IF WISHES WERE HEARSES [A Mike Lanson Mystery] by J. Harvey Bond

THIS CANNY REPORTER'S NEXT HEADLINE WAS LIKELY TO BE HIS OWN EXECUTION!

Mike Lanson was the ace crime reporter for the Gazette, so it was natural that he heard about the kooky wino who had reported eavesdropping on two men plotting a murder. So it was also natural that he got on the case after one of the two plotters was found dead.

Like like all reporters, was looking for an answer.

But when he filled in the five W's on the next victim, he came up with this: Who: Mike Lanson. What: His own murder. When: As soon as that fire reached the explosives. Where: In a deserted storehouse. Why: Because he knew too much.

It looked a lot like the end of this story would be his own end. It was a strange dilemma for a reporter—how do you blow a case wide open when you're about to be blown apart yourself?

In this classic of 1950s noir you will meet:

Mike Lanson: The Gazette's "A" reporter, he was always hungry for a good headline; but he was shocked when he found he was going to be in tomorrow's headline—as a victim!

Freddie the Grape: This devotee of the bottle was a highly-scented character, and like the grape he was so fond of, he was about to be squashed.

Corrine Nimes: She was certain she loved her husband, but discovered she couldn't live with him—and when he was murdered, she found she couldn't live without him.

Addison Sharp: Like most lawyers, he knew other people's secrets—and then he learned one too many.

Lieutenant Guffy: He liked to catch criminals and lock them up, but he always kept a cell open for nosy newspaper reporters who got in his way.

"The literary equivalent of black-and-white movie noir." —Mystery File