Sinners and Shrouds

By Jonathan Latimer

A reporter becomes his own story when he wakes up next to a corpse.

Sam Clay wakes with a dry mouth, a hammering headache, and only the faintest memory of what he did the night before. He remembers dancing, jazz, taxi rides, and a brandy-fueled ride on a roller coaster, but he has no idea how he got home, and he is lost as to the identity of the straw-haired beauty beside him. He is just about to introduce himself when he notices the blood on the sheets, the wounds on her chest, and the ice-cold pallor of her skin. His bedmate is dead.

Clay is a newspaperman, and sharp enough to know that he is being framed. But by whom? Clay will have to stay two steps ahead of the cops to track down this story, which will lead him either to the scoop of a lifetime or to a long nap in a cold grave.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Head of Zeus
• Release date: Jun 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781784086725

Jonathan Latimer

Jonathan Latimer (1906–1983) was a bestselling author and screenwriter. Born in Chicago, he began his career as a crime reporter for the Herald Examiner, working there until 1935, when he set out on a twisting road to Hollywood, which included stints as a dude rancher, a stunt man, and a publicist. In the late 1930s he began writing screenplays for MGM, producing the scripts for several classic noir films, including The Big Clock (1948) and the adaptation of Dashiell Hammett’s The Glass Key (1942), which starred Alan Ladd. All the while, Latimer was writing fast-paced mystery novels such as The Lady in the Morgue (1936) and The Dead Don’t Care (1938). After fighting in World War II, he returned to Hollywood, where he continued writing novels and became a staff writer for the Perry Mason show. 

Reviews for Sinners and Shrouds

[mschaefer_33 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A later Jonathan Latimer, still hardboiled, still funny, even if not at the level of his four classics about William Crane.

[sullywriter_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Seeking a taste of the moon.

[bnbharper · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Bear decide he wants to go taste the moon in this book. He wants little bird to go with him but little bird has to lead his flock of birds for migration. So, Bear gets enough courage to go without his friend. He gets to taste the dirt and thinks it tastes good. He then makes it back to little bird. Another cute book. I continue to enjoy the illustrations. The writing is very simple as well for a young reader. This would be a good class discussion book or book at home with kids to talk about courage. Also how Bear really wanted something and went after it.

[ceklepper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a really cute book. It shows children that it is okay to have a big imagination!