Kojak - Girl In The River

[franklinmarsh]

Kojak - Girl In The River. Star 1975

Telly Savalas is Kojak 'CBS' runaway hit - New York Daily News

The M.O. was always the same - to find a swinging single, to woo her, to strangle her, to dispose of the body somewhere wet. And he always signed his victims with the mark of Excalibur. Kojak missed nailing him two years ago. He couldn't afford to miss again.

Based on the Universal Television Series created by Abby Mann, adapted from the episode Girl In The River written by Haskell Wells. Novel by Victor B Miller.

TV's top-rated detective Kojak ('Theo' to his friends), the hard-hitting, lollipop-licking crime buster as played by screen idol Telly Savalas, is brought at last into the violent arena of the thriller novel.


I've always been a bit jealous of Dem's library - the horror novels featuring The Partridge Family, and the Man From UNCLE, and good old Frank Cannon investigating The Stewardess Strangler - so when this prime piece of 1970s pulp nostalgia leapt into my hand I had to give it a go - and it's not half bad.

Kojak hardly has time to get his lips around a lollipop - it's sex week in New York. In spite of blazing temperatures, the assistant DA wants the Greek baldy to assist him in closing down Times Square porn cinemas, the Chief of Police's Mrs has had a close encounter with a flasher and her hubby is screaming at Theo's boss to apprehend the weinie waggler, and then Kojak and Crocker are called to a homicide - a dead girl in bath tub throttled by pantyhose, in turn covered by a purple cord. A sword in a circle is marked on her forehead meaning Kojak's nemesis Excalibur has returned after a two year break to rape and kill again.

Bizarrely the book is written in the first person, and is witty and entertaining. Similes go into overdrive later on and what was fun begins to grate a little, but with some ridiculous characters (I particularly liked The Joyboys - a pair of swingin' gynaecologists), it's a fast entertaining read. The Vietnam war is still in progress, Stavros teams up with a lady cop, and there are laughs and suspense - just a shame there's only one lollipop and Theo never says - "Who loves ya, Baby?"

NB Googled the two authors. Halsted Wells wrote shedloads for US TV especially in the 1960s, including Night Gallery and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. He also wrote the screenplay for the original 3.10 to Yuma.

Victor B Miller wrote the screenplay for the original Friday the 13th (as well as other Kojak novelisations)

Now...must have a hunt through Glampunk's 45s for Billy Howard's 'King Of The Cops'.

[killercrab]

Sounds like good stuff FM! I'm partial to the odd tv adaption - the odder the better. Shows back in the day used to do really good *nutters* on the loose stories - Starsky and Hutch faced off against the Vegas Strangler , black magic covens and a vampire! Those were the days ...

KC

[glampunk]

If someone had told me that one day i'd be adding a bloody Kojak novel to my wants list ....

here's one for you, FM

William Harrington - Columbo: The Grassy Knoll (Titan, October 1994)

Blurb

An all-new mystery based on the Universal TV series Created by Richard Levinson and William Link

Lt Colombo, everyone's favourite rumpled TV detective, must unravel the mystery that has held the world's attention for thirty years: who killed President John F. Kennedy?

Controversial talk-show host Paul Drury is silent - murdered in his hillside mansion. Discounting burglary as a motive, Columbo soon finds out how many people had reason to kill the arrogant celebrity: Alice Drury, his beautiful ex-wife; Bobby Angele, top country singer; Jessica O'Neill, famous movie star.

But Colombo's next discovery is more startling still. Someone sabotaged the broadcast of Drury's final show, which promised to expose JFK's real assassin. Now, the computer files of that show are gone - perhaps destroyed by the killer of Paul Drury?
Before Columbo solves this mystery, he has to deal with another: Thirty years ago in Dallas, who shot JFK?

"A smart, fast and completely captivating novel for every taste' - Mystery Scene

Haven't gotten around to this one yet and the only reason i can think of as to why that should be the case is the fact that it isn't the second book in the series, The Helter Skelter Murders, pitting Columbo versus Charles Manson (dear God, there's even a photo of Sharon Tate on the cover of the hardback!) . The page count - a staggering 288 - doesn't help matters as there's always the worry you'll run out of stamina long before the dishevelled dick can reveal who iced the President. If I'm correct, William Harrington's Columbo novels were first published by TOR in the early 'nineties and, judged solely on the blurb, there's a knowingness to them you're unlikely to get with The Six Million Dollar Man: The Secret Of Bigfoot, Fat Frank Cannon versus The Stewardess Strangler or the justly feted Partridge Family six-pack. For all this negative preamble about nothing much at all, i just know that one day i'll read the bastard and love it.

incidentally, i read a horror story by Richard Levinson and William Link very recently - Top Flight Aquarium in Fred Pickersgill's And Graves Give Up Their Dead - with no idea that it was by the same pair who masterminded Columbo.

Damn shame there was never a novelisation of the mighty McCloud Meets Dracula grudge-match ...

[marksamuels]

I can't quite get my head around this one. Columbo, to me, is one of the all-time master detectives, and up there with Holmes & Zaleski, but I had no idea he's been involved with stuff like this one.

Ace.

Mark S.

[andydecker]

I know that I was interested at the time in the novels, but then I didn´t like the topics. I mean, the Kennedy assasination? Manson? Why not the disappereance of Jimmy Hoffa?

For those who are interested, there is just a new collection of brand new Colombo tales out, written by William Link.

The Columbo Collection

Columbo is on a constant re-run here on tv. As badly dated most of the early ones have become in some aspects - murder by answering machine which is bigger than three stacked VCRs together - they are still a joy to watch. I love especially those with Robert Culp or Patrick McGoohan.