The Meandering Corpse


Book Description

I could see the beach robe Zazu had been wearing, but couldn't see her. Then the pool's surface rippled and tossed darts of sunlight at my eyes, and I could see Zazu quite well. She was wearing either the latest thing in jazzy bathing suits or nothing at all. She reached the ladder and started to climb up it, nonchalant as a bird--a jaybird. "Hi," I said brightly, "you can see I'm working." She started down the ladder until the water was almost up to her waist. "Do you always swim in the nude, dear?" I said. "It feels good. Probably I won't do it when I'm older." "I thought that was when girls did it." The Meandering Corpse is the 31st book in the Shell Scott Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.




Shell Scott's Seven Slaughters


Book Description

No one other than Shell Scott has the ability to dodge a bullet while magnetized to a magical mistress or engage in dangerous games of both love and war simultaneously. This sleuth has the touch that touches every broad--and with his private eye, he can detect the phonies from the felines in a heartbeat. But where there's a babe, there's usually a bad guy lurking in the darkness. Wait, in Shell's case, make that always. But that life as a private eye and hey, it's better than the alternative. Shell Scott’s Seven Slaughters is the 23rd book in the Shell Scott Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.




The Sure Thing


Book Description

The mystery series with more than 40 million copies in print continues with pulp fiction’s favorite PI on the hunt for a missing harem. A petroleum magnate--a snake oil salesman at heart--finds himself in a gusher of a business deal with a shifty-eyed Sheik. The businessman needs some leverage but how do you get at a guy who has everything? You could kidnap his wife but he has six! Sure enough the girls are gone and the Sheik is freaked. The friction between the two sides is setting off sparks and the plot threatens to explode. For our trigger-happy gumshoe it's another case of burning ambition, white-hot action, bounty in the billions and beauties in the backroom. Shell Scott is used to flexing his grip on both con men and dangerous broads but this case is just getting out of hand. Our peerless P.I. must find the girls before the greedy goons find him. Leave it to Shell Scott to find a sure thing when all the bets are against him. The Sure Thing is the 39th book in the Shell Scott Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.




Have Gat—Will Travel


Book Description

"As far as I'm concerned, Richard S. Prather was the King of the paperback P.I writers of the 60s. Shell Scott should be in the Top Ten of any readers list of favorite private eyes." --Robert J. Randisi For four decades, Richard S. Prather published over 40 works of detective fiction, most featuring his clever, cad-about-town hero, Shell Scott. Known for their arched humor, punchy dialogue, and sunny Southern California locale, the Shell Scott books represent one of the greatest private eye collections ever produced. HAVE GAT--WILL TRAVEL A Shell Scott Mystery Shell Scott'll slay you...with leers, tears and pistol packin' dears. Meet Shell Scott and his entourage of hoodlums, beauties, and dangerous killers. It doesn't take much for this ferocious fireball to pack a punch to all corners of the underworld, but he sure does it. Even if it means sacrificing a pretty little love interest along the way. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do...and if he run's out of bullets doing it, Shell will just scare them to death! Honored with the Life Achievement Award by the Private Eye Writers of America! "(Shell Scott is) as amusingly blithe a figure as the field has seen since the Saint." --Anthony Boucher Have Gat—Will Travel is the 15th book in the Shell Scott Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.




Dig That Crazy Grave


Book Description

"As far as I'm concerned, Richard S. Prather was the King of the paperback P.I writers of the 60s. Shell Scott should be in the Top Ten of any readers list of favorite private eyes." --Robert J. Randisi For four decades, Richard S. Prather published over 40 works of detective fiction, most featuring his clever, cad-about-town hero, Shell Scott. Known for their arched humor, punchy dialogue, and sunny Southern California locale, the Shell Scott books represent one of the greatest private eye collections ever produced. Death is just around the coroner...uh, corner, when you're Shell Scott -- roaming the streets with a nose for danger and a sharp eye for the dames. On a trail leading from the high-class mortuary to the local cemetery, he's about to realize the mob wanted him exactly where he was--as a permanent resident! But there's always another corner, always another solution other than death. At least, when it comes to his. Honored with the Life Achievement Award by the Private Eye Writers of America! "(Shell Scott is) as amusingly blithe a figure as the field has seen since the Saint." --Anthony Boucher Dig That Crazy Grave is the 22nd book in the Shell Scott Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.




Strip for Murder


Book Description

Shell Scott, a not-so-private investigator, has a new type of case; he has to bare it all. But this case requires no fancy P.I. accessories...in fact, it doesn’t require any accessories: he’s got to find a murderer in a nudist colony. Experienced nudists and adventurous visitors frolic about the colony—-oh, and so does a deranged killer. Wearing nothing but his gun, Shell has to reveal the murderer in this entrancing mystery novel...and that’s the naked truth. One of Prather's personal favorites! Strip for Murder is the 12th book in the Shell Scott Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.




The Sweet Ride


Book Description

A femme fatale flirts with foul play in the series that “bring[s] back the 1950s in a good-natured and rather innocent way” (Mystery Scene Magazine). Shell Scott. He's a guy with a pistol in his pocket and murder on his mind. The crime world's public enemy number one, this Casanova is a sucker for a damsel in distress. When a pair of lovely legs saunters into his office, he can't help but take the job, even when the case is a killer. Martinique was a cool, creamy piece of dynamite with a ten-second fuse and an I.Q. around one hundred sixty. Those were numbers Shell Scott liked to play--except in her case they seemed to add up to murder. The Sweet Ride is the 38th book in the Shell Scott Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.




Case of the Vanishing Beauty


Book Description

In this classic mystery that introduced the iconic PI Shell Scott, he’s out to catch a killer before his hot dame client is turned into a cold corpse. Lovely Lina, she’s a dame who is so hot she scorches, but somebody wants to put out that fire. When her sister disappears and another woman is gunned down, Lina suspects she is next in line. Shell Scott, an infamous private dick who leaves a trail of gorgeous gals in his wake, is just the man for the case. Shell Scott, he’s a guy with a pistol in his pocket and murder on his mind. The crime world’s public enemy number one, this Casanova is a sucker for a damsel in distress. When a pair of lovely legs saunters into his office, he can’t help but take the job, even when the case is a killer. Case of the Vanishing Beauty is the 1st book in the Shell Scott Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.




Slab Happy


Book Description

I wasn't too happy to be looking down the barrel of the pistol of every gunman in California and when I heard them humming murder music on their lips, the melody was sour and I knew it was being dedicated to only one man--me. That gangdom had it all planned out. They'd even measured me for a grave I was supposed to share with a fiery redhead, Coral. There isn't much I wouldn't share with a spicy beauty, but this time I was willing to pass that up to save my life. Slab Happy is the 17th book in the Shell Scott Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.




Shellshock


Book Description

An Arizona attorney has a client with a problem. It's no ordinary problem and this is no ordinary client. Luckily this legal eagle happens to be friends with the hawkish private eye, Shell Scott. Scott is a sure-fire shamus with no shame and a pocket full of bullets. But he will need more than a pocketful of miracles to make this missing persons case go away. A father desperately wants to see his daughter before he dies. But she's disappeared. Scott must find her. But he can't use her name. The father is a rich asset. But his affiliation with the crime world is making the case too dangerous for our prowling P.I. All Scott has to go on is a birthmark in a strategic place. But the client won't be so happy if Scott sees it. Shell Scott is back sending ripples of rancor through the criminal underworld but this case threatens to hit our gun-toting gumshoe like a tidal wave of terror. Will Shell Scott get swamped amid the Arizona desert? Or will he shock everyone by riding this crime wave all the way to the bank? Shellshock is the 41st book in the Shell Scott Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.