The Passion Murders

by Day Keene

Keene's tale about a big city attorney hungering for the simple life. His assignment to be a special prosecutor and tackle a big-time crime figure, along with what he saw his wife and law partner doing together, hastens the exit. But the simple life ain't so simple, and the kind of crime he thought he'd left in the big city show up there too. This work was first published as "Farewell to Passion."

Genres: Noir

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1951

About the author

Day Keene, whose real name was Gunnar Hjerstedt, was one of the leading paperback mystery writers of the 1950s. Along with writing over 50 novels, he also wrote for radio, television, movies, and pulp magazines. Often his stories were set in South Florida or swamp towns in Louisiana, and included a man wrongly accused and on the run, determined to clear his name.

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this 1955 pulp, Keene takes a high-on-the-hog Los Angeles attorney married to the biggest up and coming movie actress and rips his life apart, drowning him in utter agony and misery. Hi Shannon (not clear what "Hi" is short for) is a country boy who doesn't fit in with the Hollywood crowd and isn't exactly comfortable with the shenanigans that go on there. And when the recording star who made a pass at his wife, Sally, in front of everyone shows up at Shannon's office, all he can think to do is throw the bum out. That's before this singer tells Shannon about the jam he was in, driving back from a Tahoe weekend and hitting a kid who ran out on the highway and that it was Sally driving. Shannon screams bloody murder and eventually agrees to help them out of the jam, figuring he'll fix it and then scram out of Tinselltown for good. Keene does a great job of showing how Shannon is on the edge of the cliff, ready to fall off and take everyone with him.

Keene throws everything including the kitchen sink into this one, from a hoodlum who seems to control everything to the Klan and small town mobs. Shannon's a guy on the run, but he can't run far enough to escape trouble which seems to follow him wherever he goes. The frenetic energy of this one never dissipates.

It's not clear whether Keene combined a couple of short stories or separate plot lines, but there is certainly material here to make up two separate novels rather than just one.

[Timo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oikein mainio ja nokkela juoninen vauhdikas tarina, edes paikoitellen kompasteleva suomennos ei häirinnyt ja nopeasti luin koko teoksen.
Keene on noussut nopeasti suosikkeihini.

[Rob Smith, Jr. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Keene loses his way in this book that travels from one side of the country to the other.

A really stupid lawyer finds himself caught in a mess of hit and runs, his wife cheating, mob boss, amorous secretary and more. If all is against you, where is the last place you go? Answer: Where you came from. The lawyer is not the only stupidly written here. Law enforcement is written with worse abilities. All to create a preposterous story that ends with a ton of questions as to what Keene was thinking.

The dialogue is OK. The settings are poorly rendered, with exception to writings of fictitious Elfers, Georgia. Per chance, Keene lived not far from Elfers, Florida.

Bottom line: i don't recommend this book. 3 out of ten points.

[Kurt Reichenbaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Attorney on the lam in Mexico.