I'm a big Carter Brown fan, but of all the series he penned over his illustrious (or infamous?) career, the Al Wheeler books have to be my least favorite.
Wheeler reads as a poor mans Hammer (check out the Mike Hammer books by Mickey Spillane, and later, by Max Allan Collins), the lone wolf detective theme just doesn't play out, with Wheeler reading more like a semi-competent private eye with a vague ability to protect and serve in the fictional Pine City, who is focused on the female form more than he is solving a murder.
Sure, The Exotic is chock block full of that buttery pulp popcorn goodness I love so much but the dialogue really makes it hard to enjoy this for what it is; a pulp disguised as a clever murder mystery. Wheeler's scenes with his boss Lavers are hard to swallow and come across as juvenile and irrational rather than semi-professional. The believably here is low, very low.
What ultimately saves The Exotic is the ending. That last chapter is loaded with bloodshed and iconic scenes. Agnes (Hammer's love interest in this book) features heavily in the highlight reel, while the brazen display of bullets and bloodshed makes for some truly memorable moments.
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