Tag Archives: american crime fiction

Nightfall by David Goodis

“All in all, it was one of those extremely unfortunate circumstances, and it had started on a day when it simply hadn’t been his turn to draw good cards. He could have died on that day or on the day … Continue reading

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Filed under Fiction, Goodis David

The Burglar by David Goodis

“Look at the way he moves around. This is a trace artist. It’s a very special gift. One in a million has it. Like a mind reader, a dealer in some kind of magic.” The Library of America edition of … Continue reading

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Filed under Fiction, Goodis David

Watch Me Die by Lee Goldberg

“There’s no reason to spend more than thirty bucks a night for a mattress, a toilet, and a sink, especially for a hardened, professional private eye on assignment.” I needed to read something distracting–something light, something funny, and so I picked … Continue reading

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Filed under Fiction, Goldberg Lee

Dark Passage by David Goodis

“You see these lines on my face? They’re anniversary presents.” As a fan of crime author Duane Swierczynski, I read one of his blog posts arranging a bus trip on Saturday January 7th 2012 to the Philadelphia gravesite of David … Continue reading

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Filed under Fiction, Goodis David, Swierczynski Duane

Getting Lucky by DC Brod

I’m going to say upfront that I dislike the title of DC Brod’s novel Getting Lucky. There’s an easy-pick-up implication to the novel that doesn’t do the plot or the book’s content justice. I’m also going to say that I … Continue reading

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Filed under Brod D C, Fiction

Severance Package by Duane Swierczynski

Welcome to Duane’s World: “People in the world were divided into a few simple categories. The large majority were drones, buzzing about their daily lives, completely unaware how their contributions fit into the larger hive. They could be frightened into collective … Continue reading

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Filed under Fiction, Swierczynski Duane

Fever Dream by Dennis Palumbo

I’d read some good reviews of Dennis Palumbo’s first book Mirror Image, so I decided to give this author’s second novel a try. After all, Fever Dream features Daniel Rinaldi, clinical psychologist and “trauma expert” who acts as a consultant for the … Continue reading

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Filed under Palumbo Dennis

The Grifters by Jim Thompson

Perhaps watching the film version of The Killer Inside Me drove my interest when earlier this year I decided to hold a Jim Thompson noirfest. It was time to dust off those copies and actually read them, so I committed … Continue reading

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Filed under Fiction, Thompson Jim

The Best American Mystery Stories of 2011

“They’ve got you so tight inside you need an enema. No cheating on the wife, no cheating on the taxes, no cheating on the church. And somebody bends the rules a little, your panties get all bunched up.” A short … Continue reading

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Filed under Collins, Max Allan, Fiction, Gorman Ed, Lansdale Joe R, McFadden Dennis, Riconda Andrew

Drive by James Sallis

“Maybe he should turn around. Go back and tell them that’s what life was, a series of things that didn’t go down the way you thought they would.” A few months ago I read The Killer is Dying from American author … Continue reading

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Filed under Fiction, Sallis James