You Can't Stop Me
Cover Artist: not identifiedBy: Ard, William
Publisher: Popular Library (526)
Place of Publication:New York, NY
Catalog #: Kelley Box 420: PS3551 .R35 Y66 1953
Contributor: N. Kuhl
General
Era: 1950sAuthor as on Cover: William Ard
Publication:1953
Original Date: 1952
Setting: urban; offices, brokerage firm, mansions, various gambling establishments in River Town
Plot Summary
Private detective Timothy Dane inadvertently becomes involved with the mob when he shoots and kills a mobster during the course of an investigation into the disappearance of an innocent girl. The girl's father suspects she has been kidnapped by her employer, a stockbroker named Louis Gray. Gray, formerly Lewis Graziano, sends some hoods to trash Dane's office in an effort to dissuade Dane from pursuing the case. Dane tracks down Fats Gallo, one of the hoods, and kills him in a gun fight. Gallo's death, mistakenly attributed to a rival gang of mobsters, launches a minor gang war, and gains the attention of The Association, a national organized crime syndicate. Dane persists in his search for the missing girl, and uncovers a great deal about Gray and The Association. When he mistakes Gray's wife, Virginia, for the missing girl, Dane and Virginia fall in love.Major Characters
Timothy Dane adult male, about six feet tall, clean cut, good looking, blue eyes, private detectiveLieutenant Betters adult male, older than Dane, a large man with a "leathery" face, an honest cop working in a corrupt police department
Louis Gray formerly Lewis Graziano, adult male, an enormous man, a "hulking giant", darkly handsome, well-dressed, Chicago bootlegger turned New York stockbroker
Stix Larson adult male, his physical appearance is compared to that of a rat, Gray's right hand man and known hit man
Captain Patrick Kerrigan adult male, head of River Town's corrupt police force; he is on Gray's payroll and actively protects Gray's interests and gambling houses in River Town
Ellen Robbins "Ellie", adult female, pretty brunette, generally referred to as a "kid", worked at Gray's brokerage house until her mysterious disappearance
Virginia Gray adult female, twenty-five years old, beautiful brunette, Gray's wife, she was deceived and tricked into marrying Gray, who regularly beats her
Fats Gallo adult male, one of Gray's cronies who runs a River Town gambling house, killed in a shootout with Dane which starts the gang war at the novel's center
Frankie Quinn adult male, member of a rival gang
Joseph Robbins adult male, fifties, round, bald, meek; Ellen Robbins' father, hires Dane to find his missing daughter
George Watson adult male, also known as "Golden Boy" and "Goldilocks", well-dressed, looks like a young college professor, key player in the Association
Miss Lorna Mason adult female, formerly Lucy Malone, gorgeous blonde whom Dane is investigating for an insurance company as the novel opens; she is a "bad girl" who likes parties, drinking and diamond jewelry