Bank Job

Robert L. Fish

Jun 2015 · Open Road Media

About this ebook

Lieutenant James Reardon hunts for a gang of killers terrorizing San Francisco’s banks

The men enter the Jerold Avenue branch of the Farmers & Mercantile Bank wearing matching suits, hats, and plastic masks. They demand cooperation, and their machine guns ensure that they get it. Less than three minutes after they enter, they leave, their bags bulging with the shipyard payroll. A passing cop tries to stop them, emptying his revolver as they peel away, and catches a bullet in the heart for his trouble. This is the gang’s first job in San Francisco, and it has been baptized with blood.
 
Taking the criminals down falls to homicide lieutenant James Reardon, who has never encountered such determined thieves. The gunmen leave no trace behind, but witness testimonies suggest there may have been an inside man. To break up the gang, Reardon will have to follow them across the country, and put his neck on the line.

Bank Job is the 3rd book in the Lieutenant Reardon Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

About the author

Robert L. Fish, the youngest of three children, was born on August 21, 1912, in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended the local schools in Cleveland and went to Case University (now Case Western Reserve), from which he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering. He married Mamie Kates, also from Cleveland, and together they have two daughters. Fish worked as a civil engineer, traveling and moving throughout the United States. In 1953 he was asked to set up a plastics factory in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He and his family moved to Brazil, where they remained for nine years. He played golf and bridge in the little spare time he had. One rainy weekend in the late 1950s, when the weather prohibited him from playing golf, he sat down and wrote a short story that he submitted to Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. When the story was accepted, Fish continued to write short stories. In 1962 he returned to the United States; he took one year to write full time and then returned to engineering and writing. His first novel, The Fugitive, won an Edgar Award for Best First Mystery. When his health prevented him from pursuing both careers, Fish retired from engineering and spent his time writing. His published works include more than forty books and countless short stories. Mute Witness was made into a movie starring Steve McQueen.
 
Fish died February 23, 1981, at his home in Connecticut. Each year at the annual Mystery Writers of America dinner, a memorial award is presented in his name for the best first short story. This is a fitting tribute, as Fish was always eager to assist young writers with their craft.