A while ago I posed the question, "Who is Spike Morelli?" after having seen some pulp covers of books by someone under that name. It turns out that Morelli was one of many pseudonyms of one William Newton, who wrote many books under many names from the early Fifties to the the mid-Eighties. The list on the last link is far from comprehensive, however, because I can think of two titles he wrote as Morelli that aren't listed. I'd imagine there are other books I don't know about that are missing as well.
Now that I know what Spike Morelli was Newton, I would like to find someone who has read something he's written. I asked on the Rara-Avis mailing list because I figured if there were somewhere on the Internet I could find a person familiar with an out-of-print crime author it would be there, but I struck out.
So, I'm throwing it open again. Has anyone read Newton under any of his names? Does anything ring a bell? If not, never fear. Newton's books aren't exactly rare, so I ordered a couple early ones off of Abebooks today. If he's worth reading I'll find out and let you know.
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I meant to comment on Rara-Avis, but forgot. There must be something about Morelli in Steve Holland's wonderful THE MUSHROOM JUNGLE - it's just that the index in the book is so bad I can't find Morelli in there. Most of the Rara-avians don't read British post-war paperbacks. My knowledge of them has been pretty limited, but Stephen Frances's Hank Jansons are quite good, on par with the best American books of the same sort.
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