Hit and Run

by Richard Deming

He never should have gotten into it in the first place. But when you need money, sometimes you things you wouldn’t ordinarily think of doing. Nothing illegal, nothing like blackmail, something just a shade this side . . .

At least that was the way Barney Calhoun had it figured. It looked like the easiest ten thousand bucks he’d ever make. And she was lovely, though in the end she led him to murder . . .

An ex-cop turned private eye ought to know all the answers on how to commit the perfect crime. But somewhere along the line, he slipped up, and before he realized it they had him where the hair was short.

152 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Richard Deming (1915-1983) was a solid and reliable pro whose crime-writing career extended from late 1940s pulps to early 1980s digests. He also wrote several volumes of popular non-fiction late in his life.

He is most likely to be remembered as one of the most prolific contributors to Manhunt and the early days of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and as a paperback original writer, sometimes of novels based on TV shows (Dragnet, The Mod Squad, and under the pseudonym Max Franklin, Starsky and Hutch). He was also a frequent ghost for the Ellery Queen team on paperback originals and for Brett Halliday on lead novelettes for Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine.

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is without question a good story about a PI named Calhoun, a former Buffalo cop who was trolling for clients in a shady bar. After the bartender points out a well dressed couple, each married to someone else, Calhoun follows them out and witnesses a hit and run accident,
which he offers to clean up for a fee.

The driver was the woman he saw in the bar. She's married to a bank president and is fond of topless sunbathing. At least, every time Calhoun pays a call she's well exposed. And, he takes the bait, agreeing to cover up one crime after another
for one of the most cold, callous women he could ever have imagined.

Deming does a great job of leading the reader and Calhoun into the bottomless well step by step. In the end, it's as great a descent into hell as Dante ever wrote about.

It's a good story and very typical of this genre.

[Oli Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another recommendation from @papaerback warrior #hitandrun by #richarddeming published in 1960. Short fast and pulpy. Great stuff. Ex-cop turned private eye ‘blackmails’ an adulteress and her lover to help them evade the consequences of a hit and run and things escalate into murder. Featuring a wonderfully seductive femme fatale with some great twists and turns along the way. I read the abridged version of this in the best of manhunt collection last year. This is only a little longer but adds a few more layers, secondary characters and an extra gut punch at the end.

[Bill Krieger · Rating 3 out of 5]

 
I enjoyed this crime noir story published in 1960: 3 bill-stars.

Clocking in at 130 pages or so, Hit and Run reads and feels like a novella. Everything is pretty quick and basic: the plot, action, character development, setting, etc. I especially like the pulpy, crime noir feel and the book's power ending.

QOTD

He gave her his lower Pearl Street address. “West side of the sheet, just right of the alley. Lower right flat. Got it?”

“Lower Pearl Street,” she said with a slight sniff. “That isn’t a very nice neighborhood.”

“I’m not a very nice person,” Calhoun told her, and hung up.

- Calhoun and the lovely Helena, Hit and Run

A good read. thanks...yow, bill
 

[Brett Bayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here's the fifth Richard Deming crime novel I have read, and it's the second-best so far (after "The Careful Man"). This one involves an ex-cop turned private eye who tries his hand at a little light blackmail scheme and inadvertently gets sucked into a labyrinth of felony. Reason: his blackmail victim is a beautiful sociopath named Helena, who turns his world upside down. A very entertaining read, published in 1960 (the same year as "The Careful Man"). Note: I listened to the audiobook version, expertly narrated by Traber Burns.

[Miodrag Milovanović · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zabavan kratak krimić, starog kova, kakve sam svojevremeno čitao u edicijij X-100. Tipični karakteri - detektiv starog kova, fatalna hladnokrvna lepotica - u pruči sa dosta obrta, koji povremeno deluju i prenamešteno... Negde na granici trojke i četvorke...

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good.

I can highly recommend this. Hadn't read anything from this author before. The only reason I've knocked a star off is that typos crop up near the end. Gonna chase more Deming titles up. The ebook version was very cheap too. Enjoy !

[Steve Payne · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

A PI witnesses a hit and run accident and chooses to blackmail the driver; he soon becomes involved in something much deeper.

Plenty of disparate characters and noir atmosphere pull you into the narrative and - for at least half its length - take you on an enjoyable ride. Like so many novels in the genre however it drags to its conclusion and you increasingly have to suspend logic. The plusses definitely outnumber the negatives though - making it a worthwhile read.

I often find myself being picky with these old crime noirs - but I keep coming back; there's usually something interesting to be found and almost always tons of atmosphere. The noir films of the 40s and 50s are perhaps more consistent than their literary counterparts...