Pick Up A Pulp [21]: A GIRL CALLED HONEY by Lawrence Block & Donald Westlake

Originally published in 1960 as an erotic novel under the authors respective pulp pseudonyms of the time (Sheldon Lord and Alan Marshall), A Girl Called Honey would be tame by today's more openly lurid standards (and I say that in a nice way).

The focus of the book is Honour Mercy Bane, daughter of churchgoing, god-fearing people who gets sent packing after being caught out for one too many indiscretions with the opposite sex - far from wanton, Honour's only black-mark in the eyes of her parents is having sex out of wedlock, immediately she's branded a whore and left to find her way in the world. 

She winds up in a small town, and ultimately gets a job in a cafe which happens to be a front for a brothel; her parents termed her a whole therefore she acts on it and earns a profitable living for while on her back. Before long she meets a young man named Joseph, AWOL from the Air Force who appeals to her nature, soon enough they're living together, he in the apartment all day in fear of being caught, her at the cafe earning a paycheck. The couple decide to relocate to New York after Joesph's paranoia has him believing the net in closing in on him. That's where things get interesting. 

In New York, Honour (going by the name Honey to Johns and acquaintances in the profession) sets to turning tricks on the streets before being snapped up by a high class call girl syndicate. It's here she meets James Crawford, a lawyer and family man who falls head over heals for her. There's a problem, Honey is in love with Joseph and James is used to getting what he wants - naturally things take a murderous turn and Honey/Honour's life is turned inside out. 

A Girl Called Honey is a surprisingly good read that stacks up well against some of today's pulp/noir novels. Sure there's not a lot of depth to these characters but they are well written and fit their environment perfectly. I loved how dark the story turned and will definitely be picking up Sin Hellcat, the next book by these two great writers.

My rating: 5/5, pick up this pulp. 

Review: SEE WHAT I HAVE DONE by Sarah Schmidt

Publisher Hachette
Length 328 pages
Format paperback
Published 2017
Series standalone
My Copy I bought it

My Review

See What I Have Done is the fictitious retelling of the Borden murders in 1892 in which Lizzie Borden was accused of having murdered her father and step mother in their home. 

The book focuses on the murders themselves, though the culprit is never clearly identified as the murders remain unsolved to this day, the daughters in Lizzie (who was a home when the murders took place) and Emma (who was staying with a friend at the time) and housekeeper Bridget. John, Lizzie and Emma's uncle also gets page time having arrived at house the day prior the heinous event. The book is told from the points of view of these key characters as well as another, Benjamin, a streetwise thug hired by John to take care of Andrew and Abby (the murdered father and step mother) by giving them a scare for their inappropriate treatment of the daughters. Whether or not this meant committing the act of murder is alluded to though not explicit.

One thing that stands out is the atmosphere of the house where the murders took place. Author Sarah Schmidt does a great job at transforming the humble home into a stuffy fortress full of vile smells and intimidating characters. 

Reader be warned, there are some stomach churning passages involving mutton broth, vomit and the decapitation of pigeons spattered throughout the book (though not necessarily linked to one another thankfully) which certainly add to the feel of the book. 

I liked See What I Have Done but wasn't blown away by it. Of all the characters I thought Benjamin was the most interesting - his backstory was well written and he added another layer of mystery to the murders. 

My rating: 3/5 stars, there's reread value in this one.   

Reviews from the web

I enjoy reading other peoples reviews on books I'm thinking of buying/borrowing/accepting for review to gain another's perspective. Here's some new-ish reviews of recent published books from around the web that are on my radar.

The Late Show by Michael Connelly, reviewed on Crime Watch - this new crime series by the author of the Harry Bosch series looks great. 

After Life by Marcus Sakey, reviewed on The Real Book Spy - it's been a while since I read a book by Marcus Sakey but this surreal thriller has me interested. 

Killing is My Business by Adam Christopher, reviewed on Criminal Element - currently reading this one, shout out to Tor Books for the review copy. 

Darktown by Thomas Mullen, reviews on Goodreads - originally published in 2016 with a new paperback edition published Feb 2017, this new series set in the 1940's looks like a winner.