Hot -- Frederick Lorenz

Frederick Lorenz is another one of those forgotten paperbackers who deserves to be remembered. (I believe he also wrote as "Larry Heller.") This slim Lion Book (126 pages) is a typical blue-collar thriller from 1956. Steve Ewell's brother, Vince, has broken out of prison and is hiding out. Steve wants to help him, but his plan is for Vince to give up, return the money he stole, and serve out his time. Vince doesn't think that way. Complicating matters are Vince's wife, Bonnie, now the mistress of a local club owner; Doris, a woman who helped Vince before and still has a crush on him; the partner who helped Vince rob a bank but wasn't caught; the local cops; and of course the very hot weather. Put them all together and let them simmer. There's a bit of a mystery element in that we don't know who the partner was, and the identity is kept a secret until the end of the book, though you won't have much trouble guessing it.

Hot is a well-told story intended to entertain for a couple of hours and then passed along to someone else. It's well written, there's sex, there's violence, and you get your quarter's worth.