by Raymond Johnson

Like Ice She Was was first published in 1960.  Unfortunately, writer William Ard died of cancer shortly after writing this book.  He was only 37 years old.  This was one of the many books that Ard wrote about hard-boiled private detective Lou Largo.  After he died, a few more Largo books were ghost-written by authors like Lawrence Block and John Jakes.  You can read more about William Ard at this tribute site.  And you can read a review (albeit a negative one) of this novel at this site.

As for the cover, the combination of the gun, the cigarette, the red bikini, and the high-wasted pants that compliment the confused expression on her fella’s face make this a pulp classic.  This cover was done by Raymond Johnson, whose work has been featured many times on this site.