Frame

By Frank Kane and John Betancourt

Private Eye Johyyn Liddell had it all figured out. But the way it added up, there was only one possible killer: himself!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wildside Press
• Release date: Feb 23, 2022
• ISBN: 9781479479931

Frank Kane

Frank Kane (1912–1968) was the author of the Johnny Liddell mystery series, including Dead Weight, Trigger Mortis, Poisons Unknown, and many more. 

Book preview

Table of Contents

FRAME

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

FRAME

A Johnny Liddell novelette

FRANK KANE

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

Copyright © 2021 by Wildside Press LLC.

Originally published in Manhunt, August 1954.

Published by Wildside Press LLC.

wildsidepress.com | bcmystery.com

INTRODUCTION

Manhunt was a crime fiction magazine published between January 1953 and April-May 1967. Most issues were digest-sized, though collectors prize the few larger-format issues in 1957-58, which are generally harder to find. It was originally titled Manhunt Detective Story Monthly, but that was soon shortened to simply Manhunt, the name with which mystery readers are most familiar today. It ran for a total of 114 issues.

It was harder-edged than its competitors Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, dealing more with noir, hardboiled, and crime tales than tranditional mysteries. Its closest competitor was probably Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine, though MSMM generally featured lower-quality work. If you look at the names published in all four magazines, you will find a lot of overlap. But the edgier writers always went to Manhunt first: names like Cornell Woorich, Frank Kane, Mickey Spillane, Richard S. Prather, Evan Hunter, and so many more could be found in its pages, alongside newer writers like Richard Deming, Fletcher Flora, Talmage Powell, and Lawrence Block—all of whom would go onto make names for themselves in later years.

* * * *

Which brings us to Frank Kane (1912-1968). Kane was brought up in Brooklyn, New York. He attended St. John’s Law School, but had to leave before graduation to support his spouse and newborn child. He found work as a columnist for The New York Press, as a letterer for the New York Trade Newspapers Corporation, for the New York Journal of Commerce, and in public relations, particularly as an advocate for the liquor industry. After World War II, he was a freelance writer, and his punchy, quick-paced scripts earned him writing jobs with such crime shows as The Shadow; Gang Busters; Counter Spy; The Fat Man; Casey, Crime Photographer; Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons; The Lawless Twenties; Nick Carter, Master Detective, and others. He created Call the Police for Lever Brothers and Claim Agent for NBC.

He also wrote fiction, publishing nearly 40 novels from the 1940s through the 1960s (most featuring his series character, hardboiled detective Johnny Liddell). He also wrote numerous short stories for crime magazines such as Manhunt, The Saint Detective Magazine, Private Eye, and Pursuit.

—John Betancourt

Cabin John, Maryland

CHAPTER 1

The phone on the night table started to ring shrilly, discordantly. Johnny Liddell groaned, cursed softly, dug his head into the pillow, but the noise refused to go away. He opened one eye experimentally, peered at the half lowered shade and noted that it was still dark.

He tried to wipe the sleep from his eyes, but it wouldn’t wipe away. The phone kept ringing. Finally, he reached out and lifted the receiver off its hook.

Yeah? he growled sleepily.

"This is Laury Lane. Come out here right away. That man of yours is going crazy