A Sharp Rise in Crime; Reincarnation in Venice; The Rolling Heads

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 book is the 43rd of 43 Inspector West novels, and was published five years after Creasey died.

Max Ehrlich: American writer Max Ehrlich is best known for his novel The Reincarnation of Peter Proud, which was made into a movie. Ehrlich wrote a total of fourteen novels. He died in 1983. This novel is a sequel to the Peter Proud novel, and was also published under the title The Bond.

Aaron Marc Stein: An American writer of mystery and crime novels, Stein also wrote under the pen names of George Bagby and Hampton Stone. He wrote four detective series, the most significant one being the Inspector Schmidt series of 49 novels. All told, Stein published 109 novels. Stein died in 1985. The Rolling Heads is the sixteenth of twenty three novels in the Matt Erridge series.