Dan James Marlowe (July 10, 1914 – August 26, 1986) was an American writer of crime fiction. The Name of the Game Is Death (Fawcett Gold Medal Books, 1962), about a fast-shooting, casually violent bank robber, is both Marlowe's most popular and most critically acclaimed work. (Originally a one-off novel, it was later expanded into a series subtitled "Drake: The Man with Nobody's Face.") In 2005, Marlowe was praised as the "hardest of the hardboiled" by Stephen King.https://www.criminalelement.com/lost-classics-of-noir-the-name-of-the-game-is-death-dan-j-marlowe-brian-greene-stephen-king-noir-fiction/
Charles Kelly's Gunshots in Another Room: The Forgotten Life of Dan J. Marlowe (2012) tells the real-life story of Marlowe, his amnesia, and his entanglements with bank robber Albert Frederick Nussbaum and murderer Bobby Randell Wilcoxson.
Works
Novels Year Title Series Publisher 1959Doorway to DeathJohnny KillainAvon Publications, Inc.1959Killer with a KeyJohnny Killain1960Doom ServiceJohnny Killain1960The Fatal FrailsJohnny Killain1961Shake a Crooked TownJohnny Killain1961BackfireBerkley1962The Name of the Game is DeathDrakeFawcett Gold Medal1963StrongarmFawcett Gold Medal1964Never Live TwiceFawcett Gold Medal1965Death Deep DownFawcett Gold Medal1966Four for the MoneyFawcett Gold Medal1966The Vengeance ManFawcett Gold Medal1967The Raven Is a Blood Red BirdFawcett Gold Medal1967Route of the Red GoldFawcett Gold Medal1969One Endless HourDrakeFawcett Gold Medal1969Operation FireballDrakeFawcett Gold Medal1970Operation FlashpointDrakeFawcett Gold Medal1970Operation OverkillDrakeFawcett Gold Medal1971Operation BreakthroughDrakeFawcett Gold Medal1972Operation CheckmateDrakeFawcett Gold Medal1972Operation DrumfireDrakeFawcett Gold Medal1973Operation StrangleholdDrakeFawcett Gold Medal1973Operation WhiplashDrakeFawcett Gold Medal1974Operation HammerlockDrakeFawcett Gold Medal1975Operation DeathmakerDrakeFawcett Gold Medal1976Operation CounterpunchDrakeFawcett Gold Medal1982Guerilla Games (credited as 'Gar Wilson')Phoenix Force Worldwide
Fastback "easy readers" 1983: Janie 1984: No Witnesses, A Game for Fools 1985: Claire, The Comeback, Game Day, Redmond's Shot, Turk, Death in Any Language, Pension Plan 1986: Small Town Beat, No Loose Ends 1987: The Devlin Affair, Ship of Doom, Double the Glory, The Hitter, The Mudder, The Sixth Man, The Super Upset, Big-Top Tragedy, Deadly Torrent, Quake 8.1
References
External links
Mystery Man: Dan J. Marlowe