A Heart Like an Ancient Gutter

By Charlie Kondek

It was time for another McGee. I left off with Darker Than Amber, so I loped over to that venerable Ann Arbor institution, Aunt Agatha's, to see if they had a copy. They did. I had my choice between the slick 1980s edition paperback and the lurid 1966 edition. If you've read this blog at all I think you know that's no choice, really.

Call this "used book pr0n" if you like. Used books like this one certainly have had a sensual appeal to me, ever since I was a child spending hour after loving hour with Ian Fleming, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett and the like. Note the cover art - I forget this artist's name but I know the work of him and other cover artists are appreciated these days by a wide circle of devotees and can be found on Flickr and other sites. (Is it Robert McGinnis?) Note the price of the book (fifty cents!). And note, especially, the killer copy on the back cover. What grace!