Henry Slesar is one of the great known unknown writers of crime fiction of this century. By this, I mean, he's written many many short stories (most with a "twist" ending) that were adapted (among other places) by Alfred Hitchcock Presents back in the '50's and '60's.

Although perhaps not as atmospheric as Roald Dahl, or as wildly imaginative as Fredric Brown, his stories are a great example of American short fiction. Short and to the point. And, unusual for most "twist ending" writers, most of his stories do work, with only the occassional clunker.

If you can find his stuff, it's definitely worth a read.

Twist stories are a delightful genre, and Henry Slesar is one of its best practicioners, others being Stanley Ellin, Roald Dahl or John Collier (read them too!). Slesar's touch is an incerdible cynism, characterized by sarcastic twist endings and a special taste for mediocre people, living mediocre lives and having mediocres dreams. One might say that Slesar wrote "American Beauty" hundred times before the movie was made. He also wrote rare but always interesting novels. An omnibus, please!

Attention Alfred Hitchcock Presents fans: Death on Television, edited by Francis M. Nevins, Jr. and Martin Harry Greenberg in 1989, is a great companion to the reruns of the late 50s and early 60s TV mystery anthology series. This is a collection of short stories by Henry Slesar that were produced on the Hitchcock show. Mr. Slesar is one of the most prolific TV writers ever. He was involved in more than 40 of the AHP shows, writing both stories and teleplays. In his introduction to this book, he states that Hitchcock is usually referred to as the Master of Suspense but Mr. Slesar renames him as the Master of Irony. The stories in this book all have the signature ironic twist endings for which Alfred Hitchcock TV is famous. His stories often show the frailties of the human condition and relationships. "The Test" and "A Woman's Help" show that blood is thicker than water and apparently morality. In "The Final Vow" a young nun is tested and in "The Second Verdict" a young lawyer has gotten a guilty man acquitted. In both of these stories, help comes from unlikely sources, hardened criminals. It is fun to read the stories in this book and follow along with the show. For aspiring writers, this book can be a primer showing how the written word is brought to the small screen. Stories also include "Cop For a Day" which starred Walter Matthau and "Starring the Defense" which starred Richard Basehart when produced. Another book that I recommend is Hitchcock in Prime Time, also edited by Martin Harry Greenberg, which is a similar book that collects more of original stories that were later produced on Hitchcock's TV shows. They are written by various authors and include comments by the authors about how they felt about the teleproduction of their stories.

Although I only two-thirds of the way through this novel, I can safety assure other potential readers not to bother with this trite and strictly by the numbers murder mystery. The only real mystery is exactly how many typos you'll be able to pick up throughout this book. (Is it just me or has proofreading at publishing companies gone out of style) The proofing is so bad here the protagonist's name actually changes at 2 different points in the story. Even ardent soap fans will find little inside humor in this offering. Every soap reference is to The Edge of Night, a soap that went off the air years ago. (This author must have worked for the show). In short, mystery fans, soaps fans, and fans of good writing- skip this book.

Anyone who watched The Edge of Night is going to enjoy this wry peek at the inner workings of a daytime soap opera. Written by Henry Slesar, who was the head writer for The Edge of Night for many years, Murder at Hearbreak Hospital reads almost like a plot line from that fondly remembered series. Even the characters' names like Sunday Tyler or Milo Derringer sound like they could have come right out of Edge. There are lots of inside references to the daytime dramas (especially Edge), and Slesar's fans will not fail to notice his trademark "blue herrings."