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William Ard


(William Thomas Ard)
USA flag (1922 - 1960)

aka Ben Kerr, Mike Moran, Jonas Ward, Thomas Wills

William Ard has been one of the most elusive writers in the collecting world.

Odd for a man who was one of the most popular hardboiled writers of the 1950s. He was praised by critics from the St. Louis Dispatch to the New York Times.

Few imagined the dark side of the city and the entertainment business better than William Ard. When he turned his gaze west, he gave life to one of the genre's most enduring heroes.

Today his name is all but forgotten. His hardboiled titles are scarce. His paperback titles in fine condition are nearly impossible to find.

While he went by many names, he is essentially a man of two faces. Ard was the creator of hard-hitting detective Timothy Dane of New York and an even harder living and loving detective, Lou Largo, of Florida.
 


Genres: Mystery
 
Series
Timothy Dane
   The Perfect Frame (1951)
   .38 (1952)
     aka This Is Murder / You Can't Stop Me
   The Diary (1952)
   A Private Party (1953)
     aka Rogue's Murder
   Don't Come Crying to Me (1954)
   Hell Is a City (1955)
     aka The Naked And the Innocent
   Mr. Trouble (1955)
   Cry Scandal (1956)
   The Root of His Evil (1957)
     aka Deadly beloved
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Danny Fontaine
   A Girl for Danny (1953)
   Wanted: Danny Fontaine (1959)

     aka As Bad As I Am

   When She Was Bad (1960)
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Lou Largo
   All I Can Get (1959)
   Babe in the Woods (1960)
   Like Ice She Was (1960)
   Make Mine Mavis (1961)
   And So to Bed (1962)
   Give Me This Woman (1963)
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Novels
   Shakedown (1952) (as by Ben Kerr)
   You'll Get Yours (1952) (as by Thomas Wills)
   Double Cross (1953) (as by Mike Moran)
   No Angels for Me (1954)
   Down I Go (1955) (as by Ben Kerr)
   Mine to Avenge (1955) (as by Thomas Wills)
   Club 17 (1956) (as by Ben Kerr)
   Damned If He Does (1956) (as by Ben Kerr)
   I Fear You Not (1956) (as by Ben Kerr)
   The Blonde and Johnny Malloy (1958) (as by Ben Kerr)
   The Sins of Billy Serene (1960)
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