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Once again, I picked this for a challenge because title fits a task. I thought I was familiar with David Baldacci and his crime/thriller novels but this... Well, I was caught by surprised by the time setting. It's not in present times! It's back in 1949 and the tone of the novel was very much noir, in the way of Dashiell Hammett et al. I was a little sceptical but was proven wrong. The characterisations, the way the investigation was carried on, the writing was just en pointe! And the end was so
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Although it took ages for me to get into it, once I did the book sped by. Archer is a very Baldacci hero, competent and smart and irresistible to the ladies. I just wish there was more detail about where this all happened. It's a day's drive to Texas, and this rich guy goes out to Las Vegas for gambling ... maybe Oklahoma?
It ends really strong, with a good courtroom scene, and then the final bit with the ladies. Some authorial moves were a bit unlikely -- the removal of the nice cop just in time ...more
It ends really strong, with a good courtroom scene, and then the final bit with the ladies. Some authorial moves were a bit unlikely -- the removal of the nice cop just in time ...more
I have to admit that I was drawn to this book by the cover. It kept catching my again and again. And I'm glad I finally gave in and listened to it - although it has cemented my belief that noir is just not my thing.
There's a nice little mystery here. World War II vet Aloysius Archer - who, thankfully, just goes by Archer - arrives in Poca City on bus straight from prison where he's finished a sentence for a crime he did not commit. He's got a long list of things he's not supposed to do while he ...more
There's a nice little mystery here. World War II vet Aloysius Archer - who, thankfully, just goes by Archer - arrives in Poca City on bus straight from prison where he's finished a sentence for a crime he did not commit. He's got a long list of things he's not supposed to do while he ...more
I read this when it first came out several years ago, but it’s this month’s selection for my local book group, so I reread it – something I rarely do! – and liked it as much as the first time around.
The book is a departure from the author’s usual style – it’s set in the late 1940s and should probably be classified as noir. The setting, the plot and the characters all were reminiscent of those in books by Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. I like Archer, the MC, enough that I went on to read ...more
The book is a departure from the author’s usual style – it’s set in the late 1940s and should probably be classified as noir. The setting, the plot and the characters all were reminiscent of those in books by Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. I like Archer, the MC, enough that I went on to read ...more
Dec 29, 2019
Jkmays
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
library-book,
over-3-90
Nov 08, 2020
Kme_17
added it
Apr 29, 2021
Martha
marked it as to-read
Mar 18, 2022
Teddie
marked it as to-read
