Elope to Death; Nobody's Perfect; The Genuine Article by Creasy, John, as Gordon Ashe; Westlake, Donald; Guthrie, A. B., Jr - 1977

The Detective Book Club produced volumes of three crime novels from 1942 to 1999. Originally monthly, near the end they dwindled down to just a few per year. Many famous detective and crime novelists had their early works featured in DBC editions. Often, books were published in DBC editions before, or at the same time as they were published in mass market form. A little about our authors:

John Creasey: Creasey wrote under over 20 pen names, and published over 600 books, most of which were mysteries and detective fiction. Using at least 13 recurring characters, Creasy dealt with death in every imaginable manner. His most frequently used heroes include a detective named Toff (59 novels), Patrick Dawlish (50), Baron (47), and Inspector West (43). Creasy died in 1973. This novel is the 34th Patrick Dawlish novel.

Donald E. Westlake: Westlake wrote over 100 novels over his career. Many are humorous and often with a touch of the absurd. He had four series of recurring characters, the most significant being the Dortmunder series, with fifteen novels. Most of his books are stand-alone. Westlake died in 2008. This is the fourth Dortmunder novel.

A. B. Guthrie, Jr.: As a writer of Westerns, Guthrie is an unusual inclusion in the DBC, but one of his series involved old west crime fiction featuring Sheriff Chick Charleston. Guthrie published a total of seventeen novels, one collection and four non fiction works. Guthrie died in 1991. This is the second of five novels featuring Sherrif Chick CHarleston.