Murders on the Half Skull

This collection, published by Dell, certainly has its ups and downs, but the ups are so good they manage to outweigh the downs.After a short, amusing introduction by "Alfie" himself, we start off with a bang. "One November Night," by Jack Webb, is one of the best of the book. It's a story about what happens to accountant Lyle Beckwith on his way home from work. Sadly, it's followed by "The Already Dead," by C.B. Gilford. This is a confusing, haphazard story about a kind of celebrity murder. After that comes Jack Ritchie's "#8." This story about a serial killer is only four pages, but it will stick in your mind long after some of the others have faded away.Henry Slesar's "The Day Of The Execution" is an interesting psychological drama that is worth an enjoyable first read, but doesn't beg to be read anymore afterwards."Who Has Been Sitting In My Chair?" is a long and quite boring 'mystery' by Helen Nielsen. The reason for the special denotation of 'mystery' is that I was never interested enough to care about who the villain was."The Vapor Clue," by James Holding, Jr., is a quick little detective story about an early-morning murder. It's probably the most non-descript of the bunch, but that doesn't mean it's bad.Murray Wolf's "Wetback" is a tale of murder and romance among Hispanics. Like "Execution," it's a good first read but not a good reread."Murder Between Friends" is a quite amusing tale, by Nedra Tyre, of two old ladies who plan to kill their landlord."Good For The Soul" by Lawrence Block falls in the same category as "Execution" and "Wetback." 'Nuff said."Ace In The Hole," by Elijah Ellis, is definitely one of the best stories of the book and could be THE best. This is a real mystery, with wit and suspense to spare as we see a newspaper reporter try to acquit himself of murder.Following the strong story is another one, "Bad Noose" by Arthur Porges. A handicapped man tries to kill his brother-in-law with a quite unusual weapon.Edwin P. Hicks's "The Eyes Of A Cop" is much like "Vapor"--an enjoyable, non-descript detective story."Cheers," by Richard Deming, is a very VERY funny story about two very VERY incompetent hitmen.The book ends on a flourish with two strong humor stories--first "Cheers," and then "Crime Doesn't Pay--Enough" by Ed Lacy. It's about a contest winner who turns to crime. A real hoot.Despite some dull stories, I still highly recommend this little paperback. It's very cheap and the good stories, of which there are many, are VERY good stories indeed.