PaperBack: “When She Was Bad”

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



When She Was Bad, by William Ard (Dell, 1960).
Cover illustration by Robert McGinnis.

PaperBack: “File on a Missing Redhead”

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



File on a Missing Redhead, by Lou Cameron (Fawcett Gold Medal, 1968). The cover artist isn’t identified. However, a Facebook commenter says that a close inspection of the illustration reveals a faint signature just to the left of the nude’s foot and right knee which may be that of Roger Kastel, who also created the original paperback cover and movie poster for Jaws. If you’d like to enjoy more redhead book covers, click here.

(Hat tip to Tim Hewitt.)

READ MORE: “Forgotten Books: File on a Missing Redhead, Lou Cameron,” by Bill Crider (Bill Crider’s Pop Culture Magazine).

PaperBack: “The Lineup”

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



The Lineup, by Frank Kane (Dell, 1959), a novel based upon the 1954-1960 CBS-TV series of the same name, starring Warner Anderson and Tom Tully. Cover illustration by Victor Kalin.

PaperBack: “Don’t Push Me Around”

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


Don’t Push Me Around, by Elliott Gilbert (Popular Library, 1955). Cover illustration by Raymond Johnson.

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: “Brown’s Requiem”

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



Brown’s Requiem, by James Ellroy (Avon, 1981). Cover illustration by Stephen Peringer. See Peringer’s original artwork here.

PaperBack: “The Case of the Sun Bather’s Diary”

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



The Case of the Sun Bather’s Diary, by Erle Stanley Gardner (Pocket, 1962). This is the 47th book in Gardner’s best-selling series starring Los Angeles defense attorney Perry Mason. Cover illustration by Robert McGinnis.

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: “Death in the Wind”

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



Death in the Wind, by Edwin Lanham (Permabooks, 1957). Originally serialized in The Saturday Evening Post in 1955. Cover illustration by James Meese.

PaperBack: “Thank You, Mr. Moto”

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



Thank You, Mr. Moto, by John P. Marquand (Bantam, 1957). This is the second of Marquand’s half-dozen novels featuring the probably pseudonymous I.A. Moto, a Japanese secret agent.
Cover illustration by Sandy Kossin.

PaperBack: “A Kiss Before Dying”

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



A Kiss Before Dying, by Ira Levin (Signet, 1954).
Cover illustration by George Ziel.

PaperBack: “Prisoner’s Base”

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



Prisoner’s Base, by Rex Stout (Bantam, 1955). Originally published in 1952, this was Stout’s 15th novel starring detectives Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. Cover illustration by Barye Phillips.

PaperBack: “She Wouldn’t Surrender”

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

She Wouldn’t Surrender, by “James Kendricks,” aka Gardner Fox (Monarch, 1960). The star of this novel, Isabella Maria “Belle” Boyd, was a real-life Confederate spy during America’s bloody Civil War. Cover illustration by Robert Maguire.

PaperBack: “End of a Stripper”

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



End of a Stripper, by “Robert Dietrich,” aka E. Howard Hunt (Dell, 1960). This was the second entry in future Watergate conspirator Hunt’s series of thrillers starring Washington, D.C.-based CPA-cum-private eye Steve Bentley. Cover illustration by Freeman Elliott.

PaperBack: “The Three Coffins”

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



The Three Coffins, by John Dickson Carr (Dell, 1960).
Cover illustration by William Teason.

PaperBack: “Come Be My O.R.G.Y.”

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



Come Be My O.R.G.Y., by “Ted Mark,” aka Theodore Mark Gottfried (Berkley Medallion, 1968). This is the ninth entry in a once-popular series starring Steve Victor, a lascivious secret agent known as The Man from O.R.G.Y. Cover illustration by Stanley Borack.

PaperBack: Happy Mother’s Day!

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



Mothers and Daughters, by Evan Hunter (Cardinal, 1962).
Cover illustration by James Hill.

PaperBack: “Beacon in the Night”

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



Beacon in the Night, by Bill S. Ballinger (Signet, 1960).
Cover illustration by Robert E. Schulz.

PaperBack: “The Mediterranean Caper”

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



The Mediterranean Caper, by Clive Cussler (Pyramid, 1973), which Wikipedia says was “the first published book featuring the author’s primary protagonist, Dirk Pitt.” Cover illustration by Jim Sharpe.

PaperBack: “Too Many Murderers”

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



Too Many Murderers, by Manning Lee Stokes (Graphic, 1955), originally published in 1951 as The Crooked Circle.
Cover illustration by Clyde Ross.