Just Finished Reading: Say It With Bullets by Richard Powell

Bill Wayne is back in the States and looking for his friends. Five years previously they had left him for dead, shot in the back, bleeding out his life on an airfields tarmac. Now freshly arrived from China he is shot at from the dark and is convinced that his ex-friends want him dead before he tracks them down. As cover he signs up with a tour company travelling from Cheyenne to Salt Lake City and from Reno to Yosemite. At each stop he finds a ‘friend’ and at each stop a ‘friend’ dies – but not at his hand. For someone is dogging his every move and killing his ex-friends before he can find out who shot him all those years ago. To add to his ever present worries Bill has become attached to the tour guide, a girl from his past who he had all but forgotten. Before their journey ends it’s likely that one of them will end up dead. The question is who and when.

Written in 1953 this was a pretty good example of noir fiction complete with a fast pace, snappy dialogue (some of which was frankly hilarious) and some pretty good action sequences. Although there was nothing particularly innovative or outstanding about this novel but it was solidly entertaining from beginning to end. It was certainly one of the better examples of the Hard Case Crime series (which actually isn’t saying very much) and might suit someone either new to noir fiction or someone looking for a weekend of light reading. Generally recommended.