Showing results by author "Bill Bernico" in All Categories

Raymond Chandler would turn over in his grave if he ever heard this one. It is my tribute to the man who gave us classic novels like The Big Sleep, Farewell My Lovely, Red Wind, Trouble Is My Business and scores of other noir stories from the 30s and 40s. In this story, Philip Harlowe (no relation to Jean) is hot on a case, tracking down a valuable object. Chandler fans will no doubt recognize this as a satire and a parody to the above mentioned Chandler stories.

The Coopers have their hands full with their latest case. In order to save bus driver Harry Fleming's life, Clay, Elliott and Gloria Cooper have to kill him. And they have to be convincing if they want to keep the twenty-five thousand dollar fee from their unscrupulous client.

Matt Cooper - The Early Cases runs for 4 hours and 16 minutes and consists of 8 short stories.

Tom Andrews watches as the luxury liner he set sail on slips into the South Pacific. It seems that he and one of the ship's crew, Ed Mullins are the only survivors and they're adrift in a lifeboat. This story follows their progress from the lifeboat to an uncharted island where they make a comfortable shelter for themselves while they figure out if and when they may be rescued.

It's 2002 now and Matt's 91. Clay is 52 and his grandson, Elliott is 22. Elliott wants to be a writer and has asked grandpa Matt if he and his private eye exploits would like to be the subject of his first book. Matt agrees and tells Elliott the story of how it all began back in the 1930s. This story starts in 1934 and has Matt telling of his beginnings in the Chicago Police Department, his move to Los Angeles, his beginnings in the Los Angeles Police Department, his first marriage to Stella and life after her death.

Lieutenant Dean Hollister asked private eye Clay Cooper to assist him on a stakeout job. Dean's trying to get the goods on a hired killer named Aldo Renatti. So far he's been unsuccessful but he has one more trick up his sleeve and with Clay's help, he must just be able to nab this ruthless assassin...and his little dog, too.

You just know your husband's stepping out on you but you can't prove it. Well, wait a minute, this is Hollywood and you know a hairdresser who knows a makeup artist. Together they can transform you into a beautiful, unrecognizeable tart. Then you can go out, pick up your husband at his favorite bar and see just how far he'll go. What can possibly go wrong?

Penelope is a meter maid who also does double duty emptying the parking meters and counting/sorting the change. This is how she first got interested in coin collecting. She started out by finding a Liberty dime, then a couple of buffalo nickels and finally several wheat pennies. While sorting her find at home one night, she discovers that someone had dropped a rare coin into a parking meter and she ended up with it. Could she keep it? Probably not after the original owner was killed. What to do, what to do.

Clay Cooper is home again, recovering from his second heart attack. His son, Elliott calls Gloria back in to help out temporarily. Their latest case involves a woman who wants Cooper to find out who killed her husband, a new P.I. who was shot while investigating only his second case. Elliott and Gloria visit the Burbank Police Department, since the victim, Gordon Reese, was found in their jurisdiction. The streets and back alleys of Burbank set the scene for another interesting case for Elliott and his on-again partner, Gloria.

Jeff could see the lettering on the side of the armored truck as it made a wide left turn on the street just ahead of his own car. He pushed down on the turn signal arm and followed, not because he wanted to, but because he happened to be going that way, too. Jeff grabbed the radio knob and twisted, looking for a clear signal. Keeping one eye on the road and the other on the dial, he turned until a song came in clear and strong.

It doesn't pay to be seen with Matt Cooper. First, his new girlfriend gets hit in the head with a rock and killed. Next, a potential client ends up dead on the floor outside Matt's office with a pair of scissors sticking out of his back. And lastly, a man Matt is questioning about the second victim gets killed with paper. Paper? That's right... Paper, Rock, Scissors. Sounds like some stupid kids' game, but the stakes are deadly in this case. And Matt's on the case, to be sure.

Get a real job? Not on your life. You'd rather keep pulling the same cons on unsuspecting rubs. Your latest con involves selling TV boxes with just a picture tube in it to the gullible public. It keeps you in money and your cost is zero. But what happens when you unkowingly sell one of these useless boxes to Anthony Vonetti, crime underworld hit man? Well, you did and when they see what's in the box, your life won't be worth a plug nickel. You have to get it back before that happens. Good luck.

Elliott is hired by a member of the local country club to find out who has been stealing things from his locker. Sounds tame enough, but after Elliott sets up his surveillance cameras to catch the thief in the act, he catches something else on video instead - murder. Who bashed that fellow's head in with a Ping driver?

Your Aunt Grace is dying and you are her only living relative so you would be the logical choice as sole heir to her fortune. However, Aunt Grace has nine cats that also figure into the equasion. Will you split the fortune 10 ways? Or will that plan you've hatched help you keep it all? What will you do?

Lillian opens the door and a man is standing there with a gun. He forces his way into her home and tells her he plans to kill her husband when he gets home. Why? What'd he ever do to this punk? Uh-oh, here comes her husband. Now what?

The storyline in my Matt Cooper series now shifts to his son, Clay, who has taken over the private eye business. It's 1992 now and Matt's 81. Clay is 42 and his son, Elliott is 12. Bodies are showing up all over town with notes pinned to their bare flesh. The notes are clues from the killer. Sergeant Dean Hollister is not sure how to interpret these clues, but he knows someone who can - Clay Cooper. The clues are all connected. Can you figure out what the connection is?

It's 1964. Philip Duran has been driving all night to make a sales meeting in the wee hours of the morning in Hollywood. Vern Grayson has the purchasing power at MGM. Mr. Duran's new invention could be just the thing MGM needs to pull ahead of its competitors, but can Duran convince Grayson to buy his contraption? Find out here, because Philip Duran will do, anything for a sale.

It's a long holiday weekend and Clay Cooper decides to take his son, Elliott fishing. As they sit there peacefully in the boat, Elliott sneezes and Clay automatically says, 'Bless you,' prompting Elliott to question the whole superstitious custom and how it came to be. By the time he's finished explaining it to Dad, Dad has some questions of his own.

Mark Martin rose up in the ranks of his company fast - a little too fast to suit some of his fellow employees. Mark markets adult diapers and is about to hold the sales presentation of his career. Will he land the new account, or is he all wet?

Jon is a grade school student who has a part-time job at a labratory where they experiment with animal DNA. When he hears that one of the scientists needs a tray full of samples, Jon runs to get it, trying to show how helpful he can be. In his haste he spill the contents of nine cups of animal DNA and the contents mix together. Sure, it was an accident, but the results make for an amazing discovery.