Any Two Can Play

Considered a Pulp Noir Classic, Any Two Can Play by James L. Rubel was first published in 1959 by Newsstand Library. Because of its explicit themes, the U.S. Postal Service declared the novel obscene and unmailable in October 1960.

Nicky Starmont was as attractive was she was unscrupulous. When she took Mel Corbin for a lover, he got more than he bargained for. The vehemence of Carol Tanner, one of Nicky’s several other lovers, the jealous anger of David Groom, and the problem of Harry Spane, her onetime husband, all form a pattern of intrigue and suspicion.

Nicky liked to play both ends against the middle just for the sheer devilment of it … that is until Mel Corbin found her in his apartment keeping company with a knife — and very, very dead. When he tries to extricate himself from this compromising situation, with the help of passionate Honey Cailler, Mel finds out that any two can play.