Gil Brewer

Florida writer Gil Brewer was the author of dozens of wonderfully sleazy sex/crime adventure novels of the 1950's and 60's, including Backwoods Teaser and Nude on Thin Ice; some of them starring private eye Lee Baron (Wild) or the brothers Sam and Tate Morgan (The Bitch) . Gil Brewer, who had not previously published any novels, began to write for Gold Medal Paperbacks in 1950-51. Brewer wrote some 30 novels between 1951 and the late 60s – very often involving an ordinary man who becomes involved with, and is often corrupted and destroyed by, an evil or designing woman. His style is simple and direct, with sharp dialogue, often achieving considerable intensity.

Brewer was one of the many writers who ghost wrote under the Ellery Queen byline

If you like author Gil Brewer here is the list of authors you may also like

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Max Phillips

Max Phillips has received an Academy of American Poets Prize and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and his stories have appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, the Partisan Review, and the Village Voice, among other publications.

Forrest Devoe Jr. is the pen name of Max Phillips. In addition to cofounding the pulp revival imprint Hard Case Crime, he has authored one of its debut titles, Fade to Blonde, as well as the literary novels The Artist's Wife and Snakebite Sonnet.

He is married and lives in New York City.
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Hunt Collins

Born and raised as Salvatore Lombino in New York City.
Legally changed name to his pseudonym Evan Hunter.
Best known by his pseudonym Ed McBain.
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Sheldon Lord

A pseudonym used by Donald E. Westlake, Lawrence Block, Peter Hochstein and Milo Perichitch.

Books positively identified as Westlake's or Block's will also have their name in the author field.
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Day Keene

Day Keene, whose real name was Gunnar Hjerstedt, was one of the leading paperback mystery writers of the 1950s. Along with writing over 50 novels, he also wrote for radio, television, movies, and pulp magazines. Often his stories were set in South Florida or swamp towns in Louisiana, and included a man wrongly accused and on the run, determined to clear his name.
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Richard Aleas

Richard Aleas is a pen name of Charles Ardai.
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Ariel S. Winter

Ariel S. Winter was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Shamus Award, and the Macavity Award for his novel The Twenty-Year Death. He is also the author of the children’s picture book One of a Kind, illustrated by David Hitch, and the blog We Too Were Children, Mr. Barrie. He lives in Baltimore.
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Raymond Chandler

Raymond Thornton Chandler was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Great Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in 1933 in Black Mask, a popular pulp magazine. His first novel, The Big Sleep, was published in 1939. In addition to his short stories, Chandler published seven novels during his lifetime (an eighth, in progress at the time of his death, was completed by Robert B. Parker). All but Playback have been made into motion pictures, some more than once. In the year before his death, he was elected president of the Mystery Writers of America.
Chandler had
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David Goodis

Born and bred in Philadelphia, David Goodis was an American noir fiction writer. He grew up in a liberal, Jewish household in which his early literary ambitions were encouraged. After a short and inconclusive spell at Indiana University, he returned to Philadelphia to take a degree in journalism, graduating in 1937.
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Max Allan Collins

Received the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) in 2006.

He has also published under the name Patrick Culhane. He and his wife, Barbara Collins, have written several books together. Some of them are published under the name Barbara Allan.

Book Awards
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1984) : True Detective
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1992) : Stolen Away
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1995) : Carnal Hours
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) : Damned in Paradise
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1999) : Flying Blind: A Novel about Amelia Earhart
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (2002) : Angel in Black

Japanese: マックス・アラン・コリンズ
or マックス・アランコリンズ
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John Lange

John Lange™ is a pseudonym of author Michael Crichton. His pen name was selected as reference to his above-average height of 6' 9"(2.06 meters). Lange means "tall one" in German, Danish and Dutch.

Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Richard Stark

A pseudonym used by Donald E. Westlake.
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James M. Cain

James Mallahan Cain (July 1, 1892–October 27, 1977) was an American journalist and novelist. Although Cain himself vehemently opposed labeling, he is usually associated with the hard-boiled school of American crime fiction and seen as one of the creators of the "roman noir."

He was born into an Irish Catholic family in Annapolis, Maryland, the son of a prominent educator and an opera singer. He inherited his love for music from his mother, but his high hopes of starting a career as a singer himself were thwarted when she told him that his voice was not good enough.

After graduating from Washington College where his father, James W. Cain served as president, in 1910, he began working as a journalist for The Baltimore Sun.

He was drafted into th
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Lawrence Block

Lawrence Block has been writing crime, mystery, and suspense fiction for more than half a century. He has published in excess (oh, wretched excess!) of 100 books, and no end of short stories.

Born in Buffalo, N.Y., LB attended Antioch College, but left before completing his studies; school authorities advised him that they felt he’d be happier elsewhere, and he thought this was remarkably perceptive of them.

His earliest work, published pseudonymously in the late 1950s, was mostly in the field of midcentury erotica, an apprenticeship he shared with Donald E. Westlake and Robert Silverberg. The first time Lawrence Block’s name appeared in print was when his short story “You Can’t Lose” was published in the February 1958 issue of Manhunt. The f
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Ed McBain

"Ed McBain" is one of the pen names of American author and screenwriter Salvatore Albert Lombino (1926-2005), who legally adopted the name Evan Hunter in 1952.

While successful and well known as Evan Hunter, he was even better known as Ed McBain, a name he used for most of his crime fiction, beginning in 1956.

He also used the pen names John Abbott, Curt Cannon, Hunt Collins, Ezra Hannon, Dean Hudson, Evan Hunter, and Richard Marsten.
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Christa Faust

Christa Faust is an American author who writes original novels, as well as novelizations and media tie-ins.
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François Truffaut

François Roland Truffaut was an award-winning and influential filmmaker, critically acclaimed worldwide. He was also a talented and sought-after film critic in France (most notably, his work for Cahiers du Cinema), and one of the founders of the French New Wave and the auteur theory; he remains an icon of the French film industry. In a film career lasting over a quarter of a century, he was also a screenwriter, producer or occasional actor in over twenty-five films.
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Donald E. Westlake

Donald E. Westlake (1933-2008) was one of the most prolific and talented authors of American crime fiction. He began his career in the late 1950's, churning out novels for pulp houses—often writing as many as four novels a year under various pseudonyms such as Richard Stark—but soon began publishing under his own name. His most well-known characters were John Dortmunder, an unlucky thief, and Parker, a ruthless criminal. His writing earned him three Edgar Awards: the 1968 Best Novel award for God Save the Mark; the 1990 Best Short Story award for "Too Many Crooks"; and the 1991 Best Motion Picture Screenplay award for The Grifters. In addition, Westlake also earned a Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America in 1993.

Westlake's
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Max Phillips

Max Phillips has received an Academy of American Poets Prize and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and his stories have appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, the Partisan Review, and the Village Voice, among other publications.

Forrest Devoe Jr. is the pen name of Max Phillips. In addition to cofounding the pulp revival imprint Hard Case Crime, he has authored one of its debut titles, Fade to Blonde, as well as the literary novels The Artist's Wife and Snakebite Sonnet.

He is married and lives in New York City.
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Richard Aleas

Richard Aleas is a pen name of Charles Ardai.
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Derek Raymond

Aka Robin Cook.

Pen name for Robert William Arthur Cook. Born into privilege, Raymond attended Eton before completing his National Service. Raymond moved to France in the 50's before eventually returning to London in the 60's. His first book, 'Crust on its Uppers,' released in 1962 under his real name, was well-received but brought few sales. Moving through Italy he abandoned writing before returning to London. In 1984 he released the first of the Factory Series, 'He Died With His Eyes Open' under the name Derek Raymond. Following 'The Devil's Home On Leave' and 'How The Dead Live' he released his major work 'I Was Dora Suarez' in 1990. His memoirs were released as 'The Hidden Files'.
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Day Keene

Day Keene, whose real name was Gunnar Hjerstedt, was one of the leading paperback mystery writers of the 1950s. Along with writing over 50 novels, he also wrote for radio, television, movies, and pulp magazines. Often his stories were set in South Florida or swamp towns in Louisiana, and included a man wrongly accused and on the run, determined to clear his name.
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A.A. Fair

A.A. Fair is a pseudonym of Erle Stanley Gardner.
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Truman Capote

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Truman Capote was an American writer whose non-fiction, stories, novels and plays are recognised literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958) and In Cold Blood (1965), which he labeled a "non-fiction novel." At least 20 films and TV dramas have been produced from Capote novels, stories and screenplays.

He was born as Truman Streckfus Persons to a salesman Archulus Persons and young Lillie Mae. His parents divorced when he was four and he went to live with his mother's relatives in Monroeville, Alabama. He was a lonely child who learned to read and write by himself before entering school. In 1933, he moved to New York City to live wi
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Hunt Collins

Born and raised as Salvatore Lombino in New York City.
Legally changed name to his pseudonym Evan Hunter.
Best known by his pseudonym Ed McBain.
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Charles Williams

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Please see: Charles Williams

Charles Williams was one of the preeminent authors of American crime fiction. Born in Texas, he dropped out of high school to enlist in the US Merchant Marine, serving for ten years (1929-1939) before leaving to work in the electronics industry. He was a radio inspector during the war years at the Puget Sound Navy Yard in Washington state. At the end of World War II, Williams began writing fiction while living in San Francisco. The success of his backwoods noir Hill Girl (1951) allowed him to quit his job and write fulltime.

Williams’s clean and somewhat casual narrative style distinguishes his novels—which range from hard-boil
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Charles Williams

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Please see: Charles Williams

Charles Williams was one of the preeminent authors of American crime fiction. Born in Texas, he dropped out of high school to enlist in the US Merchant Marine, serving for ten years (1929-1939) before leaving to work in the electronics industry. He was a radio inspector during the war years at the Puget Sound Navy Yard in Washington state. At the end of World War II, Williams began writing fiction while living in San Francisco. The success of his backwoods noir Hill Girl (1951) allowed him to quit his job and write fulltime.

Williams’s clean and somewhat casual narrative style distinguishes his novels—which range from hard-boil
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Paul Connolly

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Daniel Boyd

When Central Ohio police chief “Daniel Boyd” retired from his career in law enforcement, he became a driver for the Red Cross, transporting elderly and disabled persons to medical appointments. He also began writing crime and adventure novels.

His first book, ‘NADA (2010), was nominated for the Spur Award for Best First Novel by the Western Writers of America and was reissued in 2023. As one reader put it, “The story blends Nazis, greed, mayhem and gold into a satisfying mix.”

Since ‘NADA was first published, Boyd has penned EASY DEATH (2014), THE DEVIL & STREAK WILSON (2020), AESOP’S TRAVELS (2023) and GONE TO GRAVEYARDS: A Streak Wilson Story (2023). He’s currently writing the third book in The Streak Wilson Series. Boyd writes daily, inclu
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Richard S. Prather

Richard Scott Prather was an American mystery novelist, best known for creating the "Shell Scott" series. He also wrote under the pseudonyms David Knight and Douglas Ring.

Prather was born in Santa Ana, California. He served in the United States Merchant Marine during World War II. In 1945 year he married Tina Hager and began working as a civilian chief clerk of surplus property at March Air Force Base in Riverside, California. He left that job to become a full-time writer in 1949. The first Shell Scott mystery, 'Case of the Vanishing Beauty' was published in 1950. It would be the start of a long series that numbered more than three dozen titles featuring the Shell Scott character.

Prather had a disagreement with his publisher in the 1970s
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Jonathan Craig

Jonathan Craig was a pseudonym for Frank E. Smith, an American writer who lived in Florida. His series character for most of his novels was PI Pete Selby. He also wrote many short stories.

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Jeff Vorzimmer

Jeff Vorzimmer is the editor of The Best of Manhunt, The Best of Manhunt 2 and The Manhunt Companion. He spent twenty years at The Austin American-Statesman and is currently a member of the team at Stark House Press. His writing has appeared in Down and Out, The Digest Enthusiast, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 2600 and Cool and Strange Music. He is an avid traveler, having visited over 40 countries and territories on all seven continents.
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Samuel Fuller

Samuel Michael Fuller was an American film director, screenwriter and novelist. Many of his films are remembered for their controversial topics and presentations.

Fuller's family moved from Worcester, Massachusetts to New York City after the death of his father. At the age of 12, he began working as a newspaper copyboy. He became a crime reporter at age 17, working for the New York Evening Graphic. During the Depression years he traveled across the United States by hitchhiking and riding trains. By the time the U.S. entered WWII Fuller had writing credit for several screenplays and had published in the pulp fiction trade.

Samuel Fuller served as an infantryman in World War II with the famed U.S. Army 1st Infantry Division, 16th Infantry Regi
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William R. Cox

William Robert Cox (1901-1988) was a writer for more than sixty years, and published more than seventy-five novels and perhaps one thousand short stories, as well as more than 150 TV shows and several movies on film. He was well into his career, flooding the market with sports, crime, and adventure stories, when he turned to the western novel. He served twice as president of the Western Writers of America, and was writing his fifth Cemetery Jones novel, Cemetery Jones and the Tombstone War, when he passed away. He wrote under at least six pen names, including Willard d’Arcy, Mike Frederic, John Parkhill, Joel Reeve, Roger G. Spellman and Jonas Ward.
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Thomas B. Dewey

Thomas Blanchard Dewey was an American author of hardboiled crime novels. He created two series of novels: the first one features Mac, a private investigator from Chicago, the second features Pete Schofield.
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