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. Sixty years ago, almost every American small-town pharmacy and sandwich shop offered a revolving rack of paperback novels. Many of the titles were noir paperback originals published by Gold Medal Books. Williams, now better remembered in Europe than in the U.S., was one of Gold Medal’s stars. Stark House has bundled two of Williams’ early novels into their Noir Classics series. Nothing in Her Way offers a convoluted revenge-via-con-game executed by a former husband and wife. Published in 1953, it shows the rapid evolution of Williams’ style. River Girl, one of three novels Williams published in 1951, is country noir focused on a bent sheriff’s deputy in a small southern city. Jack Marshall is a reluctant bagman for the thoroughly corrupt sheriff, but he needs his taste of each collection to narrow the widening gap between his income and his willful, demanding wife’s spending. His only respite is fishing, and while angling, he encounters Doris, a beautiful young woman who immediately becomes his obsession and, possibly, his salvation. Old-school crime for a past master. --Thomas Gaughan Relying on wit, humor and ingenious plotting, Williams's characters constantly attempt to outwit the system. --Woody Haut, Pulp Culture The best of all the Gold Medal writers. --Ed Gorman, The Big Book of Noir Charles Williams remains the best kept secret in noir fiction. --Max Allan Collins NOTHING IN HER WAY When Michael Belen runs into the cherubic con man named Wolford Charles in New Orleans, he has no idea he had just opened the door to his ex-wife Cathy. She and Charles and Judd Bolton are working a con on a man named Goodwin, who had been a partner with a contractor named Lachlan down in South America. Lachlan had worked a swindle which had wiped out Cathy and Michael's parents, and now as far as Cathy is concerned, it's payback time. From Goodwin to Lachlan, Belen commits himself to Cathy and her scheme. When a drug-addled gangster named Donnelly starts threatening her, Belen takes care of him. When Charles and Bolton try to work a double-cross, Cathy matches them with a cross of her own. They are the perfect team. Until they go up against Lachlan and then all bets are off.RIVER GIRL All deputy sheriff Jack Marshall wants to do is escape his troubles when he heads upriver for a little fishing. What he finds instead is Doris, who lives in a shack on a small island with her sullen husband, Roger Shevlin. Back in town, Marshall can't stop thinking about Doris, and keeps coming back to her shack while Shevlin is away, always looking for an excuse to visit. But Shevlin grows wise to his visits, and Marshall is forced to make a decision to take Doris away or fight for her. Marshall's decision is complicated by the fact that Sheriff Buford and his office are coming under close scrutiny for graft. Somebody needs to disappear before it all blows up, and Marshall begins to hatch a scheme if he can pull it off, he can escape with Doris and they can both have their freedom. But things are never as easy as they seem... 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, in the Spring of 1975.