If You've Got the Money, I've Got the Time

As I was enjoying "Dead Money Run," by J. Frank James, I associated the hard boiled character of Lou Malloy with Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade. The fact that Hammell was a former Pinkerton Detective helped him with creating realistic dialogue and that is what there is plenty of in this novel. I'm sure that if Humphrey Bogart was with us today, he could play the part of Lou Malloy on the big screen.

Lou Malloy is released from prison after serving fifteen years for robbing a casino of fifteen million dollars. A few months prior to his release, Lou received a letter telling him about his sister's murder. As Lou later learns, his sister, Susan, was doing something honorable when she was tortured and murdered.

The action packed story has Lou (think Sam Spade) taking one step at a time, eliminating gunman and getting closer to who was responsible for his sister's death.

Lou has the good luck to team up with Hilary Kelly, a private eye, hired by the insurance company who paid the claim to the Indian Casino for the money Lou stole. Hilary is suppose to befriend Lou and have him lead her to the money but she falls for him and becomes his partner.

Various criminals are after Lou and he is able to dispatch them with ease. (I'm still seeing Bogart with the gun and maybe blowing on the barrel of his gun as he shoots another goon.

There are a number of levels to the story. On one hand there is the family love Lou shows for Susan. She was only fifteen when he was sent to prison. He seems to feel an inner regret that he wasn't there to protect her. We also see the friendship and emotional connection between Lou and Hilary. Finally, there is the friendship between Lou and Crusher, Lou's powerful protector in prison and right hand man in this story.

Overall, this is a gem of a story as if one of the classic hard boiled novels was recently found and released.

Don't miss it.

I received a free book for an honest review.