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The Crooked City
M'Bain caught, Jailed in Quinn Murder
Prof., Cops' Wife in Love Triangle
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The overhead light burned through to MacBain's eyeballs and entered his brain. A pock-marked man with a battered face and broken nose kept blowing smoke in his face.
"Now don't deny it, Mac," he said. "The night clerk identified you. Well, you going to sign?"
MacBain shifted on his stool, shook his head. Then so suddenly that he thought he had fainted, the light went out and the Rock was standing before him.
"You said no?"
Yes," MacBain said. "I said no."
"Then I've got one thing to say to you, friend. God help you."
----
Here is an authentic novel of violence bred in the gutters of a city's corruption. But it is also the story of one ordinary man who was pushed to far - and finally decided he'd had enough.
Prof., Cops' Wife in Love Triangle
----
The overhead light burned through to MacBain's eyeballs and entered his brain. A pock-marked man with a battered face and broken nose kept blowing smoke in his face.
"Now don't deny it, Mac," he said. "The night clerk identified you. Well, you going to sign?"
MacBain shifted on his stool, shook his head. Then so suddenly that he thought he had fainted, the light went out and the Rock was standing before him.
"You said no?"
Yes," MacBain said. "I said no."
"Then I've got one thing to say to you, friend. God help you."
----
Here is an authentic novel of violence bred in the gutters of a city's corruption. But it is also the story of one ordinary man who was pushed to far - and finally decided he'd had enough.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1954
8 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 5, 2014
In this hard-boiled, gritty thriller, Professor MacBain takes a stand against the insanely corrupt police force and its influences in the city after he witnesses the brutal murder of a civilian by a police detective. A terrible situation gets much worse when the police decide to pin it on the professor (and other activities too) so they can save some face before it really takes off in the media.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect of this pulpy paperback from 1954 when I bought it at a yard sale, but it did manage to surprise me to some extent because Kyle wasn't afraid to take it to places outside the norm for the genre. Of course, he did stick with some of your classic tropes. I mean, I could almost hear the crooked cops/ tough guys/ criminals talking out of the sides of their mouths, see!
I wasn't quite sure what to expect of this pulpy paperback from 1954 when I bought it at a yard sale, but it did manage to surprise me to some extent because Kyle wasn't afraid to take it to places outside the norm for the genre. Of course, he did stick with some of your classic tropes. I mean, I could almost hear the crooked cops/ tough guys/ criminals talking out of the sides of their mouths, see!
April 18, 2015
This is classic noir crime fiction. Not the best, but decent. It could make a great B movie, set then, but perhaps too scandalous to be released in those days.
It is apparently set in upstate NY, but in a mythical city: not NYC, population ~ 1 million, on a lake, but one goes up to Saratoga to the horse track.
The crimes involve a crooked police department, and a police attitude toward the black community and officer involved shootings that still existed 60 years later. Some scenes are ironically hilarious, but some plot elements are unrealistic, especially in the later pages.
I give this a 4, a touch high but 3 is too low. This brings the average rating at this time up to 3.5, not far off.
It is apparently set in upstate NY, but in a mythical city: not NYC, population ~ 1 million, on a lake, but one goes up to Saratoga to the horse track.
The crimes involve a crooked police department, and a police attitude toward the black community and officer involved shootings that still existed 60 years later. Some scenes are ironically hilarious, but some plot elements are unrealistic, especially in the later pages.
I give this a 4, a touch high but 3 is too low. This brings the average rating at this time up to 3.5, not far off.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews