Böcker av Lorenz Heller

WILD IS THE WOMANEve Barry is a woman on a mission-to free her brother from prison for a crime he didn't commit. The man who put him there is Vance Owen, now a city councilman and soon to be major. But Vance is a liar and a rat, and Eve intends to get him to change his charge against her brother, whatever it takes. But first, she has to get his attention. Knowing that he has a weakness for strippers, Eve joins a burlesque show. There she meets Sugar, cynical captain of the chorus girls; Cheeta, a Latin spitfire with a larcenous soul; Wiley, self-effacing orchestra leader; and Jeff O'Hare, the hard-bitten, tough-talking manager. All Eve has to do now is learn how to take her clothes off on stage... LOVERS DON'T SLEEPSuzy is crazy in love with Harry Sloan, but to Harry, she is just a means to an end. An attractive means, sure, but Suzy is more valuable to him working his divorce racket than anything else. And what a great racket it is. A couple want a quick divorce, and lawyer Harry arranges to have the husband found by the wife and a photographer in a hotel room with a scantily clad Suzy. It's a great scam. Except that the photographer, Joe, is worried that Suzy is letting herself be used by Harry. And now that Harry's got a new deal cooking with Camilla, Suzy means even less to him. If only Joe can wise up Suzy before it's too late...

PULP CHAMPAGNE"Lorenz Heller sought to accomplish the same goal he sought in writing his novels, that is, create crime fiction that offered a more complex and nuanced story featuring richer characterizations than was normally regarded as "appropriate" to the audience or "typical" to the medium."The thirteen stories included in this volume show Heller's work seeking a more mature expression of story, characterization and theme. These stories retain the pulp fiction characteristics of a simple story told using intriguing settings and engaging protagonists, but all the stories in this collection feature plots driven by character..."-Bill Kelly from his introduction

CRIME COPDetective Jeff Flavin gets assigned to head the Burglary detail when a rich guy named Sturgis is beaten and his beautiful wife murdered during a robbery of their safe. He and his partner, George Gilman, interview the murder victim''s best friend. They suspect the friend knows a lot more than she''s telling about what went on at the Sturgis''s. But overall there are very few clues-no fingerprints, only a light shoe print. This is the fourth robbery involving safe cracking and husband beating-all but the most recent involving the same kind of safe-so they start looking at disgruntled workers at the safe company. That''s when they discover Leonard Ferenc, who fits the bill perfectly. But finding Ferenc is another matter altogether. BODY OF THE CRIMELt. Ben Tutchek has been promoted to Commander of the Homicide Division. Delegating responsibility isn''t coming easy to him. But today, the day after the Fourth of July, it''s all hitting the fan at once-there''s a rape killing in South Branch Park, a drowned woman found floating in the river against the East Coast Fisheries dock, cop-fighters down at The Point, and the holdup of a Park Liquor Shop in which the owner is almost killed. As it that weren''t enough, the president of a large Manhattan company has fallen down dead in his office from a mysterious head wound. The Commissioner wants answers. And as the paperwork mounts on his desk, Tutchek is caught right in the middle, trying to solve it all himself.