Trouble Follows Me, by Ken Millar, 1946. This is Millar’s second novel, written while he was serving in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific Theater at the close of World War II.
Author | Kenneth Millar |
Publisher | Dodd, Mead and Company |
Publication Date (initial) | August 20, 1946 |
Overview
Trouble Follows Me opens in Honolulu in 1945, towards the end of the war in the Pacific theater. Ensign Sam Drake is in Honolulu, preparing for leave to visit his home of Detroit, Michigan. He and his buddy Eric go out on the town with Eric’s girlfriend Sue and her friend Mary. Before the night has ended, Sue is dead, seemingly a suicide, though Sam is not so sure. Eric suspects the African-American steward, Hector Land. Sam investigates as much as he can before his trip home to Detroit, also the hometown of Land. The more Sam looks into this crime, the more trouble he finds, trouble that follows him everywhere he goes.
Observations
In the opening chapter of Millar’s first book, The Dark Tunnel, the reader learns that Dr. Robert Branch, the hero of the book, wants very much to join the U.S. Navy, but had been turned down. Kenneth Millar, studying at the University of Michigan at the time, had also been initially turned down when he tried to enlist in the U.S. Navy. However, as the war progressed, he did enlist and was trained as a communications officer. Lt. Kenneth Millar served in the Pacific fleet at the end of the war. In his spare time, Lt. Millar wrote his second book, Trouble Follows Me, featuring a version of himself, Ensign Sam Drake.
Additional Publication Information
The information is here is accurate to the best knowledge of the site’s author, but should not be presumed to be definitive.
Date | Publisher | Notes |
---|---|---|
1950 | Lion Books | 2nd edition; paperback |
1955 | Lion Books | 3rd edition as Night Train; paperback |
1972 | Bantam | 4th edition; paperback |
1973 | Bantam/Corgi Books (UK) | 4th edition, 3rd printing; paperback |
2013 | Mysterious Press/Open Road | 2013 edition, trade paperback |
Book Covers
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Original 1st edition, hardcopy |
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Lion Books, 1950; 2nd edition, paper |
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Lion Books, 1950, as Night Train; 3rd edition, paper |
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Bantam, 1972; paper |
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Mysterious Press/Open Road, 2013; trade paperback |
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