13 French Street

by Gil Brewer

Alex came innocently into the house. His friend had a mysterious sickness. Alex did not know that the sickness was in a woman's soul, and that he would almost die of it, too.

Genres: Noir, Fiction, Crime, Novels, Pulp, Pulp Noir

First published January 1, 1951

About the author

Florida writer Gil Brewer was the author of dozens of wonderfully sleazy sex/crime adventure novels of the 1950's and 60's, including Backwoods Teaser and Nude on Thin Ice; some of them starring private eye Lee Baron (Wild) or the brothers Sam and Tate Morgan (The Bitch) . Gil Brewer, who had not previously published any novels, began to write for Gold Medal Paperbacks in 1950-51. Brewer wrote some 30 novels between 1951 and the late 60s – very often involving an ordinary man who becomes involved with, and is often corrupted and destroyed by, an evil or designing woman. His style is simple and direct, with sharp dialogue, often achieving considerable intensity.

Brewer was one of the many writers who ghost wrote under the Ellery Queen byline as well. Brewer also was known as Eric Fitzgerald, Bailey Morgan, and Elaine Evans.

http://www.gilbrewer.com/

Reviews

[Carla Remy · Rating 4 out of 5]

10/2016

Gil Brewer was clearly writing for the market, the "paperback original" market (you can just picture this bright, seductive book cover at the newsstand). His writing veers (in a single novel) between not great and top quality. Also, lurid (an astounding amount of words are used to describe Petra's breasts). At first I found it rough and abrupt, but once the plot got going, I enjoyed reading it. Very dark, and of course evil is a woman. From 1951.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was Brewer's big seller—with more than 1.2 million copies sold on its original Gold Medal print run—and, from a literary standpoint, it certainly has some of his best prose. Although I'm more partial to Brewer's propulsive out-of-control style, the best example being A Taste For Sin, but 13 French Street has plenty of forward energy. Overall, I give it 4.5 stars, with the deduct being mainly for repetition, and that is partly by design as the bulk of the action takes place claustrophobically on the second floor of the house. As with Brewer's Satan Is a Woman, the femme fatale spends the first half of the novel teasing the protagonist - Alex Bland - into an obsessive and near insane frenzy. Once he's hooked, the murders begin. A brilliant noir depicting Bland's self-destruction as his conscience is eroded by desire, at first reluctantly, then willfully, and finally under a haze of alcohol as he deliberately tries to drive away the pain he's caused himself by jettisoning his conscience.

[Edwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brewer clearly had higher designs for his career in this early novel. The prose is tight and literary, brimming with impressive descriptions and similes. Brewer was no hack. Sexual obsession drives the plot, a topic that Brewer does as well, or better than most. What’s missing here is the insane plot twists that Brewer employed so well in his later novels. For example, I was expecting the narrators fiancé to show up at the worst possible time, but she never did. I’ve read better plotted Brewer, but never better written Brewer.

[Kurt Reichenbaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a simple vacation. That's what Alex Bland had planned on. Drop in on an old war buddy, do some fishing and hunting, get drunk, the usual guy-shit. Unfortunately for our hero Alex, his old war buddy Verne is married to Petra, noir babe from hell, and reside together in their house of headgames at 13 French Street.

There is a terrific passage late in the book that let's you know just how deep Alex gets: "I'd read someplace that there was one woman like this for every man. One evil bitch, or not evil, but one that could scar your soul, shred it to a bloody pulp just with a glance. With a thought, even. Snare, trap you, talk you into anything. One you'd do anything for...One that could drive you into black madness, into a deathless, grinning glassy-eyed hell."

This was published in 1951 by Gold Medal and was one of Gil Brewers more popular novels. He wrote some better ones later on, but this is still a pretty good time.

[Andy Weston · Rating 4 out of 5]

50s noir stands apart from other periods because of the compelling plots, and those plots alone, uncomplicated by tangents, deviations and sub-plots. They are often short and direct, to be read in a couple of sittings. This is a good example.

Brewer’s style in particular is blunt and to the point, without witty metaphors and euphemistic language; just the narrator telling his story. This was his second novel, and the bestselling of all (I think about 40 in total). He had more misses than hits, and often those misses included sleazy sex and women as weak characters.

But this certainly doesn’t.

The narrator is Alex Bland, an ordinary guy, an archeologist who visits his old army buddy Verne Lawrence. Verne is married to beautiful Petra, who has been corresponding with Alex about Verne’s health, and has already formed a friendship with him, at least in Alex’s mind.
There’s a slowish first half, but that works well as it builds the tension, then midway though blackmail and murder accelerate the pace dramatically.

It’s a fierce description of sexual obsession that must have shocked the readers of the day. And a suitably distressing finale that leaves the reader feeling contrite for having enjoyed something so bleak.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

In his third published novel, Gil Brewer revisits the thematic ground of his first novel, Satan Is a Woman. (There seems to be more than one woman with horns out there.) The narrator of 13 French Street, Alex Bland, goes to visit an old army buddy and his horny wife. Bland is named Bland to emphasize that he is just an ordinary guy--though he turns out to be more than an ordinary guy. Allegedly, he is about the most honest, decent ordinary guy that you could that you could ever want to meet . . . which explains why Satan might be particularly interested . . .

First reading: 13 May 2008
Second reading: 13 August 2011

[Jim Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite Brewer book. I felt that the sexual lust angle didn't quite ring true.

[James Thane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the course of a career that spanned some fifty years, Gil Brewer wrote several dozen pulp novels for publishers like Gold Medal. He specialized in stories that featured normal, average, every day men who were seduced into behaving badly by unbelievably evil, sexy, and beautiful women. His first novel was titled Satan Is a Woman, but the title could have just as easily served for at least half of the books he wrote, including Little Tramp, The Vengeful Virgin, Nude on Thin Ice, and many others.

In this case, the poor sap is Alex Bland. The name says it all, and Bland describes himself as "colorless and common with a conscience that would keep five people treading the straight and narrow. Nose-to-the-grindstone Bland."

Bland is an archaeologist who is starting a museum in Chicago. He's engaged to a lovely, straight-laced young woman named Madge, and his life is just about perfect, at least until he decides to spend a week visiting an old army buddy who lives just outside of a small town named Allayne. Bland apparently doesn't think it at all odd that he actually hasn't heard from his old army buddy, Verne Lawrence, in about three years, which is when Verne's wife, Petra, took over the correspondence. Since then, Petra has been writing Alex on a regular basis, sending him perfume-scented letters, urging him to come visit.

When he finally does, he realizes that he's in trouble even before his cab has disappeared around the corner. He's greeted at the door by Petra and is immediately under her spell. "She was tall, slimly provocative. All in black. Black hair, worn long, tumbling around her shoulders. Black eyes, all pupil, or all iris. Her skin was very white. Her black eyebrows arched slightly, making her eyes seem bolder than ever, and her smile had shock value. Long-legged, full-breasted, and the neckline of her dress reached down, Down. She was a bold, beautiful woman."

Alex is a goner.

It turns out that his old army buddy is a shadow of his former self, worn down by work, drink, and worry. And it's clear that he's no longer able to meet Petra's many needs. They live in a house with Verne's mother, an old crone who keeps a very close eye on Petra. Then, practically the moment Alex arrives, Verne has to go away for a week to deal with a problem at one of his construction sites in another city. He thus leave Alex alone in the house with Petra and Mom. Petra has plans of her own for the week. She fires both the maid and the cook to clear her way, and while Alex knows that he should be an honorable man, faithful to Madge and to his friend, Verne, it's clear that the irresistible Petra is not going to let that happen...

13 French Street is an excellent example of Brewer's work and of the pulp genre of which he was so central a part. Over seventy years after its original publication, it still has the ability to draw in a reader just as Petra draws in her hapless and helpless prey.

[Prateek Rath · Rating 4 out of 5]

13 French Street,Gil brewer's most popular novel doesn't disappoint at all. The story starts with Alex who's a World War 2 soldier visits his friend Verne taking time off from his museum project. There he finds his beautiful wife Petra who takes a keen and almost fatal interest in him from the first time they meet. Alex finds her irrésistible and from that point on things start to spiral out of control.

The alcoholism and fatalism that is a signature of the brewer novel is there as is the crazy evil femme fatale who's at the centre of it all. The action is fast,the sex is sleazy,the violence is graphic. The witty one-liners and the prose keep you hooked throughout as the stage is set and the characters reach the point of no return.

There's murder,there's blackmail and the ending is bleak. The book keeps your interest to find out how this nightmare is going to end as there seems no way out. Everyone goes deeper and deeper into the quicksand in an effort to get out.

However there are some blemishes that cannot be overlooked. The characters are one dimensional. Even their motivations sound a little over the top. Once the stage is set it's a dash to the end and that seemed rushed in an effort to wrap things up as quickly as possible. The ending is rather ambiguous and may leave done scratching their heads. A Central character in the story is completely oblivious to what's happening,even though it all takes place in his house.

Overall this a very good noir novel which has all the ingredients that brewer is famous for and is one of brewer's finest. Give this one a read and experience this for yourself.

7.5/10 Good old school noir.

[Tom Britz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wild ride of a book. It starts out with two old army buddies getting together again after 5 or so years. Alex Bland is becoming an accomplished archaeologist in Chicago, his friend Verne has married and runs a construction company. Alex shows up to spend a week with his friend and is shocked at how much his friend has changed and is surprised at Petra, Verne's wife, who is drop dead gorgeous. Verne has to leave to take care of a problem with his business, leaving Alex alone with Petra and Verne's old deaf and almost invalid mother. Things escalate along predictable lines until Verne's mother catches Alex and Petra together, Petra attacks her and the old woman ends up being pushed out a second floor window.
Gil Brewer writes a tale of passion and guilt that is so thick you can almost taste it. This is an intense story, even with the predictable story line the emotions are electric and cloying. Not exactly my usual cup of tea, but the writing carries this novel. And carries it well.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoilers ahead! This is a good, entertaining read, and features the typical Brewer noir hero: a guy who is a sap for a great set of gams with just enough conscience to never go all the way down the wrong road. But this one, apparently considered one of Brewer's best outings, seemed to me to make some obvious poor plot decisions. I really (and here comes the spoiler) expected the twist to be that Petra, the femme fatale, was setting up our hero, Victor, so she could make off with Emmett, the slack-jawed cow hand, and raw piece of unreflecting masculinity if there ever was one. But, instead, the narrative seems to lose its way and run out of gas at the end. It is not completely satisfying that Victor gets to have it both ways--a few romps in the hay with Petra and the pang-of-conscience reversal at the end. Still, quite the vacation for this somewhat nebbishy anthropologist's assistant (who still has enough muscle to take care of himself and the nerve to put the moves on a nice girl in a public park), and a good diverting read for us, too.

[Gordie LaChance · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lusty tale of a guy who goes to visit an old military pal and his wife. His friend seems like a shell of his former self and his wife is hot to trot. Murder and mayhem ensue.

A great deal of this book consists of the narrator lusting for his friend's wife and trying (not very hard) to fight his urges. While not explicit, it is a pretty frank and sassy novel for something published in 1951.

Brewer really sucked me in with his simple but effective prose and quick-paced story telling.

This a tawdry story. The narrator is a scumbag who cheats on his fiance with his best friends' wife, beats her, and whines about being unable to be anything other than a jerk.

That being said, I loved this one! Engrossing and fun!

[Hellblau · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yes, Brewer writes very well but the story was just too absurd for me. I’m sorry but no. Just no. It’s like a parody of the fatalistic noir, including the most over-the-top femme fatale imaginable. I’m happy to hear that this is only one of his early novels and his later are supposed to be better, because he clearly has the ability to write something better.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

13 French Street (1951)

This is Gil Brewer’s third novel, a Gold Medal Original, and it is a lot of fun to read. It seems to me to be noir in its purest incarnation. I was a bit worried that he was going to tack on the sort of unconvincing happy ending that he does in some of his novels, but he stops short of that here. Alex Bland, the narrator is, like Gil Brewer, a World War 2 veteran. Most of his hero/narrators are, and in this case, a second key character, Verne, is his war buddy. Verne and Alex have been corresponding so Andrew goes to visit Verne because of his letters, which turn out to possibly (I’m a little unclear here) have been written by Verne’s hot young wife Petra. So Alex leaves his wholesome young blonde fiancée Madge to visit Verne and is shocked to find his friend Verne is now a hollow shell of a man. “He looked as if someone had machine gunned his soul.” I personally think Brewer, at his best, had it all over Jim Thompson and this novel to me personifies the best of noir writing. You have men who have been destroyed, in one way or another, by war who are trying to eke out an existence in an amoral world. You have a vampish woman as well as two other women who seem to represent the “prize” good men can win if they live right. Andrew himself is a straightforward fellow with a conscience at the beginning of the novel, but living at close quarters with Petra strips all that away. Verne spends a lot of time a way, nominally to pursue business interests, but possibly he struggles with his own sexual orientation. Andrew and Petra don’t have the house to themselves, though, because Verne’s very old and deaf mother lives there, as well as a couple of servants. The real story here, of course, is about Andrew’s moral disintegration. The text itself places the blame for this solidly on Petra: ”I should have struck her then. I should have struck her and run. Because the fuse was lit now- the long, hot fuse that would blow me straight to hell.” But if you pay attention to the story there are indicators that Andrew’s relationship with Petra is at least destructive as his relationship with Petra. Brewer himself struggled with booze, so it’s accurate enough that if his problem was booze he’d blame a woman, but this is a story, not a psychological treatise, and in the end I was drawn as inexplicably into the tale as Andrew was toward self destruction. I’ve read nearly ten Brewer novels, and this one, that, in the end, suggests one of two possible fates for Alex.

One more point strikes me. I think it’s significant that the book’s title is a street address, because the house itself (and its immediate surroundings) is the center of most of the book’s action. Is domesticity itself the real threat here? Black haired Petra isn’t the only woman in the story. There is Madge, Andrew’s blonde fiancée, Jenny, the attractive red haired domestic servant, and Verne’s deaf mother, with her gray hair and gray clothing. Jenny and Madge seem to represent the most appealing version of “settling down,” but all of them seem to represent a different way of “settling down.” Whether you give in to the temptations of a torchy tramp, settle with a nice girl, or hunker down to take care of your incompetent and soon to be incontinent Mom, living under one roof is part of the package. I was reminded of Bruno Fischer’s best selling Paper Back Original novel House of Flesh (1950). Was Brewer influenced by that book? Hard to tell, but Lela, the dark haired, married lustbucket in that book similarly draws a smitten narrator into a web that bears an uncomfortable resemblance to America’s burgeoning suburbs.
Well, I strove to get through this without any spoilers, and I hope I succeeded. But whether I did or not, I hope you’re intrigued enough. I love Brewer and this may be my favorite so far.

[Jure · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things move forward pretty quickly with somehow predictable sequence of an affair, a murder and a case of blackmail. Needles to say, we know from the start it will end tragically.

Hot stuff. Real page turner.

More here (review includes spoilers!):
http://a60books.blogspot.ie/2015/03/1...

[Ray Downton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slightly far fetched noir tale, but a compulsive page turner all the same. Deeply atmospheric with a major femme fatale at the heart of it. Some empathy but also dislike at the hapless central character.

[Harding Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, it's another tale about a man falling "victim" to an evil seductress... powerless in her lustful grasp. Gil Brewer clearly had issues with women. But he also had a way with words that make you equally seduced and disturbed at the same time.

[Dave Robertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*/5.