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Melki wrote: "Okay. I did my required reading for this group and read The Hunter. I'll probably continue with the series, but not right away."

What did you think about Parker? The lean, mean prose? Although its a good revenge story, its not a heist story like most of the other books. The second book show more how the books work in the series as storytelling wise.

Starting Time to Murder and Create andHe Died With His Eyes Open.

Mohammed wrote: "while Scudder is much more about the characters life,struggles. You dont want to miss the depressing life of Scudder early on."

I think you really nailed that one Mohammed. These first two books certainly haven't been edge of your seat suspense, but it is great getting to know this character and what makes him tick.

Ctgt wrote: "Mohammed wrote: "while Scudder is much more about the characters life,struggles. You dont want to miss the depressing life of Scudder early on."

I think you really nailed that one Mohammed. These..."

PI stories wise the cases gets more interesting later on in the series but really always the strength is getting inside the head of Scudder, seeing what makes him work.

Without that it wouldnt be hailed as one of the best PI series there has been.

Im reading Raylan by Elmore Leonard a choice i fastracked through my reading pile simple because Derek Raymond's book was so depressing that i needed real badly the fun you have reading cool,quirky dialogue by Raylan Givens, EL.

I'm now reading He Died With His Eyes Open and The Name Is Archer.

Ctgt wrote: "Just finished The Sins of the Fathers. I have read one or two other Lawrence Block titles but this was my first Scudder book. Man, what took me so long? Such a fast, great read! Can't wait to conti..."

Ctgt: Ditto here on all accounts. What took me so long, too? Been collecting them, now need to read them!

Mohammed wrote: "Ctgt wrote: "Mohammed wrote: "while Scudder is much more about the characters life,struggles. You dont want to miss the depressing life of Scudder early on."

I think you really nailed that one Mo..."

Mohammed: Not responding to any particular comment, just wanted to say, I'm enjoying all your comments.

Cathy

Cathy wrote: "Mohammed wrote: "Ctgt wrote: "Mohammed wrote: "while Scudder is much more about the characters life,struggles. You dont want to miss the depressing life of Scudder early on."

I think you really n..."

Hehe thanks Cathy. Im enjoying the fact there is other new fans of Scudder here to talk to. Also this group is easily the one i have used most in such short time because there is so many cool people to talk with. Other crime forums i have been to are dominated by bestseller crime fans.

I have nothing common with those type of readers. Modern,classic Noir type reader is our kind :)

Starting In the Midst of Death.

Wow, I scored big today. We have a used bookstore in town that is going out of business (that part is sad). But it's just because the owner is retiring, not that it was losing business. So not so sad for him.

Anyway, I picked up 22 books today for less than $25 total. Lots of his selection had been well picked through of course but there were lots of vintage pulp and noir stuff there, and in very good condition. I got 7 of the first Hard Case Crime novels as well as filled out some of my author collections. Happy day :)

Benjamin wrote: "Wow, I scored big today. We have a used bookstore in town that is going out of business (that part is sad). But it's just because the owner is retiring, not that it was losing business. So not s..."

Great haul, Benjamin!

Mohammed wrote: "Cathy wrote: "Mohammed wrote: "Ctgt wrote: "Mohammed wrote: "while Scudder is much more about the characters life,struggles. You dont want to miss the depressing life of Scudder early on."

I thin..."

Mohammed: I do try to throw a Connelly or Burke in the mix but much prefer the ones we've talked about. Started reading them after seeing more recent writers say their main influence for writing was Chandler, Willeford, Ross Macdonald and John D. MacDonald (and others) so I thought, why not go directly to them?

So glad I did since they've given me so many hours of reading pleasure. They, because of their publishing dates, weren't that easy to locate. Ended up buying a few anthologies, The Black Mask, for one...big book though, hard to hold!

Cathy wrote: "Mohammed wrote: "Cathy wrote: "Mohammed wrote: "Ctgt wrote: "Mohammed wrote: "while Scudder is much more about the characters life,struggles. You dont want to miss the depressing life of Scudder ea..."

Thats funny because i started reading crime fiction in 2006 first late bloomer as a real reader so the first crime book series i ever read was i read first 11 Harry Bosch books in a month or so. I liked the early books specially, good lead and nice inner knowledge about law and order world. I just dont rate the author as much as then because i have read alot of better, more rated authors since then. I read his Mickey Haller books at times now.

Its about reading time is limited and i rather read a Richard Stark,Derek Raymond,Bruen,Leonard,Sallis noir books or PI books like Hammett,Block,Ross Macdonald etc

I have grown out of decent crime authors to great,very good ones.

Mohammed wrote: "Cathy wrote: "Mohammed wrote: "Cathy wrote: "Mohammed wrote: "Ctgt wrote: "Mohammed wrote: "while Scudder is much more about the characters life,struggles. You dont want to miss the depressing life..."

Mohammed: Yes, we're on the same page here. One, Ross Macdonald, I said I was putting off reading it because I was anticipating how good it will be. Fortunately, the guy I was talking with understood and said, I know what you mean; I've done that before.

Just started reading City of Bones, after reading two non-fiction. Can't wait to finish non-fiction so I can get back to my real love, mysteries, particulary like you, the hard boiled, noir you mentioned.

Cheers to you, Mohammed.

Just finished Quiet Ops by Bob Burton and L. J. Martin. Burton is a real life bounty hunter and his experience shines in the pages Quiet Ops.
Highly recommend.

I just finished The 1st Short Story Collection by Anonymous-9. Wow!

My review is here:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Jim wrote: "I just finished The 1st Short Story Collection by Anonymous-9. Wow!

My review is here:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/..."

Thanks for the heads up. I didn't know anything about this collection. Sounds great. Just picked it up from Amazon.

Hope you like it, Ctgt. Let us know. It's cool to see a new author emerging.

I have to second Alberto's recommendation of Margaret Millar I recently read Beast In View and absolutely loved it.

Alberto wrote: "I've recently readRipley Under Water, fifth and final book in the Ripley series by Patricia Highsmith. I had read book #1 before. I've liked enough to get for Chistmas the full five volumes in the ..."

Why not translate them for us Alberto?

Alberto wrote: "Are you serious? Impossible, too much work. Only if some publisher were interested..."

Pitch it to them? might be interested, they specialise in crime novels translated in to English for the first time.

Jim wrote: "Hope you like it, Ctgt. Let us know. It's cool to see a new author emerging."

Great stories! Loved "Tequila Spike"!

Thanks again, Jim.

Alberto wrote: "Tfitoby wrote: "Pitch it to them? SoHo Crime might be interested, they specialise in crime novels translated ..."

Interesting. I'll check. Thanks."

Hey, it's a pleasure to help/inspire/cajole if it's something you'd actually enjoy doing Alberto.

I'm starting my first Ed Gorman today. I've heard his name mentioned a bit but the first review on The Midnight Room compares him to Tom Piccirilli which sort of sold me on giving him a go. Anyone had any good experiences?

Also today I heard about Matthew F. Jones whose book A Single Shot has a foreword from Daniel Woodrell and all three of his novels have been adapted for movies.

That does sound like it would appeal to you, I had the Leo Guild series recommended as a noir western if I remember correctly. This one is pretty good so far I have to say.

I just started reading the second book in David E. Manuel's series featuring government hitman Richard Paladin.

The first one had a lot of politically incorrect, tongue-in-cheek humor so hopefully the second one will be more of the same.

Mike wrote: "I just started reading the second book in David E. Manuel's series featuring government hitman Richard Paladin.

The first one had a lot of politically inco..."

I have Killer Protocols on my kindle but haven't started yet. I take it you liked it?

Ctgt wrote: "I have Killer Protocols on my kindle but haven't started yet. I take it you liked it?"

I did. I was more taken by the character of Richard Paladin than the story itself - in my review I described him as something along the lines of a hitman with an Archie Bunker sensibility - but it served to set up the series really well.

A couple of other reviewers mentioned that it reminded them of the Parker series but (shamefully) I've never read any of those so I couldn't say.

The author has a lot of fun with it, especially the character names. I have a sneaking suspicion the Richard Paladin name is a nod to the old TV series Have Gun Will Travel (Richard Boone played Paladin), a suspicion reinforced by the introduction of a character in Clean Coal Killers named Joshua Randall (Josh Randall was the name of the character Steve McQueen played in Wanted Dead or Alive).

Mike wrote: "The author has a lot of fun with it, especially the character names. I have a sneaking suspicion the Richard Paladin name is a nod to the old TV series Have Gun Will Travel (Richard Boone played Paladin), a suspicion reinforced by the introduction of a character in Clean Coal Killers named Joshua Randall (Josh Randall was the name of the character Steve McQueen played in Wanted Dead or Alive)."

I agree. Too much of a coincidence there. I think I have to move KP up my to-read list.

I have purchased and read all 3 Richard Paladin books and thoroughly enjoyed them. I'm happy to see the word getting out because I hope to see many more in this series.

Ctgt wrote: "Mike wrote: "The author has a lot of fun with it, especially the character names. I have a sneaking suspicion the Richard Paladin name is a nod to the old TV series Have Gun Will Travel (Richard Bo..."

Tfitoby wrote: "That does sound like it would appeal to you, I had the Leo Guild series recommended as a noir western if I remember correctly. This one is pretty good so far I have to say."

Gorman's westerns are fantastic--especially "Death Ground." I don't see the Piccirilli comparisons; I'd say he's closer to Bill Pronzini or Robert Parker

JD wrote: "Tfitoby wrote: "That does sound like it would appeal to you, I had the Leo Guild series recommended as a noir western if I remember correctly. This one is pretty good so far I have to say."

Gorman..."

Having just finished The Midnight Room and not tried Piccirilli yet I'd say it was more like a well written James Patterson than any noir/pulp i've read. It was enjoyable for what it was though.

Tfitoby wrote: "That does sound like it would appeal to you, I had the Leo Guild series recommended as a noir western if I remember correctly. This one is pretty good so far I have to say."

I have read one Gorman book and it was the western Trouble Man that was pretty good. Leo Guild sounds very interesting to me. The reviews say he is both hardcore and realistic.

He is not known for his crime books compared to his westerns apparently.

I read Poul Anderson's the BROKEN SWORD. It's viking pulp! Came out the same time as Lord of the Rings, and inspired Michael Moorecock when he was creating the Elric books. Nasty, brutish and short, it's grim fantasy the way I like it.

I just finished the 2d Parker book, The Man With The Getaway Face, as an audio book. Excellent. My review is here:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Seems everyone is reading Parker but me these days. Alot of fans re-reading Parker.

If I've posted this before, oops, I'm sorry.

I want to suggest the Retrieval Artist series by Kathryn Rusch. These 8 or so books are chronological police procedurals set far in the future, mostly at the city of Armstrong on the moon.

I've read every one of them and I've been really satisfied with the crime and SF aspects.

It's best to start with bok 1 and go forwardThe Disappeared

Hi all, I just joined the group. I've been on an Ian Rankin tear the past few months but am currently reading Gutshot Straight by Lou Burney. So far so good. Im really looking to find some new authors from this group. I'm all over the place in terms of authors. Besides Rankin, I like Tim Dorsey, George Pelecanos, James Lee Burke, James W Hall, Stuart Nelville and Lawrence Block(I'm a native NYCer).

Just started Money Shot today.

I finally found a reasonably priced copy of Bodies Are Where you Find them - so that's what I'm on now. It's my first Mike Shayne book, and I'm definitely a fan.

Kelly wrote: "I finally found a reasonably priced copy of Bodies Are Where you Find them - so that's what I'm on now. It's my first Mike Shayne book, and I'm definitely a fan."

This was the first Mike Shayne book that I read and it's a good one. Really enjoyed it. I have a lot of others as well.

Ronhummer wrote: "This was the first Mike Shayne book that I read and it's a good one. Really enjoyed it. I have a lot of others as well"

Nice! So this wasn't a one-off, I can look forward to more in the series is what you're saying?

Ctgt wrote: "Mike wrote: "The author has a lot of fun with it, especially the character names. I have a sneaking suspicion the Richard Paladin name is a nod to the old TV series Have Gun Will Travel (Richard Bo..."

Sorry, guys, I just saw this. I can confirm your suspicions!

Kelly wrote: "I finally found a reasonably priced copy of Bodies Are Where you Find them - so that's what I'm on now. It's my first Mike Shayne book, and I'm definitely a fan."

Where oh where did you find that reasonbably price copy? I want that book badly but the second hand cost i have seen scares me.

I'm currently listening to Parker #8, The Handle. Excellent!

Mohammed wrote: "Where oh where did you find that reasonbably price copy? I want that book badly but the second hand cost i have seen scares me. "

Abebooks.com. It was actually a listing by Powells. Persistence is the key - it took me a good 6-8 months to find a copy that wasn't outrageous (mine was $13 including shipping to Canada).

It's the middle of January and, unless something happens to completely alter the law of averages, this is going to be among my top 5 reads of the year. I can't imagine enjoying many more as much as I did this.

Heath Lowrance has written some great pieces of late and I've loved everything I've read by him. Even so, City Of Heretics is my favourite to date.

The story is tremendous.

It has an arc that is perfectly formed and a pace that is always natural and never forced, like the author has allowed it to flow naturally.

Crowe comes out of prison and ends up in Memphis to settle some old scores. He's hard as nails and he's absolutely ruthless. He gets involved with the new gang-leader in town, a series of murders, a heroin addicted cop, a mean detective called Wills, his ex-girlfriend, a gang of church members with an Old-Testament view of the world and a freak show posse who'd make anyone's hair curl up and try and worm itself back into the scalp it came from.

The characters are tremendous, right down to the bit part players.

The setting is mouth-wateringly described. Try this on for size:

"There was a sitting room immediately to the right, filled with the kind of overstuffed furniture that no one sits in and a Grandfather clock that ticked away the seconds of life with all the compassion of a killer."

The action moments are perfectly weighted; I wanted to skip through them to find out who was going to end up OK, but the detail was too impressive allow me to do that.

The roots of this are definitely in the best of the noir heritage and Mr Lowrance has clearly read and absorbed many things that allow him to use subtlety as an art form.

The plot fits together like a tightly fitting jigsaw.

There's an ending to blow the reader away, too.

I loved it. Loved it because it was so easy to read. Loved it for the simplicity of the development. Loved it for the pure pleasure it gave off right from the beginning.

It is one of those books that don't come around so often, a novel that brings joy and pleasure because of the way it's been written.

Brooding, fresh, dark, eventful, full of suspense and tension and nigh on perfect.

A must.

City of Heretics

Just finished Quiet Ops by Bob Burton. Highly recommend.

Im reading The Glass Key by Hammett, a different experience reading the book. Its not quite as bleak,as hardcore as Red Harvest but its not trying as hard to be cool,over the top PI story like Maltese Falcon either.

Its also comical to me going from 1808 and Faust/Goethe which was the opposite of lean,sparse writing and the direct descriptions of Hammett.