Report for a Corpse by Henry Kane
Dell Publishing, 1947
Women have a lot of nicknames in pulp: dames, broads, cherries... but I've never heard of them referred to as tomatoes.
This collection of short stories by Henry Kane has detective (or "Private Richard" as he calls himself) Peter Chambers on the case against sleazy husbands, duplicitious clients, among others. His compatriot, Lieutenant Parker at Homicide, reluctantly has his back.
Most of the stories center around greed. Chambers doesn't come off like a know-it-all. At times, he plays right into the hands of the culprits and unmasks the murderers by accident.
The women are tempting, and so is the smell of dirty money. Whether you call them tomatoes or damsels in distress, reading Report for a Corpse is a good way to spend an afternoon... Especially when you're sick in bed.
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