Charles Williams was born in San Angelo, Texas, on August 13, 1909. He served as a radio operator for the United States Merchant Marine from 1929-1939, later working at the Puget Sound Navy Yard before moving to San Francisco. Williams didn't write his first novel until he was nearly 40, but the first printing of this book, Hill Girl, sold over a million copies for Gold Medal Books.
His basic stories of lustful, greedy men brought down by their pursuit of big money and a conniving woman was gradually replaced by intriguing thrillers set at sea, two of the best of these being Scorpion Reef and Aground. Many of his novels have been successfully filmed, including Dead Calm and The Hot Spot. After Williams's wife died of cancer, he became increasingly despondent, and committed suicide in Van Nuys, California, on April 7, 1975.



$19.95
  • The Sailcloth Shroud / All the Way
  • 978-1-951473-35-8
  • "Relying on wit, humor and ingenious plotting, Williams's characters constantly attempt to outwit the system."—Woody Haut, Pulp Culture. New introduction by Nicholas Litchfield. August 2021.

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$19.95
  • Nothing in Her Way / River Girl
  • 978-1-933586-63-2
  • Nothing in Her Way presents a convoluted story of two con artists, while River Girl is a classic backwoods thriller about a man who falls for the wrong woman. Both of these novels were originally published in the early 1950's by Gold Medal Books. Author Max Allan Collins calls Williams the "the best kept secret in noir fiction." Our edition includes a new introduction by Rick Ollerman.

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