In the "Cool and Lam" series of detective novels, Erle Stanley Gardiner (writing under the name AA Fair) portrayed a seamier side of life than in his well-known Perry Mason novels. Protagonist Donald Lam is a brainy, nervy, and somewhat diminutive PI who has an eye for attractive women and (like typical PIs of the genre) bends the rules and skirts the law in his investigations. Bertha Cool is the older, overweight head of the agency, avaricious, profane, and none too fond of her partner. She is given to uttering the peculiar expletive "Fry me for an oyster!" when astonished, which happens far too frequently. Genteel fans of Agatha Christie won't appreciate a book of the Cool and Lam series, nor will those who naively expect to find 21st century social mores in pulp fiction from more than half a century ago.

In Bachelors Get Lonely, Donald Lam investigates a case of corporate spying between two rival real estate companies. During the investigation, Lam is framed for the murder of a key figure and is chased by the police with the help of his partner Bertha Cool, who has no doubt of his guilt. The tale involves elements of blackmail, voyeurism (a "peeping Tom"), a secret love affair, and an "out-of-wedlock" ("illegimate") offspring. The women are unusually "shapely" and described in terms of their outstanding physical attributes. (Published in 1961, this book is of an era and a genre in which "the blonde" was a sufficient verbal allusion). Conversations between Lam and the women he encounters commonly involve sexual innuendo, although action never moves beyond flirtation, even when the stripper Daffodil Lawson makes clear how far her she's willing to go to express her gratitude. The police are thuggish, violent, and non-too-bright, and would like nothing better than to pin the crime on Lam. Meanwhile, Lam (as is common in the genre) has his own sense of integrity and puts his life in danger for the sake of his client.

I found the plot to be intricate and carried out fairly well. Nevertheless, I'd describe Bachelors Get Lonely as a less-than strong example of the hard-boiled genre -- far from the quality of a Raymond Chandler or Ross MacDonald novel but with a style and content likely to elicit avid enthusiasm among uncritical fans. ( )

I've only recently found the Cool/Lam series, but you can count me as a big fan these days. ( )