Richard Deming (1) (1915–1983)

A satisfyingly sleazy noir featuring the less-than-upstanding Tom Cavanaugh who catches his boss committing adultery in the office with a comely file clerk and parlays that into a cushy promotion. When boss starts seeming a little too in love with his mistress, Tom is concerned that he might leave his wife which would put Tom's sweet new job in jeopardy. His boss is only in charge by virtue of his marriage to the sexy and rich Helen Mathews who inherited the company from her father, so Tom works a double-cross by telling her about the affair. She has him tail the unfaithful husband and after Tom catches him buying a gun and some rope and weights under a fake name, Helen decides to get revenge on her husband for wanting to kill her to get her out of the way while still keeping her money and his job. She seduces Tom and offers him her body and her hand in marriage (and her money) if he kills her husband first AND lets her watch. That already sounds pretty complicated, but it gets even more so with a double twist that I was able to satisfyingly spot just before it happened.

Deming is a pro at the pulp game, so this tight and well-written narrative is not a surprise. What is a surprise is the relatively progressive (for an early 1960s pulp novel) attitude towards female sexuality and the concept of consent. That is balanced out, however with a solid "women like men to dominate the relationship" philosophy, so this isn't exactly a book for modern sensitivities. This one also holds its own with The Thin Man in terms of cocktails consumed per character.

Bonus: Deming also has a weird habit of very specifically describing women's dresses (a street dress, a semi-formal, a sheer sundress with a peter pan collar, etc.) -- maybe everyone paid more attention to that in the early 60s?… (more)