“Bud Clifton” was a pseudonym for David Derek Stacton (1923-1968), an acclaimed American poet and author, under various names, of literary fiction, historical novels, and soft-core gay porn. He was a two-time recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and also received a Literature Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. His work ranged from lurid tales like D is for Delinquent to a non-fiction book about the fall of Constantinople. His books under his own name include The Bonapartes, The Judges of the Secret Order, A Signal Victory and People of the Book: A Novel of the Thirty Years War. He died in Denmark in 1968.
Hal Williams is a specialist with one particular talent to sell: contract murders that appear to be accidents. He’s a professional who does his job with cool, calm, and calculated detachment… or so it seems. It’s all part of a long-term plan for ultimate revenge. But just when everything is coming together…he meets Unne, a mobster’s coldly sensual mistress, a kindred spirit with a dark, devastating secret of her own… and everything changes.
The judge bangs his gavel. The murder trial is about to begin. The defendant, Charles Adams is so scared, his knees are shaking... but If he knew how dire his situation really is, he’d be screaming. The defendant’s wife is wiggling with pleasure. She can’t wait to see her husband hang. The dead girl’s parents are quaking with fury as they take their seats… they want Adams to die for what he did. But things aren’t quite as they seem. Charles Adams is innocent. And doomed. Because the real killer is one of the jurors… and he’s certain what the verdict will be.
Teens Allie and Janey leave their small town home for the glamor and excitement of the big city…and find the energy, the bustle, and the hard, neon glare of downtown irresistible. They end up at the Jickey Club, drawn by the hot-jazz-filled atmosphere and the hint of danger. They should have taken the hint… because they soon fall into the dark underworld of drugs and prostitution… and may not get out alive.
