Cocktail Talk: Death for a Hussy
There are times the cover sells me on purchasing a pulp-y pocket-y book (many past Cocktail Talk posts are evidence of such). And then other times when it’s the title. Or, the description on the back cover. Death for a Hussy (by Alywin Lee Martin) has all three. The cover pic is to the left. The title, well, I just mentioned it. And the first line of the description on the back cover reads, “She was very young, very beautiful and . . . very dead!” Now that combination had me hook, line, and sinker. Not a bad little read, really. And it contained the following boozy quote, too:
“I’m one of the bartenders,” he said. “Me helper comes on at ten o’clock. The joint begins jumping then. Whata ya drinkin’?”
“Scotch with a little soda.”
Jocko mixed the drink and put it down in front of Hughes. “Haig and Haig. The real McCoy—outuva an honest-to-God pinch bottle.”
“Have one with me,” Hughes invited.
Jocko pour a tumbler half full of Haig and Haig and threw the whiskey into his mouth. The glass didn’t even touch his lips.
–Alywin Lee Martin, Death for a Hussy
