Six Deadly Dames

They won't hurt if you lie still. Besides, I remember that clout on the head. . . Irene, you and I are going to have a very short conversation. First, let me tell you that Babe Delaney is in the hospital with a bullet in his guts. Alfred, that nice-faced little doggie, is in the same hospital with a bullet in his leg. Alfred got Babe. I got Alfred. A collection of six stories, some connected, featuring hard-boiled ex-cop Donny Donahue, who works for the Interstate Detective Agency. The tales ran in Black Mask magazine from 1931-1932. This collection was published in 1950. Oddly, there are only five stories featuring women among the six, though the early days of paperbacks were a bit different. Nebel began writing for Black Mask in 1926. His first series starred the two-man team of Captain Steve McBride and reporter Kennedy. The gents were constantly busy cleaning up Richmond City. Later film adaptations replaced Kennedy with a female journalist, Torchy Blane. Nebel, recalling what his friend Dash Hammett said about Hollywood, had nothing to do with the wretched alterations to his stories, but his reputation has perhaps suffered in the films' wake.