!
Here’s some unexpected coverage for THE LUSITANIA MURDERS.
Finally, here’s some Cinemax News including QUARRY.
M.A.C.
Tags: Caleb York, Deals, Nathan Heller, Spillane, The Big Showdown, The Lusitania Murders
Will Dying in the Postwar World be sold as an ebook anytime soon? Maybe I missed this but I’ve never seen this book for sale (I only know about it when I saw it in the L.A. Public Library). As a Heller completist it’s the only one I’m missing.
Hi Louis —
The collections KISSES OF DEATH and DYING IN THE POST-WAR WORLD were retired and replaced with CHICAGO LIGHNTING (all the Heller short stories to date) and TRIPLE PLAY (all three novellas to date, including “Dying in the Post-War World”).
If you’re a completest in the sense that as a collector, you need those earlier editions, you should ABE Books and Amazon’s used books.
Thanks for caring about this stuff!
I’m just getting into Caleb York. At this point I’m seeing Robert Ryan’s character in Bad Day At Black Rock as Sheriff Harry Gauge.
Hi there. I discovered your Nate Heller series in the mid-nineties. I’d just finished all the Mike Hammer novels and wanted another hard-boiled fix. When I saw Mickey Spillane’s endorsement on a paperback of True Detective, I snatched it up. I’ve been reading your stuff ever since. I also recommend your work to other avid readers. Just recently, I got a co-worker hooked on the Nate Heller series. She loved Angel In Black and she’s reading Flying Blind now. Thanks for all that you do.