Claws
By D. Gunther Wilde
1978 Leisure Books
Paperback, 173 pages
OK, so this isn’t a well-written
book by any means but that is not to say that it wasn’t worth my time. Y’see, I
don’t care if the author is cleverly manipulating the English language and
creating a work of art as well as a story. It helps, but I really read for the
story. And this one is fun.
New York City. The Big Apple.
Fun City. There have been some odd deaths of late in some of the seediest
sections of the city and cops can’t seem to figure out what is mutilating and
partially eating the victims. Policewoman Darcy Ryan has taken an
interest in the case, even though her superiors think a woman’s place is behind
a desk. So, she gives the department a big fuck you and takes a few weeks off
for vacation; a vacation spent tracking down the killer.
So, that is one thing I enjoyed
about the book. A strong woman main character. 1978 horror pulps weren’t
exactly bulging at the seams with them, so this is a welcome surprise. Also, I
love cats. The reader knows right away (from the cover, if nothing else) that
cats are doing the maiming, but it is still rewarding to watch Darcy unravel
the mystery. Much to my own amusement, I had a cat on either side of me while I
was reading this book every night. Never once did I fear for my life.
The non-ending is very abrupt,
and nothing ever really says that the terror is over, but I had fun with this
quick book while it lasted. It is said that D. Gunther Wilde is a pseudonym for
Bernhardt J. Hurwood, a prolific author of soft erotica and ghost stories. I
have a number of books edited by him in my anthology horror collection. He also
wrote the Man from T.O.M.C.A.T. books for Arrow in the Sixties as
Mallory T. Knight. A well-rounded individual, I say.
This review originally appeared in Midnight Magazine #10, Spring, 2023
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