Ive been doing some Google searching and all I can find is a reference that the author has been dead for some time and that one of the stories was reprinted in ALFRED HITCHCOCKS MYSTERY MAGAZINE.
Frank McAuliffe wrote three absolutely terrific books featuring his sarcastic assassin, Augustus Mandrell. Ballantine printed these in 1971: OF ALL THE BLOODY CHEEK, RATHER A VICIOUS GENTLEMAN, and FOR MURDER I CHARGE MORE. These books each contain several longish stories which interconnect in some way.
Mandrell is an expensive, elusive mercenary killer with a bleak wit and an outrageous way of expressing himself. The stories themselves are neat little thrillers, but it`s the attitude of the narrator that makes them stand out.
Anyone out there know anything about these stories, their first appearances, or their author? I`d appreciate any information you folks could supply.