Stakeout On Page Street by Joe Gores
Crippen & Landru, 2000 hardcover, mystery – short stories – DKA
I like Gores’ DKA [Daniel Kearny Associates] novels a lot and have read them all a couple times each – or more – but perhaps it’s the short stories that are the most fun.
Gores takes his experience as a P.I. and the cases he worked or knew of and turns them into his stories. There is the ensemble cast for the DKA and all of the stories in this book include them. With these stories it’s not the what so much as the how that matters, and the character’s interaction with each other and the people with whom the case brings them into contact. Of the stories here I especially liked “The O’Bannon Blarney File” and “The Maimed and the Halt”. Very enjoyable and highly recommended.
The stories, in the order in which they were intended to appear:
- “File #1: The Mayfair Case” (December 1967, EQMM; also First Cases; aka “Find the Girl”)
- “File #2: Stakeout on Page Street” (January 1968, EQMM)
- “File #3: The Pedretti Case” (July 1968, EQMM; aka “The Three Halves”)
- “File #4: Lincoln Sedan Deadline” (September 1968, EQMM)
- “File #5: The Maria Navarro Case” (June 1969, EQMM; aka “Be Nice To Me”)
- File #6: Beyond the Shadow” (January 1972, EQMM)
- “File #7: O Black and Unknown Bard” (April 1972, EQMM)
- “File #8: The O’Bannon Blarney File” (1973, Men and Malice)
- “File #9: Full Moon Madness” (February 1984, EQMM)
- “File #10: The Maimed and the Halt” (January 1976, EQMM)
- “File #11: Jump Her Lively, Boys!” (July 1984, EQMM)
- “File #12: Do Not Go Gentle” (March 1989, EQMM)
Tip the Wink 
I’m a big fan of Gores. I know I read these a long time ago. My favorite books by Gore are Hammett and 32 Cadillacs.
I read these stories a long time ago, too. I prefer the early Gores to the later Gores.
Great choice. I’ve read all the DKA books – I prefer the shorter, earlier ones to the longer later ones – but I agree with you, the short stories are the best.
I am glad you reviewed this book and reminded me that I need to read it. I do have a copy and I don’t know why I haven’t gotten to it yet.
I like everything about this book but the cover illustration. But it’s no terrible, just not appealing, I’d say. Interesting, to me, anyway, that the DKA short stories stopped just before I started reading EQMM in the 1970s and then we got a little freshet more in the ’80s.
Rick – 32 CADILLACS has been on by TBR for far too long. Thanks for the reminder and for highlighting this collection of stories.
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