Helen Nielsen (1918–2002)

During the classic pulp era of the 50's, you could probably count the women pulp writers on one hand. However, if you were so inclined to count them, you absolutely have to include Helen Nielsen on that short list. Nielsen wrote pulp and mysteries just as good as anyone from that era and her books are just fantastic reading. If you enjoy reading Gil Brewer, Talmadge Powell, and Harry Whittington, you ought to give Nielsen a try. Her 1951 work, "Dead on the Level," contains all the classic pulp motifs, including a drunk man returning to town after eight long years and "drinking up his last handful of dwindling dollars," "this gorgeous doll (with eyes like purple smoke) [who] had come slithering into the cocktail lounge," five thousand dollars in cash, a blackout as to what happened the night before, a dead man, and a missing heiress. This book is pure pulp from the first page with the protagonist thinking that life was a sour deal "with a beginning you didn't ask for, an ending you couldn't help, and nothing in between that would even sell at a charity auction." And this girl was something else. Casey Morrow didn't have enough dough left to even buy her a drink, but she sat down and bought him one. She had eyes like purple smoke, "a cascade of taffy- colored hair," and a scent of spicy perfume enough to make him dizzy. Whatever proposition she had offered him, he must have accepted because he woke up the next morning with five grand in his pocket and half the police force of Chicago hunting for him. It is a terrific pulp novel and amazingly one of Nielsen's earliest works. It is easy to read as the writing just drags you in without giving you much of a choice. It is short as was typical of novels in the early fifties. Primarily a mystery with a dead body, a drunk without a memory of what happened, and the most ravishing femme fatale of them all. I highly recommend this work.… (mais)

Helen Nielsen has a terrific body of mystery work -and it's difficult to understand why she is not more well-known. "Verdict Suspended" is a taut, well-designed mystery. Everyone knows who killed the rich, mean gal. But what If the town ready to lynch the poor guy has it all wrong? What if there's no need to run him and his new wife out of town? Nielsen begins this tale by leading the reader through the coroner's inquest. An interesting beginning, indeed. Although there's not much action in this novel, there is never a dull moment. It's a classic mystery filled with upper class people, many of whom have valid motives for wanting the shrewd, Nasty victim dead.… (mais)

The premise in “Stranger in the Dark” is that Larry Willis, an innocent bystander, bears a striking resemblance to someone else and, thus, while on a business trip to Copenhagen to attend a farm machinery convention, Willis gets somehow caught up in international intrigue and murder. It is a plot device that has been used in a number of other novels over the years and it keeps the reader fascinated because everything is a complete mystery. Here, Nielsen is a terrific writer and the force of her narrative moves this story along so that the reader just wants to know what is going on and what is going to happen. However, the plot is extremely convoluted and the motivations of the characters, particularly Willis himself, are not that strong. The book simply does not seem grounded and it is hard to care about what is going on when you don’t know what is really at stake for most of the book. It’s worth reading and hard to put down once you start, but, overall, it simply doesn’t leave the reader overly enthusiastic.
… (mais)

After Midnight by Helen Nielsen, published in 1967, begins in the most hardboiled fashion. In fact, there are countless hardboiled novels that begin with the protagonist waking up after a night of drinking and other debauchery only to find the bloody body of a beautiful blonde, redhead, etc, in their bed and no answers nearby as to what happened. Often even the protagonist is not sure if he did it, but all the clues scream in one direction.

The difference here is that the person who wakes up confused after a night of drinking is a woman, Wanda Warren to be precise, and the bloody corpse at the kitchen was her husband. What's more they fought all night after Wanda was found in a seaside bar in a booth with three sailors, indulging in drink after drink with her laughter ringing out above all other noise. She was a go-go girl in a glass cage shaking it every weekend evening when they met and her husband came from big money.

The story then morphs into a legal drama with society attorney and Bon vivant Simon Drake offering his services and, against all belief, fighting to prove his lovely client's innocence.
The story may not be as heavy on the action as others in the crime fiction arena, but it is an excellent mystery that takes the reader on a legal and investigative journey as Drake explores one clue after another. The cast of characters is quite good including a retired admiral who lived on a yacht, a proper nurse who took long walks and quotes poetry, Drake's confidant Hannah, and an ambitious district attorney.

It was an compelling read that couldn't be put down and was really enjoyable.… (mais)