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The Hoodlums
THE HOODLUMSKirk Wagner has been released from prison and is back in the Windy City. They always said he was lucky, so why is he broke, with no prospects, and no girl? He did his time, didn’t rat out Martin, kept him in the clear. But how he’d like to bust Martin if he shows his face again. Kirk just wants some of the good life—a new Cadillac, nice clothes, expensive cigars… and Jeannie. But they’re all just out of his reach.Then Martin shows up, and offers Kirk a job fronting fake bills, and suddenly Kirk decides to give him another chance. Martin always did know how to pull in the cash. Maybe now Kirk can get somewhere, maybe get Jeannie to quit stripping and the two of them head for New York. Kirk doesn’t want much—he just wants it all.
- GenresCrime
167 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1953
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 6, 2023
Worked like a bastard on a detailed rave-up of a review only to haphazardly tap the screen of this iPad and lose the whole shebang. Second time this has happened to me while laboring over a review.
Unusually poetic paperback crime-thriller originally published by Avon Books in 1953. It sold half a million copies. Unusual for a PBO outside of Mickey Spillane.
It’s a story about three greedy people: an ex-con, his former partner who took it on the lam, leaving him to take the fall and do the stretch, and his girlfriend, a stripper and part-time porno model - out there looking to find an easy break on the grimy backstreets of Chicago.
I’ll just leave you with two quotes:
Somewhere he had entered the the joyride, the something-for-nothing crowd;
like a predestined animal he had prowled in the windy smoke-filled layers of the concrete jungle to become [a] depraved money-hungry gold [seeker].
and:
Under the nembutal shades of night, three people had moved into elliptical channels that became smaller and more confining. To meet… in a depraved room with walls thick as concrete.
Recommended.
Unusually poetic paperback crime-thriller originally published by Avon Books in 1953. It sold half a million copies. Unusual for a PBO outside of Mickey Spillane.
It’s a story about three greedy people: an ex-con, his former partner who took it on the lam, leaving him to take the fall and do the stretch, and his girlfriend, a stripper and part-time porno model - out there looking to find an easy break on the grimy backstreets of Chicago.
I’ll just leave you with two quotes:
Somewhere he had entered the the joyride, the something-for-nothing crowd;
like a predestined animal he had prowled in the windy smoke-filled layers of the concrete jungle to become [a] depraved money-hungry gold [seeker].
and:
Under the nembutal shades of night, three people had moved into elliptical channels that became smaller and more confining. To meet… in a depraved room with walls thick as concrete.
Recommended.
February 15, 2021
Excellent
Congratulations to Stark House Press for bringing Hoodlums back in print. I have read more crime novels that I can count. And especially those from the fifties and sixties. I had never heard or run across this gem before. It is unlike any book of its “type.” Its hard to even describe. Nominally about a recent parolee and a stripper and their interactions with various criminals and low lifes in Chicago-its much more. A depiction of life in Chicago at a particular time (I’m from Chicago and a lot of the places described are or were real) with writing that is short and staccato like—it’s just really good. And not too esoteric—the underlying story is really good. Give this one at try. You’ll like it. Highly Recommended.
Congratulations to Stark House Press for bringing Hoodlums back in print. I have read more crime novels that I can count. And especially those from the fifties and sixties. I had never heard or run across this gem before. It is unlike any book of its “type.” Its hard to even describe. Nominally about a recent parolee and a stripper and their interactions with various criminals and low lifes in Chicago-its much more. A depiction of life in Chicago at a particular time (I’m from Chicago and a lot of the places described are or were real) with writing that is short and staccato like—it’s just really good. And not too esoteric—the underlying story is really good. Give this one at try. You’ll like it. Highly Recommended.
April 5, 2009
This book was written by George Benet in the early 50's. Benet stopped writing until the early 70's when he began to publish under his own name. His other books are A Place in Colusa and A Short Dance in the Sun.
Despite some of the typical corniness of hardboiled paperback originals of the 50's, The Hoodlums is not only an enjoyable read, but easily the best thing Benet ever wrote.
Despite some of the typical corniness of hardboiled paperback originals of the 50's, The Hoodlums is not only an enjoyable read, but easily the best thing Benet ever wrote.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews