This book was a ton of fun. I have a 1954 copy of Tedd Thomey’s And Dream of Evil, a pulp fiction masher with a lurid cover and that old book smell. This is a true tough guy romp with pert breasted dames and lots of fistfights and shoot outs. Mysteries on top of mysteries unfold at a brisk pace.
The main character John Rennick–a retired Marine from World War II who now works on oil rigs–wakes up after a beating on a hotel roof with a slot machine handcuffed to his wrist. He goes on the run, knowing that in that hotel’s lounge he shot a cop in self defense, but with no one to prove it except a blonde who has disappeared into thin air. He makes his escape carrying the cuffed slot machine, an absurd scenario that goes on for a third of the book until he manages to saw everything off.
Being chased by some tough guys, Rennick takes to the fire escape and slides into a dark apartment through an unlocked window. The apartment’s power has gone out, but there is a slinky dame in the room who comes on to Rennick in the dark. Seemingly drawn to Rennick despite the pitch black, the woman kisses him and then later takes off her clothes to seduce him. Yes, it happens that fast. Yes, they immediately are aflame for each other as Rennick makes his escape when the woman Josey’s crime boss, Emil, busts in.
Later, Rennick is in a diner when he overhears Josey’s name. He looks over and there she is in all her blonde glory, speaking in the voice he remembers so well in the dark. He immediately falls head over heels in love with her.
Rennick eventually ends up in the house of Emil’s henchman Georgetti where he encounters yet another full breasted lady with long legs. He is chased by one of the thugs from the hotel, Sutro, so he makes yet another escape. At the next location he runs across yet ANOTHER seductive female, with whom he actually has sex. He then leaves the location and is picked up by Josey and Emil and taken to another location, where he has a fist fight after Emil slaps Josey.
Many shenanigans ensue as Rennick looks for the blonde who can exonerate him for the cop killing. In the meantime, he and Josey have lots of hot sex with clothes falling off, desires aroused, and immediate love. The relationship between Rennick and Josey is kind of hilarious in that the physical details are just as smutty as any bodice-ripping romance. Yes, there’s lots of fighting and shooting and bloodshed, but in between Josey and Rennick are moon-eyed and lustful to an extreme degree. So it’s not all tough guys and bullets.
The plot moves forward at a fast clip, full of twists and turns involving Emil and his thugs chasing Josey and Rennick and some others they have picked up along the way, the heist of a boat packed with illegal liquor, an injured penis, double-crosses, and more wild sex.
The ending was surprisingly excellent, with lots of tension and late reveals. I thoroughly enjoyed this romp and think I have another pulpy fiction in my library from the fifties that I can’t wait to get to.
