About this ebook
From Mystery Writers of America Grand Master George Harmon Coxe: His job was to protect a friend from suicide, but he didn’t count on murder.
After a car crash takes his daughter’s life, John Gannon doesn’t want to live anymore. He tries twice to kill himself—first by jumping, next with pills—but doesn’t succeed. His doctors recommend a beach vacation with close supervision. For a week Dave Barnum watches his despondent friend drink, fish, and gamble, and gradually grows sick of his ill temper. Finally, convinced that John Gannon has gotten past his suicidal tendencies, Barnum lets his guard down. The mistake proves fatal. That night, at Club 80, someone drugs Barnum’s brandy. By the time he makes it home, Gannon is dead. As he inspects his friend’s body, the killer wallops him on the skull and escapes unseen. Barnum’s job was to protect John Gannon. He failed, and now it’s time for some payback.
After a car crash takes his daughter’s life, John Gannon doesn’t want to live anymore. He tries twice to kill himself—first by jumping, next with pills—but doesn’t succeed. His doctors recommend a beach vacation with close supervision. For a week Dave Barnum watches his despondent friend drink, fish, and gamble, and gradually grows sick of his ill temper. Finally, convinced that John Gannon has gotten past his suicidal tendencies, Barnum lets his guard down. The mistake proves fatal. That night, at Club 80, someone drugs Barnum’s brandy. By the time he makes it home, Gannon is dead. As he inspects his friend’s body, the killer wallops him on the skull and escapes unseen. Barnum’s job was to protect John Gannon. He failed, and now it’s time for some payback.
About the author
George Harmon Coxe (1901–1984) was an early star of hard-boiled crime fiction, best known for characters he created in the seminal pulp magazine Black Mask. Born in upstate New York, he attended Purdue and Cornell Universities before moving to the West Coast to work in newspapers. In 1922 he began publishing short stories in pulp magazines across various genres, including romance and sports. He would find his greatest success, however, writing crime fiction.DIV /divDIVIn 1934 Coxe, relying on his background in journalism, created his most enduring character: Jack “Flashgun” Casey, a crime photographer. First appearing in “Return Engagement,” a Black Mask short, Casey found success on every platform, including radio, television, and film. Coxe’s other well-known characters include Kent Murdock, another photographer, and Jack Fenner, a PI. Always more interested in character development than a clever plot twist, Coxe was at home in novel-writing, producing sixty-three books in his lifetime. Made a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America in 1964, Coxe died in 1984./div
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
