Perplexing Plots: David Bordwell

 

The subtitle of this book is "Popular Storytelling and the Poetics of Murder." Bordwell was an influential film scholar; this book, the last one he published, focuses on crime fiction and films in the 1900s up to more recent times. He discusses the development of crime fiction plots and narratives and notes the same developments in plays and film of that time. In the book, he proposes that crime fiction exposed audiences to new forms of storytelling and increased their familiarity and acceptance of more complex plots. 

But I am not knowledgeable about films and film theory, so I will also include this description from Columbia University Press, the publisher of the book:

In Perplexing Plots, David Bordwell reveals how crime fiction, plays, and films made unconventional narrative mainstream. He shows that since the nineteenth century, detective stories and suspense thrillers have allowed ambitious storytellers to experiment with narrative. Tales of crime and mystery became a training ground where audiences learned to appreciate artifice. These genres demand a sophisticated awareness of storytelling conventions: they play games with narrative form and toy with audience expectations.

I was motivated to read this book for Bordwell's in-depth discussion of crime fiction authors. He was a big fan of Rex Stout (as am I). One chapter is devoted to Stout's Nero Wolfe series and Erle Stanley Gardner's mysteries. Two other chapters I particularly enjoyed were "Viewpoints, Narrow and Expansive: Patricia Highsmith and Ed McBain" and "Donald Westlake and the Richard Stark Machine." Raymond Chandler's books were also covered in depth.

This book was very dense, sometimes over my head, but I enjoyed it. The content was academic; not dry but challenging.

My husband read Bordwell's previous book, Reinventing Hollywood: How 1940s Filmmakers Changed Movie Storytelling. I will be reading that book, maybe next year.

There is an excellent review at George Kelley's blog; George lists all the chapter titles, which is very useful.

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Publisher:   Columbia University Press, 2023 
Length:       412 pages
Format:      Trade paperback
Genre:        Nonfiction
Source:       I purchased this book in 2023.

Two Country Music Mysteries

In this post I am covering two humorous mystery novels set in the country music world. 

The first book was Fender Benders by Bill Fitzhugh, published in 2001. I read it in February.

This book is about a young country music singer in Nashville who makes it big with his first song. Eddie Long has high ambitions to become a big star and has been playing small gigs in Alabama and Mississippi; then his wife dies, possibly a suicide, and he heads for Nashville. He writes a song inspired by her death, and is noticed by a pair of well-known producers, Big Bill Herndon and Franklin Peavy. 

Jimmy Rogers, a freelance journalist, is writing Eddie's biography; he and Eddie had been planning the book since before Eddie went to Nashville. Jimmy gets shut out of the rights to the biography by Eddie's managers but decides to go ahead; while gathering facts, he begins to suspect that Eddie killed his wife. As the story moves along it gets darker and darker. 

There were many things I liked about Fender Benders, including reading about the country music business, how albums are made and such, but almost all of the characters are very unlikable. Sometimes I am OK with that, but this time it did not work well for me. There are funny moments throughout, but the story is also very dark and cynical.  It was the great plotting and pacing which kept me reading, and I had to know how it ended. 

A possible problem for some readers is that although one murder is solved, the one that starts the whole story is kind of left hanging.  

In early March, I started Baby, Would I Lie? by Donald E. Westlake, published in 1994. This next book was suggested to me by Todd Mason at Sweet Freedom, since it also had a country music theme. It had been on my shelves for six years, and it was a good companion read to Fender Benders.

Baby, Would I Lie? is part of a two-part series (a duology). In the first book, Trust Me on This, Sara Joslyn and Jack Ingersoll are working for the Galaxy, a supermarket tabloid that pays its employees three times the going rate but also demands that they use any means possible, often illegal and demeaning, to get the news. In the following book, Sara and Jack have escaped the Galaxy and are working at Trend, a Manhattan weekly magazine. Sara has been sent to Branson, Missouri, a center for live entertainment and tourism, to cover the trial of country singer Ray Jones for the rape and murder of Belle Hardwick. Staff from the Galaxy are also setting up in Branson, looking for any dirt that they can rake up.

I liked the character portrayals. Sara has a lot of sympathy with Ray Jones, and understands the love that his fans have for him, but she is there for the story. Jack is now her boss at Trend, but his main goal is to get revenge on the Galaxy and expose the underhanded methods they use. Ray Jones doesn't seem at all worried by the trial. All the evidence against him is circumstantial. A side plot concerns a large amount of money that Ray owes to the IRS. And there are many interesting secondary characters that go beyond caricatures.

This book was more of a fun read than Fender Benders and a different look at the country music industry. This one also focused on journalism as the main characters worked for a weekly magazine. 

Important things to know:

• The mystery (did Ray Jones actually murder Belle Hardwick and if not, who did) is not central to the story. 
• It is not necessary to read the first book in the Sara and Jack series, both can stand alone. But they work better as a pair.
• Some reviewers felt that the portrayal of Branson, Missouri, and the tourists who visit, is mean-spirited. In retrospect, I can see that, although I did not take it too seriously. 

Bookshelf Traveling for Insane Times No. 19

I am participating in the Bookshelf Traveling For Insane Times meme. It was originated by Judith at Reader in the Wilderness, but Katrina at Pining for the West is now gathering the blogposts.

I have run out of bookshelves to visit. That is not actually true, but I have no available photos right now. So I am taking a different approach. I am revisiting a post from 2013 and some stacks of books I bought at the Planned Parenthood book sale that year. The following images show several stacks of books I purchased that year. 

I am dismayed and embarrassed that I have only read four of the books in these stacks. A few other books were discarded without reading, but for the most part I have all of these books somewhere in my house (or garage). Some of them are later books in series that I plan to read later, but still ....

These are the books on those shelves that I have read:

Trust Me On This (1989) by Donald E. Westlake

I read a good number of books by Westlake earlier in my life. Most, but not all of them, were humorous stories. This book turned out to be a perfect reintroduction to Westlake. 

Sara Joslyn gets a job at a phenomenal salary at the Weekly Galaxy, a supermarket tabloid newspaper. On her first day at work, Sara drives by the scene of a crime on the isolated road to her new workplace.  A man has been murdered and she is the only witness. His body is half in and half out of the car, in the driver's seat. She thinks she has found her first story and is eager to impress her new employer. But when she arrives at the office no one is interested in a real crime. They want stories on fad diets or celebrity shenanigans or alien invasions. The murder she witnessed comes back to haunt her later.

I have since read another humorous book by this author (Brothers Keepers) and two books in the Parker series, written as Richard Stark.

Death in a Cold Climate: A Guide to Scandinavian Crime Fiction (2012)

by Barry Forshaw

This is a mystery reference book that includes crime fiction authors whose books have been translated to English. It covers writers from these countries: Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, and Finland. Sweden gets the most coverage and I suppose that reflects that more Swedish authors had been translated in 2012. Most of the coverage is for current authors, although earlier translated works by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö are discussed. I will read any book on mystery reference, and I learned a lot from this one.

A Capital Crime (2010) by Laura Wilson

I never wrote a full review on this one. It is #3 in the Ted Stratton series and I read it in September 2017. I loved the first two books in the series, The Innocent Spy (US title) and An Empty Death; this one was not quite as good, in my opinion. 

It is the 1950s in London; Detective Inspector Ted Stratton is a widower with grown children. The story begins with the suspected murders of a woman and her child. But it is also about the post-war changes in England and family relationships. The main plot is based on a real case but I knew nothing about it so it didn't affect my reading experience. I found it overly long, but still a good read.

The Black Seraphim (1983) by Michael Gilbert

The description from the back of my paperback edition:

James Scotland, a young pathologist, has come to Melchester on a much-needed vacation. But amid the cathedral town's quiet medieval atmosphere, he finds a hornet's nest of church politics, town and country rivalries. . . and murder. When one of the community's most influential figures dies suddenly (and very publicly), Scotland uncovers some curious alliances among church, state, and big business. Modern forensic pathology, the age-old mysteries of the church, and a bit of unexpected romance all play a part as Scotland unravels the unsettling truth about Melchester.

I liked the protagonist. He is inquisitive, intelligent and a pathologist, so it makes sense that he can tell when something is not right about a death.  Amanda, the Dean's daughter is also a wonderful character, forthright, honest, with high expectations of others. I liked the romance, not sweet and sentimental at all.

Reading Bingo 2017

This is the first year that I have participated in the Reading Bingo meme. I saw posts at Bernadette's Reactions to Reading and Marina Sofia's findingtimetowrite and was motivated to give it a try.

The value of looking at the year's reading this way is that I notice changes in my reading more. I read less spy fiction this year, and less science fiction and fantasy. I did read more classics from my classics list. All in all, it was a great reading year.

A book with more than 500 pages

Doomsday Book (1992) is the first novel in the Oxford Time Travel Series by Connie Willis. The story begins in the 2050s when time travel has been successful in some cases, but is in the hands of historians at Oxford University. Kivrin Engel, a student of Mediaeval History, is preparing to go back to the Middle Ages, 1320 to be exact, and Professor James Dunworthy is helping her prepare. After Kivrin has been transferred back in time, the story is told in alternating sections, following Kivrin's experiences in the earlier time, and Dunworthy's efforts to recover her from the past. One of my top reads this year.

A forgotten classic

Laura (1943) by Vera Caspary. I don't know how one defines a forgotten classic, but in my book, this is one. In this novel, Laura Hunt, a successful career woman working for an advertising firm, has been murdered in her apartment. She was shot at close range with BB shot as she opened the door of her apartment to a visitor. Mark McPherson starts his investigation of the case by interviewing the two men who cared for her most, Waldo Lydecker, her friend and mentor, and Shelby J. Carpenter, her fiance. The movie based on this  book is much better known, and both are very good. 

A book that became a movie

The Rainbird Pattern (1972) by Victor Canning is the 2nd book in a loose series called the Birdcage books. They all revolve around a covert security group in the UK, a branch of the Ministry of Defense. There are two distinct plot lines. One deals with a kidnapping plot; the reader follows the agents of the Department as they investigate two previous kidnappings. The second plot involves an elderly woman's search for her sister's child, put up for adoption decades earlier. The book was made into a film, titled Family Plot, by Alfred Hitchcock. The story was changed and the film has a humorous tone. I enjoyed both versions but the book was fantastic.

A book published this year

A Patient Fury (2017) is the third DC Childs mystery, written by Sarah Ward.  The series is set in the Derbyshire Peak District where the author lives. Sarah Ward's books all concentrate to some extent on families and their bonds and relationships. The characterizations are superb and the story is riveting. I have been a fan of the series since it started and this book did not disappoint. One of my favorite reads this year.

A book with a number in the title

The Clock Strikes Twelve (1944) is the 7th book in the Miss Maud Silver series by Patricia Wentworth. James Paradine, the patriarch of the Paradine family, announces at a family dinner on New Year's Eve that one of his guests has betrayed the interests of the family. By midnight he is dead. Just about everyone in the family is considered a suspect, some more than others, and one of the heirs brings in Miss Silver to clear things up. i had not read any books from this series for a while, and I enjoyed this one a lot.

A book written by someone under 30

I have no books to fit this square.

A book with non human characters

I had a hard time categorizing The 13 Clocks (1950) by James Thurber and I haven't reviewed it yet. It is sort of a fairy tale, but not really. I don't think it was written for children specifically but I am sure that it has been read to many children. It is whimsical and fun.

A funny book

The author of Brothers Keepers (1975), Donald E. Westlake, is primarily known for his crime fiction, but this is not a crime story. It is a caper, and very humorous. Brother Benedict is a member of the Crispinite order, numbering only 16 monks, which has occupied a building in midtown Manhattan, built by the original monks on leased land. Brother Benedict discovers in the newspaper that the building that they are housed in will be demolished along with the rest of the block they live on. The rest of the book is about Brother Benedict and the rest of his order, trying to save their building. Along the way, he falls in love with the landlord's daughter.

A book by a female author

The Renewable Virgin (1984)by Barbara Paul, set in New York City, is the first of seven books in the Marian Larch series. Rudy Benedict, a screenwriter, dies after taking poison in a headache remedy. Kelly Ingram is his friend (and almost lover) who plays a continuing role as a beautiful, dumb blonde in the TV show (described as "Harry O in the Big Apple") that Rudy sometimes wrote for. The three women affected by Rudy’s death tell the story in alternating chapters -- Kelly; Rudy's mother, Fiona; and Marian Larch, a homicide detective. The story was written and set in the early 1980's and thus reflects the experiences of women in the workplace at the time.

A book with a mystery

The Likeness (2008) was the sequel to Tana French’s debut, In the Woods. That book featured two detectives in the Murder Squad in Dublin, Ireland, Rob Ryan and Cassie Maddox. In The Likeness, Cassie is now working in Domestic Violence at police headquarters, but a unique opportunity arises for her to go undercover, taking up an identity she used previously when she worked in the Undercover division. This is not a perfect book but very close. Also a Chunkster (466 pages).

A book with a one word title

Persuasion (1818) by Jane Austen is the story of Anne Elliot, the middle child in a family of three girls; at the time of the book she is 27 years old. She lives with her father and her older sister; her mother died with she was young. Her younger sister is married with several children. The members of her family are pretty ghastly, self-centered to the extreme. Anne on the other hand is sensible, intelligent, considerate, and willing to help out where needed. She also has a long lost love that comes back into her life. This was the fifth book by Jane Austen that I read this year, and it is tied with Pride and Prejudice as my favorite novel by that author.

A book of short stories

Game Without Rules by Michael Gilbert is a book of short stories about two middle-aged spies. I loved every story. The book was published in 1967; the stories had been published in Argosy between 1962 and 1967. The protagonists only show up in two books of short stories and I am in the middle of reading the second set of stories, titled Mr Calder & Mr Behrens.

Free Square

I saved this spot for a book by my favorite author: Over My Dead Body by Rex Stout. It is the 7th book in the Nero Wolfe series, published in 1940. Nero Wolfe is a genius, a lover of orchids and fine food, who supports himself (and his household) as a private detective. Archie Goodwin, the narrator of the stories, is both his assistant and a private investigator, and he does most of the legwork. They live in a New York brownstone and share the house with Theodore, the plant expert, and Felix, Wolfe's cook. The story centers on a woman who claims to be Nero Wolfe's long-lost adopted daughter. The story was published after the war in Europe had started but the U.S. was not yet involved and it involves international intrigue. And in this book we get a peek at some of Wolfe's background and his activities in Montenegro when he was a young man.

A book set on a different continent

Cocaine Blues (1989) is the first book in Kerry Greenwood's long running series about Phryne Fisher, a rich young woman who leaves a life of leisure in London to become a lady detective in Melbourne, Australia. This book exceeded my expectations. I knew the heroine was an adventuress, and the setting was in the late 1920s, so my assumptions were that it would be cozyish and very unrealistic. The unrealistic part may be true but this book was such fun to read that I did not care. It was a very refreshing read.

A book of non-fiction

The Getaway Car (2014) is another book by Donald E. Westlake, but this time it is a collection of non-fiction pieces by him. They include appreciations of other crime fiction authors, interviews (of Westlake, by others), and letters. There is a wonderful essay by his wife, Abby Adams Westlake, about "Living with a Mystery Writer." I enjoyed reading about his experiences with having his books translated into film, and his experiences as a screenwriter. No matter what he is writing about, Westlake is entertaining. 

The first book by a favourite author

The John Putnam Thatcher series by Emma Lathen is one of my favorite series of mystery novels. Banking on Death (1961) is the first in the series, and I reread it recently because the story is set around Christmas. Thatcher, senior vice president and director of the trust department of Sloan Guaranty Trust on Wall Street, is the protagonist of this series totaling 24 books. Most of the books are focused on one type of business that is using the services of the Sloan, and the story shares many facts about the running of the specific types of businesses. But in this first book, the focus is on the business of the Sloan, the third largest bank in the world. And the issue that starts the story is a query into the status of a small trust that the Sloan has been managing for close to thirty years. I have read this book at least three times and I enjoy it every time.

A book you heard about online

Back in 2015 Moira at Clothes in Books alerted me to this book -- Their Finest (2009) by Lissa Evans, set in the the UK in 1940 and 1941. The story is about a young female copywriter who gets an assignment to the Ministry of Information, writing parts of scripts for a WWII propaganda film. That alone would be an interesting subject, but the story follows several other people associated with the filming. Each one provides a different view of the UK during the war. It is a lovely story, very humorous and moving. A film adaptation of the book came out in 2016, starring Bill Nighy, Gemma Arterton, and Sam Ciaflin. The original title of the book was Their Finest Hour and a Half.

A best selling book

I usually don't read books that are best sellers but I ended up reading The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (pseudonym of J.K. Rowling) based on good reviews by trusted bloggers. Unfortunately this book did not become a best seller until people realized that the author was Rowling. That seems very sad to me. I did enjoy this book quite a bit; I liked the characters and the story was told very well. It could have been shorter though.

A book based on a true story 

I have read no books in this category.

A book from the bottom of your TBR pile

The Bourne Identity (1980) by Robert Ludlum. As this book starts, a man has been fished out of the Mediterranean Sea, barely alive. He has amnesia from head trauma. The story is about his search for who he is. I had owned this book for at least 15 years. Espionage fiction is one of my favorite sub-genres and I don't know why I put off reading such a well-known book in the genre. (Maybe because it is so long: 535 pages.) It falls more in the action thriller area than most spy fiction I enjoy, and it did require me to suspend disbelief quite a bit. Yet, for the most part, the journey Bourne takes to learn his real identity makes sense.

A book your friend loves

This category gives me a chance to highlight two related books: Red Bones (2009) and Blue Lightning (2010), two books in the Shetland series by Ann Cleeves. In 2017 I loaned Red Bones to a friend at work and she loved it so much she convinced me to read it too. It had been sitting on the TBR pile too long. What do I like about this series? Although I find this to be a slowly paced series, with the main detective, Jimmy Perez, indulging in a lot of musing about his relationships and his future, it does have a combination of good storytelling, good characters, and the wonderful setting of the Shetland Islands. And another big plus is that there is variety in each book.

A book that scares you

Patricia Highsmith is known for her dark, suspense-filled novels. This year I read my first book by her: Strangers on a Train (1950). The basic story is that two men meet on a train, and one of them suggests a murder pact. If they each murder a person that the other wants to get rid of, then they can get away with the perfect crime. A very good novel, but a disturbing read. I read the first 100 pages enjoying Highsmith's wonderful way with telling a story, but beyond that point I had to slow down and only read a bit of it a day. It was too intense. There is also a well-known movie adaptation, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Also very good, but the book has more depth.

A book that is more than 10 years old

Most of the books I read were written before 2000, and probably half of those were written before 1960. So it is not hard to pick a book for this category. Farewell, my Lovely (1940) is the 2nd book by Raymond Chandler featuring Philip Marlowe. The plot was convoluted and circuitous and I was lost at times, but I did not care. The style of writing was so well done, so beautiful that I was mesmerized. The picture of Los Angeles in 1940 was interesting, the characters were well defined, and the descriptions of the area and the characters were breath-taking.

The second book in a series

A Fountain Filled with Blood (2003) is the second mystery in the Reverend Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series by Julia Spencer-Fleming. Clare Fergusson has left her job in the military as a helicopter pilot to become an Episcopal priest in the small town of Miller's Kill, New York. Russ Van Alstyne is the police chief and they seem to run into each other a lot. As the citizens of Miller's Kill, New York head into the July 4th weekend, two gay men are severely beaten in separate incidents. When another man, also homosexual, is killed, Russ must figure out if the crimes are connected. Mixed in with this are conflicts within the town over development of a luxury spa and environmental issues. I don't know why I like this series so much but I do. 

A book with a blue cover

The Butcher's Boy was Thomas Perry's debut novel; it won the Edgar for Best First Novel of 1982. The two main characters are a professional killer with no name and Elizabeth Waring, an analyst for the Department of Justice. They are both very good at what they do. I liked the way the story develops, with two main story lines, one following the killer and one following Elizabeth Waring. Although the killer is not likable, and has little personality, it is interesting to watch him work and follow his thought processes when he runs into problems. Elizabeth is highly intelligent and a talented analyst, but she has to watch how she behaves with her superiors, because she is a woman.

Brothers Keepers: Donald E. Westlake

I loved this book, and I only hope I can convey exactly why I enjoyed it so much. At this point in the year, I can say for sure it is one of my favorite books of the year. Although it's author, Donald E. Westlake, is primarily known for his crime fiction, this is not a crime story. It is somewhat of a caper novel, and there is some detecting, so I did not really notice the absence of a real crime as I was reading it.

Brother Benedict is a member of the Crispinite order, numbering only 16 monks, which has occupied a building in midtown Manhattan, built by the original monks on leased land.  Brother Benedict discovers in the newspaper that the building that they are housed in will be demolished along with the rest of the block they live on. This order has a prohibition against travel unless absolutely necessary; thus the brothers are disturbed that they will have to leave the home they love. They believe that they have a legal right to stay, based on their lease, but the lease is missing. This is highly suspicious. They search for ways to prevent the demolition of the block, but they are thwarted everywhere they turn. In the midst of the effort to keep their home, Brother Benedict visits the landlord, traveling all the way to Puerto Rico, and falls in love with his daughter.

Even though this story is about a fictional order, I enjoyed reading about the details of life in the Crispinite order and the quirky members of the order. Brother Benedict treasures his life in the order and knows he is blessed to have found the perfect fit for him. And then he falls in love with a rich, self-centered divorcee who also falls for him, and Westlake makes this believable.

This is a charming, light, comic novel with a happy ending, even though it seems that there is no way it could end well.

This story is covered in depth at Clerical Detectives.

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Publisher:  Mysterious Press, 1993. Orig. pub. 1975.
Length:      261 pages
Format:     Paperback
Setting:     New York, Puerto Rico
Genre:      Comic caper
Source:     I purchased my copy. 

Reading Summary for July 2017

July has been another good reading month. I read nine books, which is a lot for me.  I am making progress on my Twenty Books of Summer. Of the nine books I read this month, seven were from that list. The other two were read this month because I wanted to read the book before I watched the movie.

One of the books was not crime fiction: Their Finest by Lissa Evans, set in the the UK in 1940 and 1941. The story is about a young female copywriter who gets an assignment to the Ministry of Information, writing parts of scripts for a WWII propaganda film. That alone would be an interesting subject, but the story follows several other people associated with the filming. Each one provides a different view of the UK during the war. It is a lovely story, very humorous, and one of my favorite reads of the month. I much prefer the UK title: Their Finest Hour and a Half.

Now for my list of crime fiction books...

City of Dragons by Kelli Stanley (2010)

A story about a female private eye set in 1940 in San Francisco's Chinatown. I have posted my thoughts on this book HERE.

Red Bones by Ann Cleeves (2009)

Red Bones is the third book in the Shetland series by Ann Cleeves; the books are all set on the Shetland Islands, which are part of Scotland. They feature Inspector Jimmy Perez. I read the first two books a few years ago; although I liked them a lot, I don't remember much beyond the basic plot. I read this book (at this time) because we wanted to start the Shetland TV series and Red Bones is the first book which was adapted. I liked the book just as well as the first two. (I just finished Blue Lightning on Thursday, and it is my favorite of the four.)

New Orleans Mourning by Julie Smith (1991)

During the Mardi Gras parade, the King of the Carnival is shot and killed by someone dressed as Dolly Parton. Skip Langdon is one of the cops working on crowd control for the event. She is a friend of the family,  and thus gets involved with the investigation. This book won the Edgar Award for Best Novel. The setting was done well and it was interesting to see this view of New Orleans.

The Distant Echo by Val McDermid (2003)

This is the first book in the Karen Pirie series, but she only shows up after 200 pages into the story and even after that only plays a small role in the story. Regardless, this was a very good tale of the investigation of a cold case, with close to half of the book taking place at the time that the crime is committed. I have posted my thoughts on this book HERE.

Bodies are Where you Find Them by Brett Halliday (1941)

I have a good number of the Mike Shayne novels by Brett Halliday, but I started with this one because the film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was loosely based on this novel. I did not really expect there to be much similarity between the two, but the basic premise is the same in both. In the book,  a woman’s body shows up in Mike's bed but disappears; Mike and his friend, reporter Timothy Rourke, are searching for it. I enjoyed this book, but I am pretty sure I am going to enjoy my next Mike Shayne story even more now that I have a taste of the series.

Brothers Keepers by Donald Westlake (1975)

This is about a small, obscure Catholic order of monks who are in danger of being tossed out of their home. This summary from Goodreads is just perfect so I am going to use it.  

"When the order's lease on the Park Avenue monastery expires, sixteen monks face a greedy real-estate mogul, and Brother Benedict falls in love with the mogul's daughter."

I loved this book. Another of my favorite books of the month.

A Shock to the System by Simon Brett (1984)

This is a very different book by Simon Brett. Most of his books that I have read are humorous mysteries about Charles Paris, the actor. A Shock to the System is part dark comedy, and part thriller. Graham Marshall is an HR professional, a seemingly ordinary man, who kills a man in a fit of pique. Initially he is remorseful and fears retribution; when it does not come, he begins to see murder as a solution to his problems. (This was the 2nd book I read because we want to watch the movie again. It just came out in a new Blu-ray edition.)

The Fashion in Shrouds by Margery Allingham (1938)

The simplest description of this book is that Albert Campion’s sister, a fashion designer, is implicated in a murder, and Albert wants very much to find the culprit. The story is, of course, much more complicated than that. Amanda Fitton, from the earlier book Sweet Danger, shows up again and she and Albert stage a fake engagement. My thoughts on the book are HERE.

The Man with the Getaway Face: Richard Stark

Under the pseudonym of Richard Stark, Donald E. Westlake wrote a 24-book series featuring Parker, a thief and hardened criminal. Almost all of the books center around a heist.

In the first Parker novel, The Hunter, the focus is on revenge. Parker's wife and his partner betrayed him; after a heist, he was shot and left for dead. Parker goes after them, trying to get his share of the money back. Thus the second novel, The Man with the Getaway Face, is the first real heist novel in the series.

This book gives the reader a picture of the mechanics of setting up a heist, in this case, an armored car robbery. There is a "finger" who finds the opportunity for the heist. There is a person who provides the bank roll, the money to carry out the heist. Obviously there is the planning.




This time Parker is partnered with a guy called Skimm. A quote from the book describes the differences between them:

Skimm, like most men on the bum, lived from job to job; he spent more in one year than most make in five and was always broke, dressing and looking like a bum. How he did it, where it all went, Parker didn’t know. 

He [Parker] worked it differently, spending the money and time between jobs living at the best resort hotels and dressing himself in the best clothes. There was no overlap between people he knew on and off the job. He owned a couple of parking lots and gas stations around the country to satisfy the curiosity of the Internal Revenue beagles, but never went near them. He let the managers siphon off the profits in return for not asking him to take an active part in the business.

One of the givens in a heist story is there will be hitches in the plan. In this one, there are two hitches (at least) and one of them Parker is expecting. The other is a surprise to Parker and to the reader. The entertaining part is seeing how the story plays out when Parker runs into the problems.

In this book, even though Parker sees the problems early on, he is committed to the heist because he needs money dearly. He just paid a small fortune to have his face restructured, because people in the Outfit (the organization that is his nemesis) know what he looks like. So now he needs to build up his capital.

My thoughts:

In my review of The Hunter, I described Parker as having no redeeming qualities, and I said that there was "nothing admirable or likable about him." That is not far from the truth, but if so, what does pique my interest in these books? I do find Parker fascinating as a character study and I am sure that is due to Westlake's writing, which is very plain and unadorned. Parker is a professional. He is pragmatic; he makes his decisions related to completing a job in an intelligent way. He does not kill unnecessarily although this is mostly because he realizes that this is not in his best interests.

This book is like "the anatomy of a crime" (or in this case, a robbery or heist). It does not glorify the crime or the criminal, but treats it more like a job. There is no back story for Parker, no discussion of how or why did he come to this point in his life. We learn that he did care for his wife and misses his relationship with her, but that seems to be the only thing in his life that he has any emotional thoughts about. And even that is only a one-paragraph digression. The book is a non-emotional, straightforward story about a crime and the fallout from the crime.

I also see comparisons here with some spy novels I read. It seems like espionage appeals to the type of person who is good at thieving and killing, but in that case they get to do it for a cause. Sometimes they enjoy it, sometimes they are conflicted. In Parker's case, he is never conflicted about his job. This isn't everyone's type of book, but I am continuing on through the series for a while.

Some other resources:

• In a very detailed overview at The Westlake Review, which notes how accurate the description of New Jersey is. Posts at this blog do include spoilers.
• A review at Olman's Fifty.
• A review at Existential Ennui.

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Publisher:  Univ. of Chicago Press, 2008 (orig. publ. 1963)
Length:     213 pages
Format:     Trade paperback
Series:      Parker #2
Setting:     New Jersey, mainly
Genre:      Hard-boiled
Source:     I purchased my copy

The Hunter: Richard Stark

The Hunter is the first novel in a series by Richard Stark (one of Donald Westlake's pseudonyms). The series of 24 books features an amoral criminal, Parker,who specializes in payroll robberies. He is not a killer for hire, but he will kill if someone gets in his way. In other words, not a very nice guy. He has no redeeming qualities. He has no remorse for what he does; on the other hand, he is not sadistic. He does not think much about what he does at all. He just conducts his business and moves on. In this novel, Parker is seeking revenge on Mal, a man who double-crossed him, took his wife, and stole his share of the proceeds from a job.

This story felt kind of numbing in the first reading. As soon as I finished this book, I wondered if I want to continue reading books about a protagonist who is narcissistic and unsympathetic. I don't dislike the character but there is nothing admirable or likable about him, at least in this book. The writing is plain and unadorned, the story is hard-boiled, with lots of violence. There is little description or exposition. There is a lot of action and dialog and that is how you learn about the characters, most of which are very similar to Parker.

The real test, however, was that it was just as compelling when I was rereading portions of the book as I worked on this post. So, in the end, the answer is that I do want to continue reading this series. I will be reading the second book, The Man with the Getaway Face, in June, for a special theme on Heists / Bank Robberies at Friday's Forgotten Books at Patti Abbott's blog, pattinase. And I have ordered the third book in the series, The Outfit.

A review quote from the Christian Science Monitor, cited at the publisher's site:

If you’re looking for crime novels with a lot of punch, try the very, very tough novels featuring Parker. . . . The Hunter, The Outfit, The Mourner, and The Man with the Getaway Face are all beautifully paced, tautly composed, and originally published in the early 1960s.

A quote from an article at CriminalElement.com

The Hunter should be on everyone’s short list of must-read novels. Its historical significance to the crime genre is on par with The Big Sleep or The Maltese Falcon. In the same way those novels introduced hardboiled noir to the world, The Hunter jumpstarted the era of the antihero that we still see ripples of today. It is action-packed storytelling with an innovative structure and one of the most unique and most celebrated characters in all of crime fiction.

Other resources:

• An introduction to the novel written by Donald Westlake
• Review by Nick Jones at Existential Ennui
• A detailed analysis, with spoilers, at The Westlake Review

Film Adaptations

This first book in the series was the basis for at least two movies: Point Blank, starring Lee Marvin and Payback, with Mel Gibson. I watched both movies after finishing the book.  I had watched Payback years ago, but this was my first viewing of Point Blank. Both movies try to humanize Parker, but they do stick fairly close to the story in the book. I think Lee Marvin's  portrayal of Parker is closer to that in the book, but Mel Gibson depiction of the crazy drive that Parker must have to achieve his goal is also very well done.


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Publisher:  Univ. of Chicago Press, 2008 (orig. publ. 1962)
Length:     198 pages
Format:     Trade paperback
Series:      Parker #1
Setting:     New York City
Genre:      Hard-boiled
Source:     I purchased my copy

20 Books of Summer 2017

This year I was reminded of 20 Books of Summer by Nancy at NancyElin, whose list is here. The originator of the challenge is Cathy at 746 Books. Check out Cathy's list for more information.

For the 20 Books of Summer challenge I am choosing twenty books to read between June 1st and September 3rd, 2017. There are options for 15 books or 10 books for those who don't want to commit to 20.

And this is my list:

• The Fashion in Shrouds by Margery Allingham (1938)
• Murder Begins at Home by Delano Ames (1949)
• Track of the Cat by Nevada Barr (1993)
• The Emperor's Snuff-Box by John Dickson Carr  (1942)
• Red Bones by Ann Cleeves (2009)
• The Black Ice by Michael Connelly (1993)
• Evil at the Root by Bill Crider (1990)

• Crooked Heart by Lissa Evans (2009)
• City of Dragons by Kelli Stanley (2010)
• Dr. No by Ian Fleming (1958)
• Malicious Intent by Kathryn Fox (2004)
• Dead Skip by Joe Gores (1972)
• Bodies Are Where You Find Them by Brett Halliday (1941)
• The Distant Echo by Val McDermid (2003)
• Vanishing Act by Thomas Perry (1994)

• Deep Water by Christine Poulson (2016)
• Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers (1937) 
• New Orleans Mourning by Julie Smith (1990)
• The Man with the Getaway Face by Richard Stark (1963)
• Brothers, Keepers by Donald E. Westlake (1975)