The Rick Walker
Detective Novel Series
BOOK 1: BACKLOT REQUIEM - circa 1954
Rick investigates a thirty-year-old murder case that involves a dying film director and his wild daughters,
a legendary film star of the Silent Era, local gangsters, and a very discreet love affair.
click for excerpt | view larger cover
Castle Green Apts. [est. 1899]
 |
published by iUniverse in March 2005
iUniverse 9x6 hardcover [3/2005] for $22.95 at Amazon iUniverse 9x6 pb [3/2005] for $12.95 at Amazon iUniverse 9x6 pb [3/2005] for $12.95 thru Barnes & Noble iUniverse 9x6 hardcover [3/2005] for $22.95 thru Barnes & Noble also on sale at Amazon Canada, U.K., France, Germany & Japan ... plus the novel was translated & published September 2005 in Croatia. |
The "Backlot Requiem: A Rick Walker Mystery" book was converted
to Kindle format in July 2011; download is now available at Amazon
click here for Kindle Edition from Amazon [7/2011] for $9.95
BOOK 2: DESERT RIFF - circa 1954
A jazz loving short order cook, a young AWOL soldier, the beautiful owner of a honky tonk saloon
on Route 66, and a crazy old desert rat lead Rick into danger from a gang of murdering thieves.
click for excerpt | view the cover
Route 66 Research Page
Roadside Diners & Coffee Shops Page at Spirit of America Bookstore
BOOK 3: VIPER SERENADE - circa 1955
After the double murder of a rookie Negro cop and Rick's saxophone teacher, Rick goes hunting
in L.A.'s South Central colored district for a professional killer called 'The Spaniard'.
view the cover
BOOK 4: BALLAD OF THE TALL MAN - circa 1957
A nightclub singer and her corrupt lawyer husband draw Rick into the swirl of gambling and wild parties
along the notorious Sunset Strip, and into involvement with a tall, reclusive billionaire aviator,
the gangster Eddie Mars, and a series of murders.
view the cover
Howard R. Hughes Page at Spirit of America Bookstore
BOOK 5: GASHOUSE BEAT - circa 1959
A young beatnik chick turns up dead after opening night at an art gallery/jazz club on the beach
in Venice, California, and Rick must save an artist friend put in jail for her murder.
view the cover
Venice of America
'The Beat Generation' Pages at Maison d'Ętre Philosophy Bookstore
Beatnik Film Festival Page at Maison d'Ętre Philosophy Bookstore
Rick gets tangled up with the murder of an old rancher, and with the black sheep of an Italian
wine-making dynasty, a hidden will, and the decades-old cover-up of a double murder.
view the cover
BOOK 7: SHASTA HOEDOWN - circa 1953
On a fishing trip in Northern California, Rick snags a murder case involving timber barons,
local Native Americans, a school marm, and the State Park system.
BOOK 8: HOPPYLAND LULLABY - circa 1955
A ten-year-old kid is kidnapped for ransom and Rick is hired to find her. But meanwhile he must
fend off the torrid advances of the girl's mother, solve the murder of the family's maid,
and battle a smooth operator bent on revenge.
Hopalong Cassidy Page at 'Readers of The Purple Sage' Western Bookstore
BOOK 9: WRIGLEY'S GUN - circa 1956
While working for a week in the band at the Avalon Casino on Catalina Island,
Rick takes a walk and discovers a body in the bushes.
Catalina Museum Silent Film Benefit [May 2013 = #26]
 | "The Casino: Catalina Island's Two-Million Dollar Palace of Pleasure [2002] by Patricia Anne Moore Includes information on the design & construction, the opening in 1929, and the Avalon Theater and its Page Organ; also listings of big band appearances and radio broadcasts at the Casino Ballroom Catalina Island Museum Society 8x5¼ pb [3/2002] out of print/used |
Other planned titles include
PIN-STRIPED SUITE
WALTZING MICE
TRIO FOR BLUNT INSTRUMENTS (a sequel to 'Backlot Requiem')
RAGTIME
ROMANOFF FANDANGO
BALBOA BALLROOM
and DOUBLE-BARREL POLKA
All stories occur during the 1950's and in various parts of Los Angeles and California.
This material copyright 1999-2005 by Gary Edward Nordell, all rights reserved.
Rick Walker novels homepage || author G.E. Nordell's homepage