John Mcmahan

Hard-boiled Christmas Stories John Mcmahan

Gats, gals, gangsters, good guys, and even a little gore enliven the holidays in this top-shelf collection of nine great tales of Yuletide homicide from the golden days of the pulp magazines ? plus the first new Dan Turner, Hollywood Detective story in more than 60 years, written by John Wooley, scripter of the 1990 made-for-TV movie featuring Marc Singer as the famed Tinseltown snoop. Ripped from the mouldering pages of the thrill-a-minute magazines of the 1930s and '40s, these fast-paced and thoroughly entertaining tales were penned by such great names of yesteryear as Steve Fisher, author of I Wake up Screaming; Zorro creator Johnston McCulley; and D. L. Champion, who contributes a story featuring one of the wildest detective characters ever: Inspector Allhoff, the sullen, legless coffee drunkard known for mercilessly browbeating his subordinates ? and he's the hero! Featuring an evocative cover from noted artist David Saunders, Hard-Boiled Christmas Stories collects the best holiday-themed tough-guy yarns of a bygone era, adds a brand-new one written in the same style and spirit, and offers it all up as an offbeat and unforgettable entertainment package, suitable for slipping under any adventurous reader's Christmas tree.