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timstretton's review against another edition
5.0
Like me, you might be both attracted and fatigued by crime novels. Nowhere does the formulaic structure show through as obviously as in this genre. Two I'll-matched partners? Check. Race against time to solve the crime/save the innocent (usually female) victim? Check. Climax with the hero facing off against the villain, usually without a mobile phone? Check.
If you're as weary of these by-the-numbers plots as I am, you may want to sit down with James Sallis. He writes in a recognisable tradition ("Southern Noir", for want of a better term) but his focus is pleasingly on character, atmosphere and beautifully-crafted prose. Cypress Grove proceeds at a pace just sufficient to prevent the novel stalling (which has clearly been a problem for some readers), but, in sacrificing the tyranny of a helter-skelter plot, Sallis is able to provide a more sophisticated set of pleasures. Cypress Grove is a highly-recommended piece of old-fashioned craftsmanship.
If you're as weary of these by-the-numbers plots as I am, you may want to sit down with James Sallis. He writes in a recognisable tradition ("Southern Noir", for want of a better term) but his focus is pleasingly on character, atmosphere and beautifully-crafted prose. Cypress Grove proceeds at a pace just sufficient to prevent the novel stalling (which has clearly been a problem for some readers), but, in sacrificing the tyranny of a helter-skelter plot, Sallis is able to provide a more sophisticated set of pleasures. Cypress Grove is a highly-recommended piece of old-fashioned craftsmanship.
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