Reminiscent of James Cain, this one is a wild ride, with a wild woman and a man who is in lust with her. PI Jake Blake becomes involved with the wife of a rich man and finds out a bit too late she isnt what she seems to be. Action and fun to read, another early hit for WIlleford.

“'I think I’ll give you a spanking.' I was having a lot of fun with the girl. Barbara Ann had put some life into a dull, dreary day. Her eyes widened, and for a moment, she stared at me with a scared expression on her innocent face. Then the corners of her mouth turned up slightly and formed a knowing, truly feminine smile. Without a word she got up from her chair, removed her raincoat, folded it, and put it on the seat. She leaned well over the desk, reached behind her and lifted her plaid skirt, exposing pink panties and a firm, beautifully rounded bottom.”

Classic Pulp.

One could imagine where the writing could go with this kind of introduction of a client to a Private Eye in a book named "Wild Wives."

But no.

Jake Blake, PI, is on the road to complete, unforgivable ruin with a gruesome death scene in the Nevada desert.

Classic tragedy.

Well, so far I've read 2 of Willeford's early works, (50's) and several of the later ones (80's). Like them all, but the angry, sardonic, stylized tone of the earlier ones reek with ambition and desires whilst really shitting on the same. dirty and piercing. Totally captivating reading.

This is a fast-paced archetypal noir. Reads more like a treatment for screenplay and I'm surprised this one was never made into a movie, because it has all the classic 1950s noir elements. The opening scene, though, with the girl with the water pistol and her schoolgirl skirt flipped up as she's bent over the private eye's desk asking him to spank her, well, that is surely unique to the noir canon!

Read in 80s. A double book from RE/Search. First exposure to Willeford.

4.5 Stars. A relatively straightforward and fleet-footed noir by Willefordian standards, but even that means the femme fatale is a child, the long-suffering wife (or is it daughter?) of the powerful baron is actually a delusional sociopath, and the detective is a rather slow-witted fellow who is, in his favor, cool with the gays (at least some of them). Wild is right!

Charles Willeford originally published this under the title Until I am Dead and is often paired with High Priest of California. They bear similarities. In both cases does a man fall under the spell of a demented or wicked woman. Jacob Blake is completely taking in by the “dame” who shows up in his office requesting that he protect her from her bodyguards. Things go from bad to worse as Blake discovers he has been a complete fool. It’s classic noir with the down-trodden P.I. who drinks too much and seems never to get an even break. Very short, quick, read. If you like noir, this is a good example of early Willeford before he started writing the Hoke Mosley series (which is better.)

P.S. You can get these really cheap now for your Kindle. I must admit to liking the more salacious original cover, although I would have covered it with brown paper. Note that the title has absolutely little to do with the story.

A hardboiled PI who's just a bit desperate for cash.

My Take
This was a bit Alfred Hitchcock with a flavor of 39 Steps about it. I kept waiting for one betrayal, but got several others.

For a private investigator, Blake seems a bit clueless and pretty lazy. Letting those thugs get the jump on him. He simply takes Florence's story at face value. Jumps to conclusions. Fluffs off Bobby.

It seems too that a guy like him would have reacted quite differently to Davis's come-on. That was just not believable. And what was with his bundling up his suit like that to get rid of it? It was like he had something to hide. Then there's the motorcycle cop at the end. If Blake was accused of this particular murder, why would the cop give him his gun??

Willeford did capture the flavor of the times though, and his characterizations were otherwise right on the money if somewhat exaggerated. Something of a necessity in a story as short as this---102 pages.

The Story
Work is slow and Jake Blake jumps at the chance for some easy money helping out a beautiful dame with cash to burn. Too bad he didn't question the circumstances.

Then karma rolls back to bite for his treatment of Bobby.

The Characters
Jake Blake is a hardboiled, cocky private investigator whose business isn't doing well.

Florence Weintraub is a much put-upon twenty-six-year-old whose daddy has surrounded her with bodyguards. Milton Weintraub is an architect involved in a number of city projects and they seem to have some sort of sick relationship. Ferguson and Melvin are the bodyguards.

Detective Sergeant Ernest Tone is a friend. Lieutenant Stanley Pulaski is not.

Freddy Allen is a gay man supported by a wealthy art dealer, Jefferson Davis. His sister Barbara Ann is a pushy troublemaker who really doesn't deserve what Blake sets her up for. But then, neither does he.

Jefferson Davis is a fellow resident of the hotel and he isn't sure if he has a problem or not.

The Cover
The cover is very 1940ish, 50ish with its fluorescent pink appearing in the background wallpaper, the title, and a curved border at the bottom. The wallpaper itself is a white bamboo print against a radial gradation of pink scattering to gold. Then there's the black-and-white of Florence Weintraub in her diamonds and marabou-trimmed dress.

The title is a misnomer as it's only one wild wife.