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briandice's review
4.0
When it’s well over 100 degrees and you’re trying to find comfort in your drought addled, heat stroked confines it’s the right time to serve yourself up some 1950s crime fiction – hard boiled, naturally.
Despite its weak title this short, fast moving novel has a lot going for it. The protagonist is a small time con man with a long streak of getting himself out of hotspots while searching for the next grift. Thompson moves the action along mainly through the use of dialogue giving the story a frantic pacing that reads as much like a screenplay as it does a novel. Fans of Thompson’s work can expect all of the surprise twists and triple-crosses that keep both the novel’s characters and reader on their toes.
Despite its weak title this short, fast moving novel has a lot going for it. The protagonist is a small time con man with a long streak of getting himself out of hotspots while searching for the next grift. Thompson moves the action along mainly through the use of dialogue giving the story a frantic pacing that reads as much like a screenplay as it does a novel. Fans of Thompson’s work can expect all of the surprise twists and triple-crosses that keep both the novel’s characters and reader on their toes.
jdsatori's review against another edition
4.0
ahhh. yeah, there's the fix. lotsa pulpy, page-swishing plot with 2 or 3 good twists that come faster and harder as you reach the end of the book. all the must-haves are here: the con man, the cold-hearted dame, the good girl, the old-school hardass, the freaky guy ... oh, and a talking dog. never quite figured out the dog's reason for being here -- other than to increase the freak factor of the freaky guy -- but whatevs. it didn't distract at all from the story of a guy who has to cut some ugly deals just to stay alive.
jakewritesbooks's review
2.0
The Year of Jim Thompson continues with another downer. Man, his bad books are just bad, period. Not even "bad by high standards", but borderline unreadable. Only recommended for Thompson completists.
jiekmin's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
chalicotherex's review
1.0
Hobos, nazis, bale bondsmen, back alleys in Tijuana, door-to-door gold buyers, a talking dog. It gets convoluted fast. The protagonist is a former hobo, and it seems like most of the book is Thompson displaying his hobo knowledge, but he's not proud of it. (Thompson was himself a hobo before finding work with the WPA during the depression). It's weird because hobo knowledge is always weirdly specific (there's a debate on whether or not you can drug black coffee, a bit on how to cheat at dice if you shoot from a cup, and one of the burglars uses the improvised chicken claw weapon), and also old-timey (a lot of the plot relies on the ins and outs of smuggling gold bullion during the gold standard years).
nharkins's review
4.0
although the plot is handwavey, it's pure pulp,
and delivers on that. even has a chase sequence!
and delivers on that. even has a chase sequence!
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