SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: THREE BY MICHAEL FESSIER

 "Sex Murder in Cameron" by Michael Fessier (from Manhunt, February 1953)

"Nice Bunch of Guys" by Michael Fessier (from Manhunt, May 1953)

"The Faceless Man" by Michael Fessier (from Manhunt, June 1953)

These three short stories -- the only ones by him to appear in Manhunt -- were added to/ the Stark House/Staccato Press edition of the Author's short novel Fully Dressed and in His Right Mind.  After I had read that odd and compelling novel, I put off reading these stories for a few weeks because I feared the impact they might have on the book I had just finished; I found Fully Dressed to be both compelling and sui generis, and felt the additional stories might impact the effect the novel had on me.  I think i made the right choice.

Manhunt was a hardboiled crime fiction magazine launched in late 1952 and lasted for 114 issues until May 1967.  In it's heyday, it was considered a rightful heir to the legendary pulp magazine Black Mask.  Manhunt was a joint venture between publisher Archer St. John and literary agent Scott Meredith, who served as editor under the pseudonym of John McCloud through the January 1956 issue.  Meredith used the magazine to publish authors in his client stable, but the magazine was not strictly a closed shop -- occasionally another agent would submit a story that would be accepted, and the magazine would also print stories from known crime writers who were not clients of Meredith.  I don't know if Fessier was a Meredith client, but the fact that his three stories were published in the space of five months indicates to me that he probably was a client, at least for that period in 1953.

"Sex Murder in Cameron" is the story of handsome Cass Buford, the richest, most powerful, and eligible man in a small mid-western town, and ugly duckling Linda Wells, a dull, poor girl whom Cass married, to the amazement of the entire community.  Then Linda split Cass's head with an axe.  Confessing to the murder without giving any explanation, she was tried, convicted, and hung.  Linda's autopsy revealed a surprise twist to the story, which may or may not explain her motive.  Unfortunately, the surprise ending did not truly resolve the questions raised.  The story, flawed as it is, is a brilliant character sketch that keeps the reader turning the pages.

"A Nice Bunch of Guys" refers to the local loafers who hand out in from of a pool hall and endlessly rib the mentally defective newsboy Marty.  Their jibes lead Marty to commit a crime, but they could not be to blame because of what a weirdo like Marty might do.  Besides, they are a nice  bunch of guys, just regular fellows.  An interesting tale of the results of blind and ignorant cruelty.

"The Faceless Man" also shows what dangers ignorance can reveal.  Orry Quinn, the worthless son of the worthless Pete Quinn, is fired for good reason from his job as a farm hand for Henry Rankin.  About a week later, Rankin hires Claude Warren, a distant relative who had served several months in prison.  Orry was a local boy and Claude was an outsider.  Orry began to turn the town against Claude, claiming that he was a criminal and was most likely dangerous.  Claude had made the mistake of accepting a ride from some people who had stolen a car and, when they were arrested, Claude was also arrested as an accomplice.  Pretty Linda Hannaford, who had a dangerous habit of thinking for herself, soon found herself in love with Claude and wanted to marry him -- something her parents did not approve of.  Onr day, Henry Rankin is found dead in a pool of blood at his farm house.  Both Clause and Linda are missing, as is Henry's car.  Orry began inciting the townspeople against Claude, and when the police found the pair, Claude had money on him that could not be accounted for with his wages.  A viscous deputy beat Claude before bringing his to jail, and Orry is urging the people to take justice into their own hands and lynch Claude.  Standing between Claude and he mob is Sheriff Ben Hodges, a man who career was build on "go along to get along."  An interesting tale of the power of ignorance and the madness of crowds, tempered with a plea for humanity.  How Ben Hodges resolves the situation makes for powerful reading, and -- for Ben -- the situation might never be resolved.

Al three stories are well-written and appear to be just slightly out of the boundaries of a typical Manhunt tale.  The more I read of Fessier's work, the more I like.

All of the 1953 issues of Manhunt are available to be read online.  While you are there, check out some of the other stories; the early issues of the magazine are amazing.