Richard - I don't think the revolver in "Deadly Pursuit" was a High Standard (I didn't know about that one, by the way) or a Webley-Fosbury (sp?), which Hammett has Sam Spade's partner killed with in "The Maltese Falcon." Stroud's character's revolver was stainless or nickel-plated. I think it was a Smith. And I may be wrong about the mistake -- it might have been something other than mentioning a safety. But it was the kind of slip that only someone not experienced with guns would make. Otherwise, his research is impeccable.
There's a resource book, published for crime writers, that includes a pretty good background on guns. Then, at the end, it has photos of some examples. For a DA revolver, it has a Smith. For an SA revolver, however, it has a Ruger Redhawk. I wrote to the publisher, politely pointing this out, and never heard back. The book was written by a guy (can't remember the name) who writes series thrillers under pseudonyms. I believe he wrote some of the "The Executioner" series books.
I enjoy Ludlum's thrillers -- plots are so fast-paced I can't put them down. That's partly because there's just enuf nonsense in them so I know I don't hafta take them seriously -- like cotton candy. He knows zip about guns. It's laffable. All his silencers are "perforated barrels" that go "pfft" -- many of them on revolvers. Guns in his books start out as autoloaders, then, a couple of pages later, become revolvers, and vice versa. Chambers are "magazines." You'd think somebody would've gotten his attention by now and helped him out. I guess when you sell as many books as Ludlum does you don't hafta worry. They're still fun to read.
