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Beautée bleue
Thick sticky heat came gushing from the Indian Ocean, closed in on Ceylon, and it seemed to Clayton that he was the sole target. He sat at the bar of a joint called Kroner's on the Colombo waterfront, and tried vainly to cool himself with gin and ice. It was Saturday night and the place was mobbed, and most of them needed baths. Clayton told himself if he didn't get out soon, he'd suffocate. But he knew he couldn't walk out. If he walked out, he'd be killed.
And for what? A glittering sapphire and a beautiful platinum blonde―and Clayton wanted them both; wanted them badly enough to kill for them. Gritty, exotic noir by the author of Dark Passage.
And for what? A glittering sapphire and a beautiful platinum blonde―and Clayton wanted them both; wanted them badly enough to kill for them. Gritty, exotic noir by the author of Dark Passage.
- GenresCrime
173 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1953
6 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
About the author
David Goodis
97 books322 followersBorn and bred in Philadelphia, David Goodis was an American noir fiction writer. He grew up in a liberal, Jewish household in which his early literary ambitions were encouraged. After a short and inconclusive spell at Indiana University, he returned to Philadelphia to take a degree in journalism, graduating in 1937.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 15, 2018
An obvious pulp magazine story of the exotic adventure type, Ceylon and sapphires. I have read many books by Goodis, but I haven't really seen this side of him (clealy writing for the money). From the early 1950s.
October 20, 2025
A David Goodis Short Story
David Goodis (1917 -- 1967) has achieved a measure of renown as a writer of noir fiction with the publication of a Library of America volume including five of his novels and a separate LOA volume that includes his most famous work, "Down There".
In addition to his novels, Goodis also wrote hundreds of short stories in various genres. The stories were published in cheap pulp magazines that paid by the word. Goodis began writing stories in the early 1940s but his efforts with the short story continued even as he was writing the noir novels that ultimately would win him recognition. He wrote stories under several pseudonyms in addition to under his own name, and most of these stories have never been recovered.
Among Goodis' stories is "The Blue Sweetheart" published in 1953 in a magazine "Manhunt". In 1953, Goodis was immersed in writing the pulp novels for which he is known, including "The Burglar", "Street of the Lost" and "The Moon in the Gutter". This little story is not of the caliber of the novels. It is worth reading by Goodis' admirers and offers a fuller perspective of his accomplishment.
The story is unusual in its setting in Ceylon. Almost all of Goodis' work is set in the United States, largely in his home town of Philadelphia. The story has an exotic cast in its setting and in its focus on a large, priceless blue sapphire. The main character, a former boxer named Clayton, finds the sapphire in the fields while a crooked mine owner, Hagen, tries to take it away. The story features a femme fatale, Alma, who at one point had been Clayton's girl before Hagen and his money apparently won her affection. The story is a little romance about the nature of love.
"The Blue Sweetheart" is enjoyable and easy to read without the character development, grit, and complexity of Goodis' novels.
I read the story in a volume which unfortunately is out-of-print,"Black Friday and Other Stories" edited by Adrian Wootton. The book includes the title novel, which is not included in the LOA volume of Goodis, together with twelve crime stories from the pulp magazines ranging in composition from 1942 to 1953. Thus, the volume gives the reader a sampling of Goodis' stories, some of which are worthy of the author, together with the characteristic and dark novel, "Black Friday". If possible, I recommend reading "The Blue Sweetheart" as part of this collection.
Robin Friedman
David Goodis (1917 -- 1967) has achieved a measure of renown as a writer of noir fiction with the publication of a Library of America volume including five of his novels and a separate LOA volume that includes his most famous work, "Down There".
In addition to his novels, Goodis also wrote hundreds of short stories in various genres. The stories were published in cheap pulp magazines that paid by the word. Goodis began writing stories in the early 1940s but his efforts with the short story continued even as he was writing the noir novels that ultimately would win him recognition. He wrote stories under several pseudonyms in addition to under his own name, and most of these stories have never been recovered.
Among Goodis' stories is "The Blue Sweetheart" published in 1953 in a magazine "Manhunt". In 1953, Goodis was immersed in writing the pulp novels for which he is known, including "The Burglar", "Street of the Lost" and "The Moon in the Gutter". This little story is not of the caliber of the novels. It is worth reading by Goodis' admirers and offers a fuller perspective of his accomplishment.
The story is unusual in its setting in Ceylon. Almost all of Goodis' work is set in the United States, largely in his home town of Philadelphia. The story has an exotic cast in its setting and in its focus on a large, priceless blue sapphire. The main character, a former boxer named Clayton, finds the sapphire in the fields while a crooked mine owner, Hagen, tries to take it away. The story features a femme fatale, Alma, who at one point had been Clayton's girl before Hagen and his money apparently won her affection. The story is a little romance about the nature of love.
"The Blue Sweetheart" is enjoyable and easy to read without the character development, grit, and complexity of Goodis' novels.
I read the story in a volume which unfortunately is out-of-print,"Black Friday and Other Stories" edited by Adrian Wootton. The book includes the title novel, which is not included in the LOA volume of Goodis, together with twelve crime stories from the pulp magazines ranging in composition from 1942 to 1953. Thus, the volume gives the reader a sampling of Goodis' stories, some of which are worthy of the author, together with the characteristic and dark novel, "Black Friday". If possible, I recommend reading "The Blue Sweetheart" as part of this collection.
Robin Friedman
January 25, 2021
A David Goodis Gem
Classic pulp fiction writing the way it should be. Fast action. A page turner with suspenseful action that keeps you reading. Hooks on every page. And, a surprise ending concerning the blonde.
Classic pulp fiction writing the way it should be. Fast action. A page turner with suspenseful action that keeps you reading. Hooks on every page. And, a surprise ending concerning the blonde.
June 24, 2017
Decent story.
September 25, 2014
In The Blue Sweetheart, Clayton, an ex-boxer with the scars to prove it, is hiding out in a bar run by the only man in Ceylon who can keep him safe. If Clayton can follow Kroner’s instructions and trust their friendship, all could turn out very well indeed.
A visit from Alma changes everything. She’s Clayton’s ex and is offering to buy an enormous sapphire on behalf of her boyfriend and the man who owns the local mines, Rudy Hagen. Old wounds are opened and Clayton just can’t resist picking at these old sores. He leaves his safe haven to look for revenge of some kind.
This read is short, hot and sweaty. The femme fatale is unpredictable and manipulative as she should be. There’s lots of action and the setting is exotic. It’s a light read and has many likeable facets. Some of the prose is wonderfully hard-boiled. To my mind the plot’s a little thin and overblown and it feels like the author's going through the motions; if it were a novel I think I’d have lost patience. That said, it’s certainly worth checking out if you’re looking for something to fill a gap and don't fancy anything too heavy.
A visit from Alma changes everything. She’s Clayton’s ex and is offering to buy an enormous sapphire on behalf of her boyfriend and the man who owns the local mines, Rudy Hagen. Old wounds are opened and Clayton just can’t resist picking at these old sores. He leaves his safe haven to look for revenge of some kind.
This read is short, hot and sweaty. The femme fatale is unpredictable and manipulative as she should be. There’s lots of action and the setting is exotic. It’s a light read and has many likeable facets. Some of the prose is wonderfully hard-boiled. To my mind the plot’s a little thin and overblown and it feels like the author's going through the motions; if it were a novel I think I’d have lost patience. That said, it’s certainly worth checking out if you’re looking for something to fill a gap and don't fancy anything too heavy.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews