PaperBack: “Manhunt”

Part of a series honoring the late author and blogger Bill Crider.



Manhunt, by Donald MacKenzie (Popular Giant, 1958). Originally published in Great Britain in 1956 as Nowhere to Go, this novel focuses on “a criminal who escapes from jail and attempts to recover his stashed loot but is shunned by the criminal community and hunted by the police.” It was released a year later in the States as Manhunt. Director Seth Holt brought MacKenzie’s story to the big screen in 1958 under its original title. Cover art by Harry Schaare.

READ MORE: “Author Donald MacKenzie’s Crime and Spy Thrillers, 1956–1993, Feat. the Raven Series, The Kyle Contract and a Bibliography,” by Nick Jones (Existential Ennui).

PaperBack: “The Golden Lure”

Part of a series honoring the late author and blogger Bill Crider.



The Golden Lure, by Michael Barrett (Crest, 1956). Originally titled The Reward, and published in 1955 by Longmans Green & Company, London, this story was adapted into a 1965 motion picture starring Max von Sydow, Yvette Mimieux, and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. The cover art is by Harry Schaare.

When I started The Rap Sheet’s “PaperBack” series—continued from one that had run for years in Crider’s delightful blog—I didn’t know how long I could keep it up. I wrote in my introduction to the project that “I’ve given myself a full year to experiment with this idea.” Three years have now passed, and the post you’re enjoying today is my 100th entry in the series. I guess my experiment was a success.

PaperBack: “Congo Song”

Part of a series honoring the late author and blogger Bill Crider.



Congo Song, by Stuart Cloete (Monarch Giants, 1958).
Cover illustration by Harry Schaare.

PaperBack: “Vice Trap”

Part of a series honoring the late author and blogger Bill Crider.


Vice Trap, by Elliott Gilbert (Avon, 1958).
Cover illustration by Harry Schaare.

PaperBack: “You’ll Get Yours”

Part of a series honoring the late author and blogger Bill Crider.


You’ll Get Yours, by “Thomas Wills,” aka William Ard (Lion, 1956). Cover illustration by Harry Schaare.