Title : Nightmare at Noon
Author : Stewart Sterling
Cover art : Bob Hilbert
[New York, Dell, 1953. No. 693. Pseud. Prentice Winchell.]
style ***
substance **
collectibility *
Wow! Now this is what I call a cover. Bob Hilbert's gloriously over-the-top design is an unforgettable contribution to the fire/explosions vintage subgenre.
Sterling was considered the ‘king of the specialty detectives,’ with Nightmare at Noon being a mid-range entry of the Fire Marshall Pedley series. The cover for Dell 693, with the girl's startled look (love those eyes!) amid the hellish backdrop of a wild explosion, is an absolute early 1950s classic, easily superior to the 1951 hardcover original.
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| E. P. Dutton, 1951 |
