Spine # 862
“Except for layers of dust, piled on across nine states, the Porsche was as new at it looked. Through his hands he could feel its headlong strength and untouched power reserve. It darted, low-slung, on the narrow roadway like a frightened beetle. The hum of power and smell of expensive newness gave him a sensual kind of pleasure. He let the sense of pleasure flood through him and drove without thinking of any of the rest of it.
On both sides of the highway the forlorn wasteland stretched as far as he could see, under the white, metallic glare of desert sun, to distant ash-blue hills.”
Harry Whittington; A Ticket to Hell
Ric is driving in the desert. His Porsche is fast and luxurious. He had a passenger for a while, but Ric threw him out of the moving car.
He arrives at his destination, a motel complex where there’s someone he’s supposed to meet. Someone who wants the valuable stuff hidden in the Porsche. And that person has something even more valuable that Ric is to take in return. It’s a trade. And Ric is tough and honest. The perfect man to see the job through.
But there are other people at the complex. Strangers. The owner of the motel is married. And his wife likes Ric. She wants to get to know him better. But Ric doesn’t have time for her room services. He’s got a job to do.
Across the way is a married couple. They’re trouble, too. Ric sees something happen between them. He shouldn’t butt in. It’s not his business. It will complicate the trade. But Ric is honest and tough. He can’t help himself.
Soon, Ric has another passenger. And they’re back in the Porsche, driving in the desert. Going fast because they’re being chased.
Before long, they’re stuck. Stuck in the mountains of the desert. No water. Low on gas. Ric has entered a personal Hell.
Harry Whittington cranked out books like a General Motors assembly line during the heyday of paperback publishing. Many of them were great and this one might be his best.
A Ticket to Hell is a pulpy joyride for those who like their noir simple and stout. It doesn’t have the literary chops of James M. Cain’s Double Indemnity or the complexities of Jim Thompson’s cast of psychopaths. But it’s a straightforward ass-kicker with some delicious moments of ball-busting lust.
That’s it. All you need to know.
Read it.
C.D. Baxter’s Quick Review of A Ticket to Hell
Story – Excellent
Cover Eye Candy – Mediocre
Reprint Available Through Stark House Press
Gold Medal Book Blog 