Currently Reading Showing 1,901-1,950 of 3,036

[Still]

forgot to add: currently reading Whiplash River: A Novel

[Iain]

I'm currently reading Nineteen Eighty Three by David Peace. Prior to that I really enjoyed Gunshine State by Andrew Nette.

[Still]

Keeee - Riiiiist!
Just finished Whiplash River: A Novel .
Great stuff!
If you've been missing Elmore Leonard, here's his ghost.

[[deleted user]]

I found New Hope for the Dead amusing, but really it's barely a crime novel (there is one twisted surprise in it , however). I preferred Miami Blues overall.

Started Freaky Deaky. I've never read Leonard before & I'm liking the dialogue so far.

[Bill]

Never read a Rabe novel. Looks promising, plus I have the '57 cover by Mitchell Hooks, which is always a bonus.

[Jay]

Rabe is excellent, always (as one reviewer stated) always working against type, going against the grain to describe the inner life or consequences of being involved in crime. At the end of Dig My Grave Deep and Bennie Muscles In, this is esp. true. He wasn't a psychology teacher for nothing.

[Bill]

Jay wrote: "Rabe is excellent, always (as one reviewer stated) always working against type, going against the grain to describe the inner life or consequences of being involved in crime. At the end of Dig My G..."

Just finished it up. Did not grab me until about 20 pages in. However, after I was hooked. I will definitely read the rest of his Port series for sure.

[Bill]

Cannot seem to get enough of Westlake or Burnett lately.

[Paul]

Bill wrote: "

Cannot seem to get enough of Westlake or Burnett lately."

Half way through Westlake's penultimate novel , published posthumously. Really good so far.

[Still]

Paul wrote: "Half way through Westlake's penultimate novel , published posthum..."

Damn!
How are these things published without my knowledge beforehand?
Must have!

[Paul]

Still wrote: "Paul wrote: "Half way through Westlake's penultimate novel , published posthum..."

Damn!
How are these things published without my knowledge beforehand?
Must have!"

Finished it Still. A perplexing read. Although the story is completely different, psychologically it's very similar to 'The Ax', which i think you enjoyed.

[Paul]

At the moment i'm reading the new Springsteen memoir Born to Run . The man can write!!
Also reading The Quiet Earth , which is really interesting because it's a post-apocalyptic/Sci-Fi novel set in NZ, so i'm familiar with most of the locales mentioned. Also reading Tree of Smoke

[Nancy]

Reading Thompson's The Killer Inside Me. Yow -- painful to read, but god, it's good.

[Tom]

Nancy wrote: "Reading Thompson's The Killer Inside Me. Yow -- painful to read, but god, it's good."

I'm looking forward to that one.

[Nancy]

Tom wrote: "Nancy wrote: "Reading Thompson's The Killer Inside Me. Yow -- painful to read, but god, it's good."

I'm looking forward to that one."

It's incredible.

[Paul]

Nancy wrote: "Tom wrote: "Nancy wrote: "Reading Thompson's The Killer Inside Me. Yow -- painful to read, but god, it's good."

I'm looking forward to that one."

It's incredible."

By far my favorite JT novel. Harrowing but excellent.
Movie is also worth watching & very faithful to the book.

[Bobby]

Reading Richard S. Prather's Three's a Shroud, a trilogy of Shell Scott stories. His best stuff is great fun to read, and these shorter ones are as well. Just have one left and I'm finished with this one. Also reading a novel Craig Rice, whom I love, wrote for actor George Sanders, called Crime On My Hands. Just getting into some Fletcher Flora stories also. I like having a few in the hopper so I can read what I'm in the mood for.

[Edwin]

Rice and Prather mix a lot of humor into their work, a nice break from the hard-boiled and noir stuff which can get a bit dark and depressing. Their stories about John J. Malone and Shel Scott were a fixture of Manhunt magazine, a digest from the 1950s and well worth seeking out.

[Bobby]

Awesome. I'll keep an eye out for Manhunt. I like a break from the more hard-boiled stuff also, and Rice and Prather always fill the bill when I'm in the mood for a good noir story, but one with less of an edge.

[Still]

I've started the Prather "Shell Scott" series several times but the 5/4 beat of the humor always distracted me from the story itself -not that that is a bad thing.

"Shell" seems like an milder right-hand version of Mike Hammer - only with a genuine sense of humor.

I really need to revist this series.
Last time I read Prather he was being quoted in an over-the-top manner in Bill Pronzini's "Gun In Cheek" essays -which I loved.

[Bobby]

Yeah, I think he's a bit mellower version of Mike Hammer, and he has a sense of humor about stuff. I'll probably pick up another once I'm finished with the Shroud trilogy, since they're in the easier to stomach 3-4 buck range at least.

[Robin]

I have just finished reading Cambodian Noir by Nick Seeley. (It's a novel, not to be confused with the Akashic series of noir books) Fantastic novel - a very flawed MC, who is a washed up war photogapher whose daily diet is pills, booze and violence, very evocative, well-plotted, suspenseful story. It would make an excellent movie. Highly recommended.

Now I am about to start The Killer Inside Me, which I have been meaning to read for ages, and when I saw it mentioned earlier, that reminded me.

[Robin]

sorry, it's Cambodia Noir.

[Bill]

Well, I just finished up the Westlake novel, The Operator. It dragged a bit at the start and the setting did little to hold my interest, but I have learned not to leave any "Westlake" unread. Well, it di pick up steam and the whodunnit plot began to take decent form, but then in unWestlake fashion, the books last few chapters and ending were so poor that I almost felt robbed.

[Bill]

Well, I have seen the movie more times than I can count, but now I am giving the novel a first time read. I am sure the comparisons I make will be thick. I also recently added a shot of me in front of Phyllis Dietrichson's house from Double Indemnity if you want to see it as it is today (under other photos in my profile). Sorry my mug all but ruined the shot. I took it in during our trip to California last year along with the outside of the apartment down the road that was used as Walter Neff's place. Pretty fun stuff.

[Tom]

Bill wrote: "Well, I have seen the movie more times than I an count, but now I am giving the novel a first time read. I am sure the comparisons I make will be thick. I also ..."

You're in for a treat!

[Bobby]

Started reading from Hell in Boxes: The Exploits of Lynn Lash and Foster Fade. It's a collection of Lester Dent stories before Doc Savage. Skipped right to the second story The Mummy Murders first, and it's great fun so far. Pure no-frills pulp, with pacing similar to Dent's pal Norvell Page, another great one.

[Edwin]

Back to the Shell Scott books; Open Road Media has reduced the Kindle price of most of them, and many other Mystery and Thrillers to $0.00 until December 20th. Enter "Open Road Media Mystery & Thriller" in Amazon search and sort by Price: Low to High.

[Tom]

Edwin wrote: "Back to the Shell Scott books; Open Road Media has reduced the Kindle price of most of them, and many other Mystery and Thrillers to $0.00 until December 20th. Enter "Open Road Media Mystery & Thri..."

Those are a bargain at twice the price. I haven't read any Richard S. Prather books before but I went ahead and bought four of them to check out.

[Bobby]

Edwin wrote: "Back to the Shell Scott books; Open Road Media has reduced the Kindle price of most of them, and many other Mystery and Thrillers to $0.00 until December 20th. Enter "Open Road Media Mystery & Thri..."

They haven't done it yet that I can see. Everything looks normal price, including the Shell Scott stuff, which is in the 3-4 buck range it's been at for a while (unless that's already the discounted price, which is why they're in the 3-4 buck range for now). There is some excellent stuff there, from Block to Estlemen to Marquand's Mr Moto. I bought Prather's Shell Scott story, Dead Man's Walk last night but was going to kick myself if it was discounted further this morning. Going to suck if they go up after the 20th. I might pick up a couple more before then, just in case. LOL I already flinch at Kindle pricing for Michael Shayne at almost 7 bucks a pop, and The Saint books which were even higher at around 9 bucks, but are showing up as unavailable now.

[Edwin]

This link might work better for you https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=as_li_ss...

[Still]

Edwin wrote: "This link might work better for you https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=as_li_ss......"

Perfect!
Just "bought" 4 or 5 of them.
I own the original paperbacks but I don't want to mess them up trying to read them - they're fragile enough as it is.

Also -making my way through Frank Gruber's "Johnny Fletcher" mystery, The Silver Tombstone -
a fun, breezy read in the same league as Jonathan Latimer, Norbert Davis, and Frederick Nebel.

Many thanks, Edwin.

[Bobby]

Thanks, I think typing the mystery thriller after open road media actually worked best, because it brings it down to 68 pages for me. It's just the low to high that doesn't do much, pricing all over the place. Shell's still in the 3-4 buck range, and an FYI for Western fans, there appear to be quite a number of Luke Short westerns at $3.40, including Coroner's Creek, which I believe was made into a film.

[Steven]

Weird results you are getting. I see a whole bunch of Prather's for 0.00. Also a bunch of Ray Garton books, which I "bought," for 0.00.

Thanks for the tip Edwin!!

[Bobby]

Wow, it's the same on Amazon on my Mac, using Safari, as it is my Kindle Keyboard, so that is weird. I wouldn't be surprised if it's because I'm in Australia now (I'm American, but my wife's Aussie and moved here several years ago) because we seem to get the shaft on stuff on a regular basis. LOL Back to the Luke Short deal though, there are several of his books which were made into films (Ramrod, Coroner's Creek, Ride the Man Down) at really good prices. For all I know they're showing up FREE to the rest of you, because all the Shell Scott stuff is still the 3-4 buck range for me, which is still decent.

[Still]

Bobby wrote: "Wow, it's the same on Amazon on my Mac, using Safari, as it is my Kindle Keyboard, so that is weird. I wouldn't be surprised if it's because I'm in Australia now (I'm American, but my wife's Aussie..."

Did not know that Luke Short wrote "Ramrod" -one of my all time favorite noir-Westerns starring Veronica Lake and Joel McCrea with a surprising performance by Don DeFore as a dashing young fast gun on the run.

Great film.
I need to read the book.

[Bobby]

Yeah, that was a Luke Short story, and excellent film. I love the Rod Cameron film, Ride the Man Down, which was based on Luke Short's book. I think Randolph Scott was in Coroner Creek. A surprising number of Westerns were based on Luke Short stories.

[Bobby]

Still wrote: "Bobby wrote: "Wow, it's the same on Amazon on my Mac, using Safari, as it is my Kindle Keyboard, so that is weird. I wouldn't be surprised if it's because I'm in Australia now (I'm American, but my..."
I looked up the Luke Short Western stories made into films, and there were a couple that surprised me:

Ramrod, Ride the Man Down, Coroner's Creek, Ambush, Vengeance Valley, Station West, Albuquerque, and Robert Mitchum's noir Western, Blood On the Moon, which was based on Luke Short's Gunman's Chance.

[Bill]

My second Rabe book in as many months.

[Bill]

Another Burnett on tap:

[[deleted user]]

Reading Stark's The Outfit now. I plan on making my way through the entire series in order (assuming the world doesn't end first). Not sure if I'll read the Grofield ones, though.

Also picked up 2 early Westlakes - The Cutie and 361. No idea if they are any good, but I appreciate how Hard Case Crime presents their books.

The Killer Inside Me film was mentioned. Personally, I didn't think it worked very well. A better adaptation is After Dark, My Sweet from the 90's.

[Algernon (Darth Anyan), Hard-Boiled]

I've started the second Lew Archer book : "The Drowning Pool" - the first two chapters are classic hardboiled - excellent, makes me wonder why these books are not mentioned as often as the Chandlers and the Hammets.

[Paul]

Algernon wrote: "I've started the second Lew Archer book : "The Drowning Pool" - the first two chapters are classic hardboiled - excellent, makes me wonder why these books are not mentioned as often as the Chandler..."

I've read several of the books in the 'Lew Archer' series & haven't been disappointed yet.

[Paul]

Damnotion wrote: "Reading Stark's The Outfit now. I plan on making my way through the entire series in order (assuming the world doesn't end first). Not sure if I'll read the Grofield ones, though.

Also picked up 2..."

The Cutie is quite good, 361 is excellent. Can't really go wrong with any of the Parker books. I would leave the Grofeld books until you've read the Parker novels. At least the original 16 Parker books. But that's just my opinion, of course.

[Bobby]

Algernon wrote: "I've started the second Lew Archer book : "The Drowning Pool" - the first two chapters are classic hardboiled - excellent, makes me wonder why these books are not mentioned as often as the Chandler..."

Macdonald was a terrific writer, and his Lew Archer series one of the finest. I tend to like his later work the best. I know some don't like him but his books about broken people, damaged families and the fallout from it was quietly powerful. He made Archer, an emotional bystander, trying to solve the case and swim through the pain without letting it touch him, and nearly always failing, just like the reader. His Sleeping Beauty is my fav. I saw one reviewer who dislikes Macdonald's work call it excrement. Well, that's Goodreads for ya. LOL

[Bobby]

Began reading a Perry Mason, The Half Wakened Wife, and The Long Escape by David Dodge, who I love for his easy and fast-flowing narratives, and atmosphere. Easy reading, as Hawthorne said, is hard to write, which I know from personal experience, and Dodge was just wonderful at it.

[Paul]

Bobby wrote: "Algernon wrote: "I've started the second Lew Archer book : "The Drowning Pool" - the first two chapters are classic hardboiled - excellent, makes me wonder why these books are not mentioned as ofte..."

You have to wonder what authors they do like. Macdonald, like Chandler & a few others, transcend the detective/hard-boiled genre with the quality of their evocative prose.

[Bobby]

Paul wrote: "Bobby wrote: "Algernon wrote: "I've started the second Lew Archer book : "The Drowning Pool" - the first two chapters are classic hardboiled - excellent, makes me wonder why these books are not men..."

Yeah, you do have to wonder, but then it's Goodreads. LOL Everyone likes different stuff to a different degree. I have a couple of authors I almost loathe -- for different reasons -- but have friends who love the guys. I'd never go that far, because even if I truly detest something, if that guy or woman could write, and others like them, then it's simply that I don't care for what he or she wrote, or the way they wrote it. It's hard to imagine anyone feeling that way about Macdonald, who as you said, elevated the detective novel just as Chandler did. Not someone's cup of tea? Fine. Too dry? Not enough action? Fine. Too cerebral? Fine. But absolute, er, cow dung? You see that kind of thing a lot on Goodreads unfortunately. Asimov used to always say about such "critique," that Why don't they go write something better then? LOL

[Patrick]

I first encountered Macdonald in a Yale University course on detective fiction; I think it was my last semester, the spring of 1980. We read The Barbarous Coast and The Blue Hammer; I was very impressed.

[Still]

Damnotion wrote: "Reading Stark's The Outfit now. I plan on making my way through the entire series in order (assuming the world doesn't end first). Not sure if I'll read the Grofield ones, though.

Also picked up 2..."

I'm reading a Westlake presumably published posthumously -

I've gone through all of the first 16 or 17 Parker novels ...everything but the ones published in the 80s or 90s.
I've read one Grofeld novel and need to read more.

I especially enjoyed

and



as well as



But Memory by Donald E. Westlake is one of the best non-Parker Westlakes I've ever read.