Jacob Heppleman survived WWII, but his career as a penny-a-word writer didn't fare as well. The pulps were fading fast when Jacob returned to New York in 1946, but they were quickly being replaced by a new phenomenon: mass-market paperbacks. Content is king in every new business, and enterprising paperback publishers, like Blue Devil Books, were ready to supply it: two-fisted heroes for the sex-filled crime novels; three-breasted aliens for the equally racy space operas. Rechristened Jack Holly and armed with a shiny Remington Streamliner portable typewriter, which he stole from a pawn shop, Jacob is quickly churning out a detective series until the fence he interviewed for a touch of authenticity wants a cut of the action and a subpoena arrives from a federal committee investigating pornography and juvenile delinquency. Estleman, who got his own start writing paperbacks, peppers the action with delicious period ambience (dive bars where "sots blubbered in their Schlitz") and a wealth of scrumptious detail on the salad days of drugstore paperbacks. A wonderful annotated reading list will further whet the appetites of everyone interested in the history of genre publishing.

Edgar finalist Estleman (the Amos Walker PI series) delivers a clever homage to the golden era of paperback originals. In 1946, novelist Jacob Heppleman returns to New York after serving in Europe during WWII, now aware that the fiction about war he wrote before he'd been in combat hadn't come close to approximating reality. Desperate to support himself via the written word, Heppleman joins Blue Devil Books, a pioneering publisher that hopes to become extremely profitable by putting out "new work in cheap editions." Blue Devil's owner, Robin Elk, hopes that talented storytellers like Heppleman will help make his product appealing. Eager to try to produce the gritty crime fiction Elk wants, Heppleman taps into his own experience as a thief to research the real life of a fence in Manhattan for his next book. In the process, he gets too close to real criminals, placing his life at risk. His livelihood is also threatened when Congress conducts hearings on Elk's publications, seeking to make political capital out of decrying their violent content. Estleman keeps the pages turning and makes Heppleman a fully realized creation. This evocative tale of a seminal era in American book publishing showcases the author's versatility. (Nov.)