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Heat of Night
Hell broke loose in a heavenly way when he first laid eyes on the girl. She was ravishing and rare—a Cuban blonde with olive skin and deep, dark eyes.A simple conquest—until he made the mistake of falling in love with her.
- GenresMystery
100 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1960
3 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
About the author
Harry Whittington
179 books42 followersHe also wrote under the names Ashley Carter, Harriet Kathryn Myers, and Blaine Stevens, Curt Colman, John Dexter, Tabor Evans, Whit Harrison, Kel Holland, Suzanne Stephens, Clay Stuart, Hondo Wells, Harry White, Hallam Whitney, Henri Whittier, J.X. Williams.
Harry Whittington (February 4, 1915–June 11, 1989) was an American mystery novelist and one of the original founders of the paperback novel. Born in Ocala, Florida, he worked in government jobs before becoming a writer.
His reputation as a prolific writer of pulp fiction novels is supported by his writing of 85 novels in a span of twelve years (as many as seven in a single month) mostly in the crime, suspense, and noir fiction genres. In total, he published over 200 novels. Seven of his writings were produced for the screen, including the television series Lawman. His reputation for being known as 'The King of the Pulps' is shared with author H. Bedford-Jones. Only a handful of Whittington's novels are in print today.
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Harry Whittington (February 4, 1915–June 11, 1989) was an American mystery novelist and one of the original founders of the paperback novel. Born in Ocala, Florida, he worked in government jobs before becoming a writer.
His reputation as a prolific writer of pulp fiction novels is supported by his writing of 85 novels in a span of twelve years (as many as seven in a single month) mostly in the crime, suspense, and noir fiction genres. In total, he published over 200 novels. Seven of his writings were produced for the screen, including the television series Lawman. His reputation for being known as 'The King of the Pulps' is shared with author H. Bedford-Jones. Only a handful of Whittington's novels are in print today.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 15, 2022
Florida pot boiler about the son of a Noble Savage type fisherman, who is called home to extricate his sister from a greedy man twice her age. Of course, there's also a treasure hunt involved.
Not bad, but certainly not the best of these I've read.
Not bad, but certainly not the best of these I've read.
September 19, 2022
Harry Whittington, the "king of the paperbacks," wrote all kinds of novels, not just hardboiled yarns. He wrote a number of novels that could only be termed country noir, usually about poor Southerners, hillbillies, poor immigrants in small fishing towns. This book is country pulp in its most powerful form. It is filled with the strongest of passions, the most powerful emotions. It is entirely unlike the crime novels one might expect from Whittington, but it's a powerful piece and what's amazing is how slowly and carefully Whittington leads you into this world.
Big Juan is a fisherman, who dreams of finding sunken treasure and has such powerful passion for Big Rosa that they can be heard for ten blocks in any direction. Their daughter is a Cuban blonde, who works as a secretary for a wealthy contractor who can't concentrate on his work when she's around. Ric was the town football hero but that was lifetimes ago.
It's a tale in a small Gulf town on the marshes. What matters to these people are their hearts, their families, their traditions. And, Whittington tells their story with the devastating punch of his pulp-era writing. However, don't expect all these characters to be fully fleshed out or some to be much more than caricatures.
Big Juan is a fisherman, who dreams of finding sunken treasure and has such powerful passion for Big Rosa that they can be heard for ten blocks in any direction. Their daughter is a Cuban blonde, who works as a secretary for a wealthy contractor who can't concentrate on his work when she's around. Ric was the town football hero but that was lifetimes ago.
It's a tale in a small Gulf town on the marshes. What matters to these people are their hearts, their families, their traditions. And, Whittington tells their story with the devastating punch of his pulp-era writing. However, don't expect all these characters to be fully fleshed out or some to be much more than caricatures.
October 29, 2025
A Frustrating Love Story
Although sold under the Prologue Crime label, this isn’t really a crime novel. While a crime is committed and is key to the plot, the book itself is a love story. The lovers are a successful 36-year-old businessman and the 19-year-old daughter of a poor Florida fisherman who wants his daughter to have nothing to do with the older man. So that’s the main conflict, and ultimately it’s resolved. But not before a lot of confusion on the part of everybody about just about everything, and that’s what’s so frustrating. What we as readers want to happen keeps being thwarted by misunderstandings or miscommunication or just plain stubbornness. The first chapter is a delight - amusing and almost whimsical. But then the real story starts and suddenly we’re bogged down in a bunch of unnecessary misery. I’m a Whittington fan, but this not one of his best, I’m afraid.
Although sold under the Prologue Crime label, this isn’t really a crime novel. While a crime is committed and is key to the plot, the book itself is a love story. The lovers are a successful 36-year-old businessman and the 19-year-old daughter of a poor Florida fisherman who wants his daughter to have nothing to do with the older man. So that’s the main conflict, and ultimately it’s resolved. But not before a lot of confusion on the part of everybody about just about everything, and that’s what’s so frustrating. What we as readers want to happen keeps being thwarted by misunderstandings or miscommunication or just plain stubbornness. The first chapter is a delight - amusing and almost whimsical. But then the real story starts and suddenly we’re bogged down in a bunch of unnecessary misery. I’m a Whittington fan, but this not one of his best, I’m afraid.
July 11, 2023
Whittington goes for the melodramatic in this Florida-based fiction. It's a simple, over-written story that is plopped along Florida's gulf coast, near Tampa, where Whittington lived. The standard backdrop of a 'Blow' tucked into the background to aid the atmosphere. Big developer and Spanish-speaking family added to the most stereotypical story written of Florida in one way or other. I've read dozens of these from the late 1800s to present.
In this case, Whittington seems to have been churning a tale out to churn a book out. Despite WHittington's typical great skill of writing, this book is a step down.
About the Florida part: Far weaker than other Whittington books. He makes up the name of the area as 'Dead Bay'. He does well capture the fishing village feel. The storm was unneeded and not-well depicted.
Bottom line: I don't recommend this book. 4 out of 10 points.
In this case, Whittington seems to have been churning a tale out to churn a book out. Despite WHittington's typical great skill of writing, this book is a step down.
About the Florida part: Far weaker than other Whittington books. He makes up the name of the area as 'Dead Bay'. He does well capture the fishing village feel. The storm was unneeded and not-well depicted.
Bottom line: I don't recommend this book. 4 out of 10 points.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews