Branded Woman

Tough, jaded, and smart, Cay Morgan is like any other jewel smugger except for one thing: she's a female. And a remarkably attractive female at that. In fact, her only physical flaw is a brand on her forehead, which left a permanent scar in the shape of the letter T. A brand inflicted as a permanent warning by "The Trader," a criminal kingpin standing at the top of the smuggling pyramid. Five years later, Morgan is determined to exact vengeance for the painful imprint. She is in Mazatlan, shadowing a man called Valdes, a known associate of the Trader. A private detective has accompanied her, ostensibly to watch her back and perform some legwork while she hunts for her nemesis. Things go bad, though, when Valdes turns up dead, cutting off her last link to the Trader. And then things go from bad to worse when she stumbles across the body of her private detective. Stunning plot twists and an utterly unpredictable conclusion are hallmarks of Branded Woman. Further, Morgan is fleshed out as a full-fledged person, not a cardboard cutout the way that many female protagonists are portrayed. All in all, while it's not the finest in the Hard Case Series ("Touch of Death" and "Bust" are two I consider superior), it's certainly high quality work that's helping to resurrect the Pulp genre.

In the pulp crime novel genre there are many sub divisions. One of them is the woman's revenge story. Branded Woman is one of the best you'll ever read. Five years ago Cay Morgan ran afoul of a mysterious figure called the Trader. On his orders her life was ruined and now she's finally tracked the one person who knows what the Trader actually looks like to a Mexican tourist town. Her plan is simple. She's come to kill the Trader. On Cay's side is a decent man, her own charm, and toughness and a shiny new gun. On the Trader's side are a multitude of hired killers paid for by his fortune and his particully cruel methods. Who's going to win? Into this struggle comes a regular guy whose life is as far removed from Cay's violent world as you can get. Will she give up her quest for revenge or will she lose the love of her life? The story is brilliantly put together. You have no idea what will happen next and when Cay finally meets the Trader it's a huge moment. Branded Woman would've made a great movie starring Barbara Stanwyck. It's fun, it's suspenseful and the ending was a huge surprise.

I just finished reading this book and I have to say that it is one of the best hard boiled crime novels I have ever read. Miller writes a swath of prose that takes the reader into this world of a woman seeking revenge, and he just keeps twisting the story to the point that the reader, just like the character of Cay Morgan, is reeling by the end. I recommend this to anyone that loves crime novels. Wade Miller is up there with Hammett and Chandler. Five Stars and beyond.

The writing team that makes up Wade Miller have all but faded from the minds of most modern mytery readers. This sad state of affairs is changed thanks to Hard Case Crime who have re-issued one of the Miller duo's best works in an attractive new edition featuring a new cover done in the old, hardboiled style of yesteryear. Branded Woman is as off-beat a hardboiled tale as you're going to find. The lead characeter, Cay, is one woman you want on your side. She is tough, smart and deadly. The novel itself twists and turns and you're never quite sure how Cay's revenge against the villain (who branded her on the forehead)will turn out. The writing is tense and moves well. The characters and dialogue are sharp and defined. If you love hardboiled mystery, you'll be hardpressed to find it done any better than in Branded Woman. And the rest of the Hard Case Crime line for that matter. Just one year in business and they've snagged 2 Edgar nominations and 1 win!! Plus a couple of Shamus Award nominations as well. Branded Woman is a lost classic thankfully found. Here's hoping it finds the new audience it deserves.

Author Wade Miller is likely best known (if he is known at all) as the writer of the novel that Orson Welles used as the source of his late-career masterpiece, Touch of Evil. However, this is only likely once you know that "Wade Miller" was a pseudonym used by Robert Wade and William Miller, who also used other pen names throughout their writing career. One of those was "Whit Masterson," who is the "personality" credited with that source novel, originally called Badge of Evil. Of course, Welles took considerable license with the characters, switching the identities of a few, as well as locations, and beefing up the role of Hank Quinlan (which he played himself). Confused yet? I was. (Other similar sounding pseudonyms the pair used were "Will Daemer" and "Dale Wilmer" -- it seems the duo had a wry sense of humor.) What is important now, though, is that the two wrote Branded Woman, a new release from Hard Case Crime. Cay Morgan was a jewel smuggler, the rare woman in what is considered a man's profession. She was entirely content to smuggle and let smuggle, but The Trader had other ideas; Cay needed to be taught a lesson and, although she had thought there was nothing worse than death, she soon found out otherwise. Half a decade later, she is in Mazatlán, on the trail of a man named Valdes, her only link to The Trader and her only opportunity for revenge. Branded Woman features one of the more fascinating characters in crime literature in Cay Morgan. She is smart and sexy, seductive and skilled. If she lets her emotions rule her sometimes to her detriment ... well, that just shows that she has remained human, unlike the usual femmes fatales who only seem out for a buck -- or a stabbed or broken heart. Despite all she has been through, she is still open to experiencing hope, and she can still love. That she doesn't have much luck in that arena is simply par for the course. (They wouldn't call the publisher Hard Case Crime if they were interested in printing books about people finding happiness.) Branded Woman contains a complex chain of events leading up to an astonishing conclusion. Wade and Miller are expert plotters and their situations feel realistic while being entirely out of the ordinary. Having Cay seem like a real woman only ups the ante and makes this novel more impressive. What I like best about the Hard Case Crime books is how they make me want to seek out authors I've never heard of before (Two for the Money made me an instant Max Allan Collins fan). So, now that I know there are more names to look for, Wade Miller (or Whit Masterson, or whatever the duo call themselves on any given book) is/are getting added to that list.