The Big Boodle, by Robert Sylvester (Permabooks, 1955). As Dan Stumpf recalls in Mystery*File, this novel—originally published in 1954—is “set in pre-Castro Cuba and deal[s] with P.I. Ned Sherwood’s efforts to disentangle himself from an elaborate counterfeit scheme involving Mexican film stars, Cuban hit-men, ex-revolutionaries and corrupt officials.” The story was adapted into a 1957 film starring Errol Flynn. I can’t find an authoritative biography of Sylvester (1907-1975), but the Facebook page Vintage Paperbacks and Book Covers says he “was an American drama and amusement writer for the New York Daily News and for twenty years wrote the syndicated column ‘Dream Street’ about the stage. He was also a press agent for Bob Hope and other luminaries …” Beyond The Big Boodle, Sylvester is said to have published four other novels, among them We Were Strangers (1949) and The Second Oldest Profession (1952).
The Big Boodle’s cover art is credited to Robert Schulz.
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