General Sternwood, a millionaire in 1930s Los Angeles, hires Phillip Marlowe to investigate a man who claims to have controverMy Original 2012 Review
General Sternwood, a millionaire in 1930s Los Angeles, hires Phillip Marlowe to investigate a man who claims to have controversial photos of his socialite daughter. However, as Marlowe's investigation progresses, he finds himself in for a little more than he bargained for (excuse the cliche).
In the last few years, I have developed quite an appetite for detective fiction. However, in the past few months, I've wanted to dig deep into the hard-boiled and noir sub-genre. What better place to start than with one that is considered one of the founding fathers of all modern detective fiction.
Chandler not only presents us with a great mystery but also his much revered original style. After finishing this book, I can see why his prose was so influential on a generation of writers. So many memorable quotes are contained within this book! I've selected just a few of my favorites but there are more than I can possibly remember.
It must have been something to be an avid reader when this hit shelves back in 1939. To read this and take in something special that rarely existed must have been refreshing to say the least. With so many signature characters and series' that clutter bookstores nowadays, it's hard to imagine seeing something like this for the first time.
I've certainly become a Marlowe fan after just this one outing and I can't wait to get my hands on subsequent novels
****
After buying the Annotated edition at the tail end of 2018, I finally got around to reading it this month (I figured 10 years after I first read the book is as good a time as any other to revisit it). If you are a fan of Raymond Chandler's classic, this is an excellent addition to your library. Not only does this new edition obviously expand upon The Big Sleep, but it also digs deep into the entire Marlowe series with notes on The Little Sister, The High Window, The Long Goodbye and all the rest sprinkled throughout.
I think perhaps a full series re-read is in order.
Reeling from the sudden news that his wife wants a divorce, Steven Blitz is thrown out of his house and told to stay with his brother. On his drive ovReeling from the sudden news that his wife wants a divorce, Steven Blitz is thrown out of his house and told to stay with his brother. On his drive over, with deteriorating road conditions, Steven narrowly avoids a head-on collision. Rattled, Steven pulls over to gather himself and calm his nerves when he notices an altercation between a man and a woman. Attempting to intervene, Steven is stabbed in the gut and left to bleed out on the ground.
Sometime later, Blitz awakens in a hospital bed, surprised to have survived what surely should have been a fatal injury. But not everything is as it should be. His wife appears at his beside, relieved to hear of his survival. She brings in their daughter, which is especially shocking considering they do not have children. His phone is filled with unrecognizable texts and it’s not even the phone he remembers owning. He turns on the TV to find that the world is on the brink of nuclear war, but President Al Gore is determined to relax tensions.
It would be an understatement to suggest things get stranger from here on out.
I was lucky enough to find myself with an advanced copy of Hard Case Crime’s upcoming original release, THE NEXT TIME I DIE. Having sung the praises of James Kestral’s Hard Case Crime release FIVE DECEMBERS last year, I heard equally as good things about Jason Starr’s new novel. I can wholeheartedly agree with all the positive praise as this one knocked my socks off.
I am truly a sucker for alternate reality/butterfly effect fiction. Two of my favorite novels of the last few years were Blake Crouch’s DARK MATTER and RECURSION and I can guarantee that if you’re a fan of those books, you will absolutely love this one. It’s not often that I finish a book in under 48 hours, but with Jason Starr’s new novel, every spare moment I had was spent glued to my Kindle.
I loved the scenes where Steven would try to explain to others what he was experiencing. The fact that there was literally no way to convey to friends or family the depths of his confusion had me empathizing with his anxiety and frustration. He was consistently backed into a corner, left without a moment’s rest as he would try to navigate conversations about people or events he had absolutely no memory of.
THE NEXT TIME I DIE is a mind-bending fever dream of a novel; a story that had me gripped from beginning to end. It is a truly exceptional blend of Twilight Zone-inspired weirdness and classic noir storytelling....more
When noted junkie Billy-Billy Cantell arrives at the door of career criminal Clay alleging he’s being framed for murder, Clay begrudgingly agrees to tWhen noted junkie Billy-Billy Cantell arrives at the door of career criminal Clay alleging he’s being framed for murder, Clay begrudgingly agrees to take him in. After the police arrive and interview Clay on Billy-Billy’s whereabouts, Clay discovers Billy-Billy is nowhere to be found. Clay reaches out to his employer for direction and is told to do everything within his power to keep Billy-Billy safe. Knowing Billy-Billy couldn’t hurt a fly, can Clay track him down and clear his name?
After having finished Adam Higginbotham’s MIDNIGHT IN CHERNOBYL, I was looking for something a little less traumatizing. So, a standalone Hardcase Crime novel that clocked in just over two hundred pages seemed like a good idea.
I don’t want this to sound like I’m slagging the book because I did like it, but Donald Westlake’s The Cutie is the perfect forgettable read. This is like grabbing a burger and fries at your favorite fast food joint. It’s quick, satisfying and tasty. But unlike the assembly line nature of the fast food industry, Westlake is putting in the work of a chef with red herrings, misdirection and twists galore.
Donald Westlake’s THE CUTIE is as hard-boiled as they come....more
Kit Toliver spends her days picking up men and promptly murdering them afterwards. While her behavior could likely be traced back to a traumatic evenKit Toliver spends her days picking up men and promptly murdering them afterwards. While her behavior could likely be traced back to a traumatic event in her childhood, she certainly doesn’t hide the fact that she enjoys what she’s doing. One day, when thinking back to all of the men she’s disposed of, she’s reminded of the five that escaped with their lives. She decides to put things right in her mind and go after the ones that got away.
Lawrence Block and Hard Case Crime weren’t kidding when they labeled GETTING OFF “a novel of sex and violence”. In the 1960s and 70s, Block had penned a handful of sexually charged novels under the pseudonym Jill Emmerson. Following a brief hiatus in 2010, Hard Case Crime was looking to relaunch in a big way. What better way than reaching out to Block and having him resurrect an old pen name and style that fits perfectly within the publisher’s wheelhouse?
GETTING OFF is without a doubt one of the most violent and sexually explicit novels I’ve ever read. I’d like to consider myself fairly well-read when it comes to Hard Case Crime’s catalog, but I can’t recall anything quite as dark, brutal or sexual from them as this one from Block. That isn’t meant to be a knock, so don’t take it that way. I definitely knew what I was getting into when I had read a few reviews beforehand. That said, I continued to be shocked on occasion throughout the story as Block seemingly refused to hold anything back when it came to Kit’s adventurous side either in the bedroom or on the other end of a knife.
Even though Kit is reprehensible in her actions, she’s an easy character to get behind (pun intended) as she’s equipped with razor sharp wit leading to a level of charm that’s quite infectious. The relationship she develops with Rita, a woman she rents a room from midway through the novel, is an integral part of the story that allows Kit to grow and develop as a character rather than just a mindless killing machine.
Although Kit’s trauma is probably far worse than many of us will experience in our lives, it’s still something that, throughout the novel, she is constantly coming to terms with. GETTING OFF, while at its core is a story meant to affect the reader in a certain way, is more of a nuanced look at how life molds and shapes us, how we’re sometimes powerless to change our behavior despite knowing that it can often be detrimental to our lives. GETTING OFF is proof that genre fiction has much more to say than just what appears at surface level and it’s why Hard Case Crime is one of the best places for those voices....more
Spending his golden years pumping out serialized comics, former outlaw Max Winter has been struggling to keep his head above water. When his employerSpending his golden years pumping out serialized comics, former outlaw Max Winter has been struggling to keep his head above water. When his employer changes the game with its production, the pittance he once received for his work sounds great compared to his new rate. After a heroic act fending off a gang of thugs leaves him with a bum ticker and empty pockets, Max decides to slip back into a life of crime to secure a future for his family. Before he can get started, he’s approached by a former Pinkerton officer with a job he can’t refuse.
What can be said about the partnership of Brubaker and Phillips that hasn’t already been said? These two are the gold standard of crime comics and they have once again hit it out of the park. Philips artwork is unrivaled in its brutal simplicity and Brubaker’s script radiates noir from start to finish. Not only is this one a great story, but it takes place during one of my favorite eras for crime fiction – the mid-20th century. Bonus points!...more
Prescott Marshall is about to tie the knot, but a drunken misadventure shortly before his big day sees him wind up in bed with another woman. It isn’Prescott Marshall is about to tie the knot, but a drunken misadventure shortly before his big day sees him wind up in bed with another woman. It isn’t long before the young woman shows up and begins to blackmail Marshall for money in exchange for keeping her mouth shut. The situation comes to a head when she arrives on his doorstep the day of his wedding. Having hit his limit, Marshall murders her in a fit of rage. Thinking his problem is now in the rear view mirror, his troubles are only just beginning.
Following the murder, Marshall spends the rest of the book dancing on the edge of a razor blade. Woolrich takes the Marshalls out of New York City and ships them to some “faraway town” (it’s literally stated as such) where things really begin to spiral out of control. Woolrich never allows the reader to get too comfortable by constantly providing an enemy for Prescott to focus on. This creates - at most points - a good page turner. That said, the novel does tend to drag in a few places - especially in the moments where Woolrich starts to wax philosophically about the nature of life and death. Don’t get me wrong, the writing is particularly strong but mostly when it comes to the subtle conflict between Prescott and his wife Marjorie building to an intense confrontation.
The ending was definitely on the shocking end of things and not one that I saw coming at all. There’s a brief epilogue, or postscript, that didn’t do a whole lot for me.
This isn’t a boring book by any means, but it’s certainly not the best of the best that I’ve read from their collection. However, Charles Ardai and the folks at Hardcase really know what to look for when selecting a book to publish as this basically ticks all the boxes on the noir checklist....more
You know that old saying, “a leopard cannot change its spots”? Well, that holds true for Beauregard “Bug” Montage. In his youth, he worked as a wheelmYou know that old saying, “a leopard cannot change its spots”? Well, that holds true for Beauregard “Bug” Montage. In his youth, he worked as a wheelman; the best damn getaway driver you’ve ever seen. Following the completion of what was believed to be “one last job”, Beauregard set himself up well for the future. He opened a garage, bought a home for his family and had been determined to stay straight and live an honest life.
You want another old saying? “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry”. Bug’s carefully built life begins to falter and in order to get things back on track, Bug decides to take up an old acquaintance on a job offer. With reservations, Bug accepts and to borrow another old phrase – “that is when the shit hits the fan.”
Cosby really isn’t doing anything new here but that doesn’t matter – it’s a heist novel where things go off the rails – but what does matter is the writing. Cosby’s prose is slick with style and substance and while Bug is a compelling and complicated character, the supporting cast are classic screw-ups and thugs that work perfectly in adding to the urgency of the plot. It’s hard to believe this is only his second novel, because it seems to me he already has a good grip on how to write a blistering page-turner.
I haven’t read a lot of crime fiction with a backwoods rural setting, so this was like a breath of fresh air in that sense. The complex relationships that come hand-in-hand with living in a small community made the story feel almost claustrophobic. Bug can try all he wants to convince everyone he’s living a good honest life, but when everyone is familiar with who you really are, it isn’t easy to keep up appearances.
Man, this is one hell of a book. I absolutely loved this. Blacktop Wasteland plays out like a high-octane heist flick. Cosby is so good at writing chase scenes that I could picture myself riding shotgun with Bug as he tore through the streets. The pace in which the story moves doesn’t lend itself well to putting the book down for long. Before you know it, it’s back in your hands and you’re ready for more. Myself, I was up well past midnight last night desperate to know how it ended. With twists and turns a plenty, Cosby has written a tense, explosive crime novel in Blacktop Wasteland....more
As the calendar turned to 2020, and with the release of Dead Girl Blues, Lawrence Block entered his eighth decade as an author. With published work sAs the calendar turned to 2020, and with the release of Dead Girl Blues, Lawrence Block entered his eighth decade as an author. With published work spanning all the way back to the 1950s, and a level of quality most authors can only dream of, it certainly says something that this book is being called perhaps his best work yet.
That being said, a book receiving such praise won’t be for everyone. Why? Well, there’s a graphic, brutal crime committed at the very beginning that would likely turn off most readers. I won’t go into detail here but suffice it to say, it’s as heinous an act as you can imagine. Block then asks the reader to stick with this human being for the duration of the story. It’s a tough sell, but it’s Lawrence Block after all and I think he’s owed a chance to tell the story he wants to tell here.
After the crime is committed, the story follows the perpetrator as he travels across the United States in search of a new life for himself. As time passes and he weaves himself into everyday life, he faces an ongoing battle with whether or not he should chance it and commit that crime once again.
Maybe it’s the supporting cast that Block chose to surround his main character with or the quaint charm of small town life that had me flying through this novel. And let’s be honest, Block’s prose is so effortlessly digestible that it can be fed to anyone looking to nurse themselves back from a reading slump. It could be any one of these. Or it could just be a really good story in the end?
The truth is, it’s a story about a hopelessly damaged individual with little to no regret for his actions, yet the path he chooses in life is an honorable one. Does he only do this because he thinks it's what he has to do to keep himself in check or does he begrudgingly enjoy this life he’s made for himself? I would find myself at times actually rooting for this guy and pleased he was able to find security but then I remember just exactly what he is and get brought back down to earth. It’s such an incredible achievement in what I want to say is reader manipulation, but I don’t even believe it's quite that as the narrator isn’t at any point dishonest or misleading to his audience.
Dead Girl Blues is an easy five-star read from me and is likely going to be the most interesting book I read in 2020. Whether you’re a fan of Block or not, it’s worth checking out. Screw the publishers who passed on it!
I received an advanced copy from the author for a review....more
Small-town preacher Richard Weatherford is being black-mailed by a former lover. In exchange for keeping it quiet and leaving Richard and his family aSmall-town preacher Richard Weatherford is being black-mailed by a former lover. In exchange for keeping it quiet and leaving Richard and his family alone, the blackmailer is asking for thirty thousand dollars. Despite this already being an undesirable situation, it’s made worse by the fact that this is all coming to a head on Easter Saturday – a date in which Richard finds himself hopelessly occupied.
Desperate for help, Richard reaches out to an unexpected source. What follows will destroy lives and shatter the peaceful facade of Van Buren County.
Being from a small town myself, I love reading stories like this one and small town crime is right within author Jake Hinkson’s wheelhouse. You have a relatively small cast of characters finding themselves in a situation without experience leading them to just fly by the seat of their pants. Everything that happens in Dry County occurs within one day adding an overwhelming sense of urgency. These men and women are making snap decisions based on nothing but pure desperation and fear that leads to a gripping tale that did not take its foot off the pedal throughout these brisk 224 pages.
As a reader, you can’t help but sit back and play armchair quarterback with these characters. You want to grab them by the shoulders and shake them for some of the decisions they make but in the end, you’re not in their shoes. Richard Weatherford in particular is playing high-stakes poker with a shotgun pressed into the back of his skull. There are some great moments and chapters where he plays mental gymnastics trying to justify his next course of action. Hinkson did a tremendous job portraying the darkness inside of us all; we really have no idea how we’ll react when we’re backed into a corner, do we?
Jake Hinkson’s Dry County is textbook pitch black noir so not a lot of light escapes these pages. Desperate people doing desperate things often make for the best page-turners and Dry County is one of those novels where the pages just could not turn fast enough. Do yourself a favor and carve out some time before sitting down to read this because you’re not going to want to put it down once you start....more
Career criminal Joe has his life turned upside down following his daughter Gemma’s unexpected suicide. Holding his cousin Adam responsible for his dauCareer criminal Joe has his life turned upside down following his daughter Gemma’s unexpected suicide. Holding his cousin Adam responsible for his daughter’s untimely death, Joe travels to Adam with annihilation on his mind. However, upon arrival, Joe is told of his wife’s gruesome murder and due to their rocky relationship as well as some damning evidence, Joe is believed to be a prime suspect. Pleading his innocence, can Joe clear his name? And what did Gemma write in her diary prior to her death seemingly damning her father?
After a rather lackluster September, I decided I need to turn to crime fiction to cleanse my reading pallet ahead of a month of horror novels. Luckily, I had a few Hardcase Crime novels sitting on my bookcase that I had picked up over the past few years from used book shops. Given it won the Edgar Award in 2005, Kiss Her Goodbye was an easy choice to sink my teeth into.
Having published well over one hundred novels since its inception in 2005, like all publishers, Hardcase has had some hits and misses. Luckily, Kiss Her Goodbye is one of the good ones. It’s filled to the brim with what makes these throwbacks great; tough characters, gritty settings and dialogue that punctures scenes like a semi-automatic.
While Guthrie isn’t exactly doing anything new here, he does produce a solid story with hard-hitting, hard boiled elements that left me satisfied at the end of the story. A few weeks ago, I wrote in a review that I was surprised at how easily I figured out the twist in a story (something uncommon for me). The same happened here. I liked what Guthrie was going for by including excerpts from Gemma’s diary, but it didn’t take long to see where he was going with it. That said, it didn’t make the ending any less explosive. Guthrie has some great chops when it comes to writing tension; you could almost feel the electricity in the room during the novel’s final scene.
If you’re a fan of noir storytelling, you’ll find Kiss Her Goodbye hits all the marks of the genre. One of Hardcase’s early success stories, Kiss Her Goodbye is a great stand-alone read that should satisfy fans of the publisher’s work....more
In a small town in Delaware, Polly is having a drink at a bar when Adam walks in and takes notice. She’s gorgeous and he’s handsome; a spark of mutualIn a small town in Delaware, Polly is having a drink at a bar when Adam walks in and takes notice. She’s gorgeous and he’s handsome; a spark of mutual attraction. They each tell the other that they’re just passing through with no intention of putting down roots. However, plans are abandoned when the two become romantically entwined. As the summer rolls on and secrets come to light, can either Polly or Adam truly come clean with one another before death arrives on their doorstep?
In the style of James M. Cain’s influential novel, The Postman Always Rings Twice (“they threw me off the hay truck about noon”), the reader is thrust into the story with limited knowledge about the characters. Lippman holds her cards close to her chest, choosing to leave her audience in the dark for as long as possible. She slyly lets out bits of backstory, but holds back enough to drive you crazy trying to put together the missing pieces.
I loved the characters in this story. Lippman manipulated me so many times that I felt like I was losing my own sense of judgement. Just when I would develop an opinion on a character, Lippman would show me something from their past that would completely change everything. That’s all well and good in storytelling, but the important thing is that their histories are plausible based on who they are now; that it’s not misdirection for the sake of misdirection. It didn’t take long before I could no longer take these layered characters at face value.
With Sunburn, Laura Lippman has written a sizzling page-turner in the style of a classic noir. A novel as salacious as it is mysterious, readers will find themselves devouring chapters in single sittings as they race to the end. I can see now why authors and fans alike were buzzing about this book way back at last year’s Bouchercon....more
Queenpin is the story of a young woman, who remains unnamed throughout, plucked from a two-bit nightclub where she’s cooking the books for a pair of hQueenpin is the story of a young woman, who remains unnamed throughout, plucked from a two-bit nightclub where she’s cooking the books for a pair of half-wits and placed under the wing of the powerful Gloria Denton, a big player in the world of organized crime. Under Gloria, our narrator develops into a student of the game by dressing the part, living the part and finding the confidence she never knew she had. However, as the old saying goes, nothing gold can stay. She falls in love with a hapless gambler named Vic who threatens to completely upset the apple cart.
I firmly believe Megan Abbott is a time traveler. This book could have easily been written in the 40s at the height of the genre – it’s like a puzzle piece that fits perfectly into the picture that writers like Chandler and Hammett were assembling at the time. While Abbott uses all the common noir tropes, the story feels fresh and dangerous rather than recycled. I think a lot has to do with the genre flip – think Double Indemnity but with an infinitely more dangerous target.
I think what initially drew me to noir was the dialogue. Back then if you weren’t lying, you were giving someone the hard truth. Characters were less likely to meander around the point and more likely to spit out lines like they were in a hurry using a bottomless well of wit and snark. That said, Abbott is a student of the game and it shows in spades. My eyes danced along the pages, trying to keep up with Queenpin’s contemptible cast.
While Megan has been having a wealth of success with her foray into modern, young-woman noir, I’d love to see her return to this time and setting for another go-around. Abbott is one of my favorite authors working today and I’m looking forward to seeing her at Bouchercon 2017 in Toronto....more
Sinner Man tells the story of small town insurance-peddler Don Barshter, and how after a few too many drinks, inadvertently murders his wife followingSinner Man tells the story of small town insurance-peddler Don Barshter, and how after a few too many drinks, inadvertently murders his wife following an errant strike. Rather than call the police and turn himself in, Don decides to cram his wife’s body into a closet and flee town. It’s during his aimless travels that Don forms a plan - get to Buffalo and join the mob under a new identity. Now known as Nat Crowley, he quickly begins a career in organized crime and subsequently hooks up with a woman who may be more dangerous than she first lets on.
Nat Crowley, while trying his best to frame himself in a positive light, is a despicable, layered character - as all great noir protagonists are. Barshter suffers from the “smartest man in the room” syndrome where his own arrogance and self-perceived intelligence blinds him. How can you blame him? His ramshackle, cartoonish plan actually unfolds as he envisioned but when ripples begin to show, he ignores them thinking he’s infallible. So while it appears at the beginning he’s done a serviceable job replacing the spineless Don Barshter with the cold, callous Nat Crowley, he realizes too late that like leopards, you can’t change your spots (sorry for the overdone expression) and despite his best efforts, history threatens to repeat itself before all is said and done.
Identified as Block’s first ever crime novel, Sinner Man is ripe with noir excellence. You’ve got all the hallmarks of the genre; tough-talking baddies, femme fatales, a plethora of murders and steamy sex scenes. For fans of Hard Case Crime, this is an easy sell - Sinner Man lives up to their publishing standards revealing itself as a hidden gem from Lawrence Block’s vast catalogue of work....more
Scene of the Crime follows private investigator Jack Herriman as he’s tasked with tracking down Maggie Jordan, a missing person in the California Bay Scene of the Crime follows private investigator Jack Herriman as he’s tasked with tracking down Maggie Jordan, a missing person in the California Bay Area. Jack’s efforts lead him to a commune where it's believed Maggie had last been seen. From there, it isn’t long until a trail of clues takes him to a motel in which he locates Maggie alive but heavily under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Once Maggie sobers up, Jack questions her about her disappearance. After some coffee and conversation, Jack drops Maggie off at her room and heads home for the evening. Events take a turn the following morning when Maggie is found murdered, shot to death in her room, with about ten thousand dollars in cold, hard cash.
Despite only being hired to locate her, Jack is not content to let sleeping dogs lie and begins a second investigation, this time into Maggie’s murder.
Scene of the Crime was Ed Brubaker’s first series with what would become his long-time collaborators Sean Phillips (Incognito, Criminal, The Fade Out) and Michael Lark (Gotham Central, Daredevil) and they clearly quickly developed an undeniable chemistry. The story has plenty of excellent twists and turns that match up perfectly with Lark’s gritty art and Phillips deep, dark inking.
There’s also a short tale tagged on at the end that details Jack heading to Chicago around Christmas to find a material witness in a court case. I liked this one just as much as the main story, so I’m glad it was included. Also inserted as extras are Ed’s notes for pitching the series and an essay that details his love of crime fiction and what attracted him to the genre.
I’ve become sort of a Brubaker/Phillips completest and to date, have yet to read something by them I haven’t liked. This one is definitely worth a look....more
Doak Miller is a former cop living out his retirement in Florida. Not content to sit on his ass and collect a pension, Doak picks up a P.I. license aDoak Miller is a former cop living out his retirement in Florida. Not content to sit on his ass and collect a pension, Doak picks up a P.I. license and takes the odd job that floats his way. When a local sheriff comes to him with a request to impersonate a hit-man to a housewife looking to knock off her bastard of a husband, Doak takes the assignment. But what happens when Doak falls under the spell of his titillating target?
Seeing as Block cut his teeth writing erotic yarns, it isn’t hard to believe he could write such filthy fiction. The smut in here is about as graphic as can be but the scenes don’t feel like filler. Unlike Pelecanos’ The Double, a novel that soured me with what I perceived as unnecessary sex sessions, Block’s book makes good use of the mature material, tying it into Doak and using it to showcase his aggressive nature and desire for violence.
The plot works well within the Hard Case Crime dynamic. Much of the story is spent inside Doak’s mind from a third party narrator giving insight into his sex-crazed ambitions as well as his plan to try and get away with murder. Given HCC’s tendency to showcase scumbags as their novel’s protagonists, Doak fits the mold. That being said, it’s hard not to root for him after discovering the wife’s motive.
Although it took a few days to get through this one, it felt like a quick read. The Girl with the Deep Blue Eyes is something that could easily be devoured in a few hours. I had a hard time putting this one down. As long as Block feels like writing new novels, I’ll keep reading them....more
Forced into paying off his dead brother’s debts, Tracy Lawless has been employed as a hitman for powerful crime boss, Sebastian Hyde. For the past yeaForced into paying off his dead brother’s debts, Tracy Lawless has been employed as a hitman for powerful crime boss, Sebastian Hyde. For the past year, Tracy has been knocking off slimy folks deemed expendable by his maniacal master. However, there’s been some issues with Tracy’s efficiency. Regardless of his orders, Tracy has to make sure that his target is truly deserving of death, which as you can imagine, does not lend itself to an employer with little to no patience.
The only thing keeping Tracy on the job is just how good he is, so rather than throw away an asset like Tracy, Hyde gives him another job. Several high ranking members of the crime community are being knocked off. The problem? These folks should be considered untouchable and seeing as Hyde hasn’t been authorizing these hits – Hyde wants to know who’s behind them.
Adding fuel to the fire, Tracy has been sleeping with Hyde’s wife for months, somehow managing to keep the affair away from prying eyes. Not only that, but Tracy went M.I.A. from the US Military when he got tangled up in this mess and a rather driven military inspector is on the lookout for him, hoping to return Tracy to active duty.
What The Sinners lacks in steamy scenes, it excels in in the unsettling violence category. Tracy Lawless appeared in an earlier volume of the series and Brubaker brings him back to close out his story with enough misdirection to throw the reader off the map. While it isn’t quite as strong as the volume that follows it, it’s still an excellent piece of work.
While I suppose Frank Miller paved the way for modern noir with his Sin City series, I would go so far as to say Brubaker and Phillips have perfected the genre....more