PaperBack: “The Disappearance of Penny”

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



The Disappearance of Penny, by Robert J. Randisi (Charter, 1980). Randisi noted in an interview with Shots that this was his “first mystery novel.” It was also his only novel featuring New York Racing Commission investigator Henry Po, though Po appeared later in three short stories. Cover illustration by Mitchell Hooks.

PaperBack: “Hot Winds of Summer”

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



Hot Winds of Summer, by John H. Secondari (Popular Giant,
1957). This novel by an American author and TV producer was originally published in 1955 as Spinner of the Dream. Cover illustration by Mitchell Hooks.

PaperBack: “The Confidential Agent”

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


The Confidential Agent, by Graham Greene (Bantam, 1951).
Cover illustration by Mitchell Hooks.

PaperBack: “Double Agent”

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



Double Agent, by “Gene Stackelberg,” aka Ouida Adams (Popular Library, 1959). Adams/Stackelberg penned at least one other novel, The Man Outside (1959), which also featured spy protagonist Bill McLean and was adapted as a 1968 British movie.
Cover illustration by Mitchell Hooks.

PaperBack: “The Widow and the Web”

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


The Widow and the Web, by Robert Martin (Bantam, 1955), the fourth novel in his series starring Cleveland, Ohio, gumshoe Jim Bennett. Cover illustration by Mitchell Hooks.