The Vengeful Virgin

Out of the dozen or so titles I've read by Hard Case Crime, this one is my favorite. The tension, the sex, and the plot twists combine to create a thoroughly readable suspense tale. The characters are noir favorites: the average guy looking to make a big score, the lonely-desperate woman looking to cash-in and grab the good life, jealous neighbors, suspicious doctors, etc. This heroine, Shirley Angela, is a well-written femme fatale in the hard-boiled tradition, aided and abetted by a jealous ex-girlfriend. The protagonist is likewise the obligatory loser, grabbing for that brass ring yet inevitably meeting his demise. Remember that cliche about "the best laid plans!" The book's cover is great. It alone should sell you on reading this potboiler.

Jack Ruxton, a small-time TV salesman hits the big-time when he's called out to do some work for the stunning Shirley Angela. Shirley, 18-going-on-unforgettable lives with her decrepit (and wealthy) step-father - forced to play the reluctant nursemaid in turn for vague promises of being written into the will. Hijinks ensue, culminating in the inevitable seduction, corruption and karmic reward for everyone involved. If the above summary sounds like a paint-by-numbers Noir plot, believe me, it isn't. I was left guessing until the end - and even now, I'm still stunned by how the cards fell. Not bad, for a fifty-year old pulp. Jack Ruxton is one of the most progressively heinous characters I've ever read. What starts as his token resistance to corruption quickly unfolds to reveal one of the darkest, most loathsome characters I've read. Yet, even with that, Brewer's writing manages to pull the reader into Jack's world. More upsettingly - he convinced me to start to mentally nodding along with Jack's seductively amoral thinking. Originally published in 1958, The Vengeful Virgin now been reprinted as part of the highly-recommended Hard Case Crime series. This new printing includes a wonderfully steamy Gregory Manchess cover that I had to hide from the little old lady sitting across from me on the train - a true homage to the seedy pulp tradition. With this dark, whirlwind of a story, Brewer has claimed his rightful place in the hall of the pulp masters. Especially with a new edition on the shelf right now, I'd recommend this book to right- (or wrong-)thinking paperbacks reader.

Gil Brewer, who published THE VENGEFUL VIRGIN in 1958, is regarded as one of the aces in the Gold Medal stable of pulp writers. VV concerns Jack Ruxton, a TV repairman living in Florida. He makes a service call on the wrong house (back in the day when TVs were repairable). The 18-year old Shirley Angela is the caretaker of her step-father, Victor Spondell. Victor, largely bedridden, is cranky, demanding, -- and very rich. Shirley and Jack scheme to grab Victor's pile of loot. Of course, things go awry. Told through Jack's eyes in 1st POV, VV displays Gil Brewer's skill at pacing his story. Jack reveals his thoughts, fears, and desperation through dialogue and ruminations. Not quite chaotic and shrill as Jim Thompson's characters, Gil Brewer's players are certainly as intense and resonant. Easily readable in one sitting.

Be sure to take a deep breath before diving into The Vengeful Virgin because it will suck the oxygen out of your lungs and leave you gasping. This story of lust, greed and murder uncoils at a relentless pace. Previous reviewers have already written about the story line and of the author, Gil Brewer's uneven career. I will add that the character's voice is dead-on perfect for this tale, and the ending is a knock-out. While Brewer may not have been as consistent a writer as say Gold Medal stable mates Charles Williams and Harry Whittington, he is firing on all cylinders in The Vengeful Virgin. If you like your characters flawed and driven by obsession, this taut tale is a must read. I think this book, Charles Williams' A touch of Death, and Day Keene's Home is the Sailor, are the three best Hard Case releases to date. And if you like them and want more, check out additional Wild to Possess / A Taste for Sin Framed in Guilt / My Flesh is Sweet releases by Brewer and Keene on the excellent Stark House line of books.

"She had on a red knitted thing, made of one piece. It was shorts and a top, without sleeves. The top was what I think they call a boat-neck, tight up against her throat. The whole thing was very tight on her. Her face seemed almost childlike, but she was no child." --from The Vengeful Virgin ... and she was no virgin, either, if her actions at the end of Chapter 2 are any indication. But the title has a nice alliterative ring to it, though it suggested that I would be too embarrassed to read it on public transportation. The cover, lovingly illustrated by Gregory Manchess (whose work has also graced Fade to Blonde, Home Is the Sailor, and Grave Descend), practically guaranteed it. Hard Case Crime continue their attempt to revive the careers of previously popular, now-little-known crime writers. Gil Brewer was one of the best selling authors of his day, but he had a little problem with substance dependence that eventually killed him. The abuse made his writing uneven, so he is hit-or-miss in terms of quality, but The Vengeful Virgin is probably his best, with a shocker ending that rivals that of Grifter's Game. Shirley Angela has the unenviable responsibility of being constant caregiver to her invalid stepfather following her mother's death. Hungry for social contact of any kind -- but especially of that kind -- she calls television serviceman Jack Ruxton to install a special setup in her stepfather's bedroom. Together they hatch a scheme to get rid of the old man and share the several hundred thousand dollars he has stashed away in the bank. All Ruxton has to watch out for, besides getting caught, are the two other women who have set their sights on him. Our Jack is apparently a very popular man with the ladies. You may wish you had that problem. Don't. The Vengeful Virgin is everything readers look for when they seek the pure pulp experience. It feels like it was written in a flash of inspiration, and it has all the earmarks of this perfectly lurid literature: its characters are boldly sexy, violently cruel, lustfully greedy, and utterly remorseless. I couldn't find a single flaw in Brewer's execution, which means that if you're not a Gil Brewer fan by the time you finish this book, then maybe you need to find another hobby, because reading is obviously not for you.