Roy Huggins was one of the legendary figures of Hollywood, particularly the television industry. Originally a writer. Once his first novel -this one -was purchased by Columbia Pictures, he left novels behind, wrote movie scripts, and produced tv shows such as Maverick, 77 Sunset Strip, the Fugitive, and the Rockford Files. He also known for naming names before HUAC.

As great a television mind as he was, we novel readers lost a great voice when he gave up novels for the golden lights. The Double Take is everything you could want from a hardboiled era detective novel. It is filled with sexy ladies, fancy mansions, ex-strippers, hoods, roulette wheels, and all kinds of checkered pasts. It gives us the Los Angeles of the 1940's with its wide boulevards and secret lives. Huggins here doesn't go overboard with the pulpy lines, but he throws in just enough to give this one flavor.

Yes, the plotting does get complex and there are quite a few characters involved, but it's a great story nonetheless and very typical of the pulp work of the 40's. Finishing this, I am left wanting more Stuart Bailey detective fiction. ( )

Double Take was written in 1946 by Roy Huggins, known for creating 77 Sunset Strip, The Fugitive and other well-known mysteries.

Mr. Johnston has received a blackmail call. Something about his wife. He realizes that he knows little about her, since she rarely talks about her past. Rather than poo-poo'ing the call, he hires Stu Bailey, private investigator to find out what he can about his wife.

This begins Bailey's jaunts through Los Angeles and Portland, OR, where Ms. Johnston grew up. Bailey has some missteps of his own, meets gambling joint owners, and several attractive women. Bailey has a love hate relationship with Det. Quint, who he gives credit to for solving the case.

I thought Double Take would be more noir-ish, since it was written in 1946, but it wasn't. It was a fun read. I didn't guess who did it, which is good. I liked the characters and the plot. All in all, it was a good mystery read. I've ordered his two other books. He also wrote a few short stories, which I'm looking forward to reading. ( )

Huggins, who went on to a hugely successful career as the creator of Maverick, the Fugitive, the Rockford Files, and a few others, brings a lot of Chandler-influenced style to this story of a detective hired to find out who is blackmailing an advertising exec married to a woman with a mysterious past. Unfortunately, there isn't enough meat at the heart of this one to really make you care, and the pretty writing just calls attention to itself instead of blending seamlessly into the atmosphere as it does in Chandler. There are twists, some pretty extreme violence, and a few potentially interesting characters, but Huggins never brings the panache to the sordid story that a John D. MacDonald, Dan Marlowe, or John McPartland would, and as a result, it just falls flat. ( )