MAP BACK MONDAY: Helen McCloy's She Walks Alone

Today is Mapback Monday. Here's another great Dell Map Back: She Walks Alone (1948) by Helen McCloy. 

"A Loose Bushmaster and Murder Make a Harrowing Voyage in 'SHE WALKS ALONE.' "

Helen McCloy (June 6, 1904 – December 1, 1994), is the pseudonym of Helen Clarkson. She was an American mystery writer, whose series character Dr. Basil Willing debuted in Dance of Death (1938). Willing believes, that "every criminal leaves psychic fingerprints, and he can't wear gloves to hide them." He appeared in 13 of McCloy's novels and in several of her short stories. McCloy often used the theme of doppelganger, but in the end of the story she showed a psychological or realistic explanation for the seemingly supernatural events.

Mapback Monday: Helen McCloy's Do Not Disturb

MapBack Monday. I love these old books.. great stories and great graphics. The perfect match. Today's Mapback is Helen McCloy's Do Not Disturb (1943). The book also has a cast of characters with descriptions. The Hotel Majestic is another hotel I won't be checking into any time soon. I really enjoy the writing, too, in the McCloy books.

Mapback is a term used by paperback collectors to refer to the earliest paperback books published by Dell Books, beginning in 1943. The books are known as mapbacks because the back cover of the book contains a map that illustrates the location of the action. Dell books were numbered in series.

Helen McCloy (June 6, 1904 – December 1, 1994), is the pseudonym of Helen Clarkson. She was an American mystery writer, whose series character Dr. Basil Willing debuted in Dance of Death (1938). Willing believes, that "every criminal leaves psychic fingerprints, and he can't wear gloves to hide them." He appeared in 13 of McCloy's novels and in several of her short stories. McCloy often used the theme of doppelganger, but in the end of the story she showed a psychological or realistic explanation for the seemingly supernatural events. 

Read J F Norris's review of Do Not Disturb on Pretty Sinister Books.

MAP BACK MONDAY: Jack Iams' What Rhymes with Murder?

Map Back Monday: Jack Iams' What Rhymes with Murder? 
"When a lusty Lothario sings his serenade, romance rhymes with death!"

I love these Dell Mapbacks, don't you? This is #631. And, the price can't be beat! 25 cents!

 

From the 1950 Kirkus Review:  
City Editor Rockwell and his hard to woo and win Jane (of Do Not Murder Before Christmas) are again confronted by bodies when the Record is threatened by the new, mobminded owner of the Eagle and one of its imported gunsels killed. The murder of a radical, lecherous poet puts Rockwell hors de combat, endangers Jane and it is the Record's society editor Debbie who unmasks a jealous villain while Rockwell untangles the mobster's death. Two solutions to double-deading in a light touch, lover interest mystery.

MAPBACK MONDAY: Helen McCloy's The Goblin Market

Mapback Monday! I love these wonderful Dell Mapbacks.

Here's a great Mapback paperback -- Helen McCloy's The Goblin Market. The title and quotation are from Christina Rossetti's poem "Goblin Market." The novel was first published in 1942, but by Dell as a Mapback paperback in 1943.

I'm a big fan of Helen McCloy and her Dr. Basil Willing. The Goblin Market is set during WWII (1942) on the island of Santa Teresa in the Caribbean. This is a spy novel and involves codes and ciphers (cablese), as the foreign correspondents send cables to the home office. And, McCloy adds a good chapter on how cablese works. Helen McCloy was herself a newspaper correspondent in Paris, so she knows what she writes. I like the feminist and psychological elements of this novel. I also like that The Goblin Market foreshadows my favorite McCloy, Through a Glass, Darkly.

Mapback Monday: What Rhymes with Murder?

Mapback Monday: Jack Iams' What Rhymes with Murder? 
"When a lusty Lothario sings his serenade, romance rhymes with death!"

I love these Dell Mapbacks, don't you? This is #631. And, the price can't be beat! 25 cents!

 
From the 1950 Kirkus Review:  
City Editor Rockwell and his hard to woo and win Jane (of Do Not Murder Before Christmas) are again confronted by bodies when the Record is threatened by the new, mobminded owner of the Eagle and one of its imported gunsels killed. The murder of a radical, lecherous poet puts Rockwell hors de combat, endangers Jane and it is the Record's society editor Debbie who unmasks a jealous villain while Rockwell untangles the mobster's death. Two solutions to double-deading in a light touch, lover interest mystery.

Mapback Monday: Lady in the Tower

MapBack Monday: Lady in the Tower by Katherine Newlin Burt. 1946.  (Dell Mapback #191)

Mapback Monday! Helen McCloy's The Goblin Market

Mapback Monday is back! I've been meaning to post more of these wonderful Dell Mapback Paperbacks from my collection.

Here's a great Mapback paperback-- Helen McCloy's The Goblin Market. The title and quotation are from Christina Rossetti's poem "Goblin Market." The novel was first published in 1942, but by Dell as a Mapback paperback in 1943.

I'm a big fan of Helen McCloy and her Dr. Basil Willing. The Goblin Market is set during WWII (1942) on the island of Santa Teresa in the Caribbean. This is a spy novel and involves codes and ciphers (cablese), as the foreign correspondents send cables to the home office. And, McCloy adds a good chapter on howcablese works. Helen McCloy was herself a newspaper correspondent in Paris, so she knows whereof she writes. I like the feminist and psychological elements of this novel. I also like that The Goblin Market foreshadows my favorite McCloy, Through a Glass, Darkly.