Larry Kent 760: Mona Lethal

The cops said Robert Lawson’s death was suicide. Larry Kent believed it was murder - and set out to prove it. Along the way he found himself threatened by a casino boss, a beautiful feminist, an irate cop, and a sleazy loan shark. But nothing - and no amount of bodies - was going to stop him from uncovering Lawson’s killer and the reason he had to die...nothing.

About Larry Kent: Larry Kent started his life as the hero of a half-hour radio show on Australia’s Macquarie Network and was inspired chiefly by the success of the hard-boiled mysteries of Carter Brown. As the popularity of the radio show grew, the Cleveland Publishing Pty. Ltd decided to publish a series of Larry Kent novels. Two authors, Don Haring (an American who lived in Australia) and Des R. Dunn (a Queenslander) are primarily associated with the series. Between 1954 and 1983, Larry appeared in well over 400 adventures.

Kent is a typical hard-boiled private eye. He smokes Camels, drinks whisky, and early into each story has usually met a dame and is fighting for his life. His mean streets are pure New York (although the radio series was set in Australia) and include Harlem nightclubs and Jersey roadhouses.

Generally the body counts are high: about six deaths per novel.

But there’s another side to Larry Kent. He’s a Vietnam War veteran; he used to work for the CIA and still does, usually reluctantly, on occasion. And once, when an attempt was made on his life, the Agency paid for him to have plastic surgery that altered his appearance...something he never quite managed to get used to.

Larry Kent is fast and fun, and Piccadilly Publishing is proud to be bringing his cases to a whole new generation of fans, complete with their original "good girl" artwork.