Margaret Millar: The Fiend (USA 2017)

From the Publisher:
Introducing Tom Aragon, a fast-talking Mexican-American attorney turned private investigator, who is sent by his boss to track down a wealthy client's philandering ex-husband in Mexico. His boss' good idea of sending a Mexican to Mexico soon proves less than a sure thing as Aragon encounters crooked expats, land scams, and dead-end after dead-end in this quixotic and very entertaining homage to Chandler and Hammett.

Gilda Decker needs a new bag, what with her second husband being suddenly crippled and her ex-husband hiding himself and his money somewhere in the hinterlands of Mexico. Gilda's recently retained lawyer, Tom Aragon, Mexican himself, is the best man for the job. But the deeper Aragon digs into her ex-husband's past the more dangerous his job becomes.

One of Millar's few reoccurring characters and her only foray into the tradition of Chandler and Hammett, Tom Aragon, ranks among her best creations. A sarcastic but talented young lawyer with a few rough edges, Aragon finds himself navigating one entitled nest of vipers after another, not to mention racial prejudice.

Margaret Millar: The Fiend. A Tom Aragon Novel. Soho Press, ISBN: 9781681990057 (September, 2017), eBook, 0.89 MB (ca. 104 p.), $4.99.

Margaret Millar: The Fiend (UK 1992)

From the Publisher:
Young Gilly Decker was rich and fifty, and married to a human vegetable. She was about to lose her second husband, and had lost her first - so why send the bright young lawyer, Tom Aragon, to the wastes of Mexico to find the first? But when Aragon traces him into Mexico, he finds the breaches his elusive quarry, people start dying, one by one.

'Margaret Millar is a superb writer with a deep understanding of human beings and a continuous rustle of wit' -- H.R.F. KEATING

Margaret Millar: The Fiend. Allison & Busby, ISBN: 0749000996 (May, 1992), 176 p., £3.99.

Margaret Millar: The Fiend (USA 1985)

From the Publisher:
"People have been telling me about Margaret Millar for years and now I am glad I didn't listen to them. Now that I have finally read one of her books [ASK FOR ME TOMORROW], I have 21 more to look forward to." -- Anatole Broyard, The New York Times

Meet Mrs. Millar's most engaging hero, Tom Aragon, a young Chicano lawyer. Aragon is hired by Gilda Decker to find her first husband, who after reportedly amassing a fortune disappeared in Mexico.

But when Aragon travels to Mexico, he finds the past shrouded in mystery, and as he approaches his elusive quarry, people start dying, one by one by one.

Margaret Millar: The Fiend. International Polygonics, ISBN: 0930330153 (April, 1985), Library of Crime Classics, 176 p., $4.95.

Margaret Millar: The Fiend (UK 1981)

From the Publisher:
Keyhole Crime
* The best of hardback Crime now for the first time regularly available in paperback
* Special selection for Crime novels carefully chosen for Crime enthusiasts
* The tingle of danger, the challenge of detection, the thrill of suspense - a fascinating variety of exciting Crime books for you to enjoy

ASK FOR ME TOMORROW.
MARGARET MILLAR
'Intriguing and unusual mystery' -- Sunday Telegraph
'A tingling story' -- Guardian
'Very near the top' -- Sunday Times

Gilly Decker is rich, fifty and married to a human vegetable. Cut down by a stroke on their honeymoon, Marco has given up. He hungers only for pills and thirsts only for the fluid in the hypodermic needle.

Gilly Decker has lost one husband and is about to lose another. Why, then, should she send the bright young lawyer, Tom Aragon, to the wastes of Mexico to look for her first husband? It must be all of eight years since B.J. Lockwood took off with one of the servants - so is she after B.J.'s money, B.J.'s son, or sweet revenge - and can she foresee the deadly future?

Margaret Millar: The Fiend. Keyhole Crime, ISBN: 0263735273 (July, 1981), 188 p., 95p.

Margaret Millar: The Fiend (USA 1978)

From the Publisher:
SHE HAS BAD LUCK WITH HUSBANDS - SHE KEEPS LOSING THEM
Tom Aragon is a young California lawyer -- smart, but a little on the green side. He grows up fast when he takes on Gilly Decker's case. Seems B.J., Gilly's old husband; has surfaced in Mexico with a fortune in hot pesos. Tom's job is to nail down B.J. and the cash -- though not necessarily in that order. Yet somebody is bent on keeping Tom and his quarry forever apart. For bodies are dropping like horseflies in the lazy Mexican sun -- and Tom is suddenly a highly unwelcome gringo.

"Millar excels... Superlative!" -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"Her writing is a delight of clarity and pungency... tantalizing... exciting." -- SATURDAY REVIEW

Margaret Millar: The Fiend. A missing husband and an illicit fortune cast a shadow beyond the grave. A riveting new mystery by edgar award winner Margaret Millar. Avon Books, ISBN: 0380018055 (January, 1978), Avon Books #35618 , 176 p., $1.50.

Margaret Millar: The Fiend (USA 1976)

From the Publisher:
Having heard that her first husband, B.J. Lockwood, had amassed a fortune in Mexico, and with her second husband now a helpless invalid and dying, Gilda Decker hires Tom Aragon to go to Mexico to search for Lockwood. The stated reason: Gilda wants her share of Lockwood's money -- be over her.

But as Aragon questions those who knew Lockwood, he finds the man's past shrouded in mystery, and as the young lawyer gets closer and closer to the truth, people start dying, one by one.

Only on the very last pages does he, and the reader, learn the fantastic explanation for why he was really hired. This is an other strong, unusual suspense novel by the author of Beyond This Point Are Monsters.

About the Author
MARGARET MILLAR is internationally known as a novelist of mystery and suspense. Her books have been widely translated in Europe, Asia and North America. Beast in View was given the Edgar Allan Poe Award by her fellow Mystery Writers of America in 1956, and the following year she served as president of that organization. In 1965 she received a Los Angeles Times "Woman of the Year Award" for "outstanding achievement."

Born in Canada, Mrs. Millar was educated in classics at the University of Toronto. In 1938 she married Kenneth Millar, whose books are published under the name of Ross Macdonald.

In the fall of 1958 the Millars moved into a house in a wooded canyon just outside Santa Barbara. Here, she writes for three or four hours a day and, for relaxation, enjoys swimming, sailing, gardening and bird-watching. Both the Millars are active conservationists and founding members of the Santa Barbara Audubon Society. Mrs. Millar has written a book entitled The Birds and the Beasts We Were There.

Margaret Millar: The Fiend. A Novel of Suspense. Random House, ISBN: 0394408837 (January, 1976), 179 p., $$6.95.