Don't Come Crying To Me is number five in the Timothy Dane series written by William Ard, one of the most popular pulp writers in the 1950's, and certainly a favourite of mine. He wrote around five books a year using four other pseudonyms. The first book he published, The Perfect Frame, introduced his most popular character, New York gumshoe Timothy Dane, but it is his stand alone fiction that I like best.
Lush redhead Kyle Wilson asks Timothy Dane to take on the case of her younger sister Lisa, who is about to give birth. The trouble: three men believe they are the father and Lisa is not speaking up. Her fiancé wants to marry her before the baby arrives; Kyle believes her recently divorced ex-husband is the father but no one can find him; Grandfather-to-be Charlie Wilson is a wealthy megalomaniac and wants the baby brought to the estate, and his business competitor, rough mob boss Bill Bowers - thinking he is the father - plans to kidnap the baby from everyone. Timothy plays bodyguard to Lisa as she goes to a private hospital with Kyle, but the baby disappears in a nighttime shootout. Too much time is spent as Timothy sits in jail, unable to explain the events to police, but as soon as he is released, loyalties turn and motives are revealed. Meanwhile in the mystery of who-is-the-father, what happened to the baby? It ends in an intense finale with stabbing, shooting, and shocking revelations of paternity.
Perhaps being part of a series, there is no background given here on Timothy or the characters - it just takes off from page one. It's not really needed as this is action based with a "jet propelled narrative" (New York Herald Tribune)". Timothy is New York rugged but with a heavy streak of decency, a thinking-man's detective, adept in any dangerous or compromising situation. If you are looking for tough-guy action, Ard certainly packs a lot of story into 128 pages!
As usual for Popular Library titles, the cover attracts, but depicts a scene not in the book. Even the tag "he couldn't say 'no' to a beautiful woman" isn't correct, he consistently declines their advances, but who cares. There is an electric scene as Kyle reveals true motives - ripping her clothes off in front of Timothy in a sexually charged frenzy of anger - that should have been on the cover!
My other reviews for William Ard:
1954 / Paperback / 128 pages
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