Hardcase Crime books

http://www.hardcasecrime.com/index.shtml


I may have posted this on the old PH, but if not - and you like pulp mysteries - you should check these guys out. The bee-yootiful covers are what sells me, being a sucker for packaging, like I am. Hit the link, and see....

That's got one of my favority authors, Max Collins, who seems to be channeling Spillane in so many ways.....

the_librarian wrote:

That's got one of my favority authors, Max Collins, who seems to be channeling Spillane in so many ways.....

I just read Deadly Beloved by Collins. My first of his - I would like to read more. What do you recommend?

The cover, for your enjoyment:

dude! I just returned that one to the library...I started it, but ran out of time to finish...was it good?

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As far as Max goes, I found out about him by reading Spillane, but here's the link to the Nate Heller stuff:

http://www.maxallancollins.com/books/

Of course, I read the series all out of order, but True Detective remains one of my favorites...I think it's a collection of shorts, rather than being a whole book.

http://www.maxallancollins.com/books/true-detective/index.php

Then of course the first one I read was Chicago Confidential:

http://www.maxallancollins.com/books/chicago-confidential/index.php

gotta love this interview:

http://januarymagazine.com/profiles/collins.html

Here's the quote:

"...You often draw conclusions about the crimes in your books that are quite different from the official ones. For instance, in Stolen Away, you posit that Bruno Hauptmann didn't kidnap and kill Charles Lindbergh's child, and in Flying Blind,
you suggest that there was more to Amelia Earhart's "disappearance" in
the South Pacific than bad weather or pilot error. Do you actually
believe these conclusions, or are you just putting them out there as
intellectually intriguing alternate scenarios?

I think, in most instances, I have come very close to what really
happened. I'm proud of the fact that none of these novels trumpet
somebody else's theory. I develop my own...."

************

Sorry for the long post, but I really enjoy his Nate novels.....let me know what you think....

Hard Case Crime is one of my favourite publishers. I like the fact that they are both republishing and publishing new work, as well as commisioning new artwork.

There seems to be only one bookshop in London (Murder One - a crime bookshop of course) that stocks them and I always walk out of there with a new title.

All the books I have read so far have been great, particularly the Lawrence Block books, but then I like his work anyway. 'The Wounded and the Slain' by David Goodis is another one I'd recommend. Even though it is set on a sunny Carribean Island he still manages to be as bleak as any of his other books so don't let the setting put you off.

I'll have to check Lawrence Block and Goodis....I've read all of Collins stuff, so that will give me some new authors!!!

the_librarian wrote:

dude! I just returned that one to the library...I started it, but ran out of time to finish...was it good?

....

Well, I liked it. I mean - we are dealing with pulp mysteries here, so I don't expect high art. I thought the conceit of telling the story on the phsychiatists couch was a good one. And Collins has a good way with phrase.

I'll have to check out the suggestions, and report back - don't hold your breath, though.... I have a stack of books ahead of them..

Roulette - I am a little jealous. I live in a small town, and they don't stock Hardcase. I have to order them, which is just fine, but I'd love to thumb up a little before buying.

I also read this one, which was fun, too (also set in present day):

Oh I've not seen that one. There is just something about pulp covers that make me want to read them.

Murder One is a great bookshop. I can't leave that place without making a purchase. They stock a lot of small publishers as well as stocking a lot of American imports. I would really recommend going if you are ever over this way.

We live just outside of London now so I don't go in that often which is probably good for my purse!

Well, I'll just skip like a stone across the pond to check it out! Hah! I'd love to go back - I haven't been to Blighty since the early 1980's (!).


As for pulps... As I've said, I'm a sucker for packaging, and pulps have some of the most vivid. I especially like the vintage paperbacks with the maps on the back. I've got a fair collection of those, due to a lucky find a few years ago at a local thrift shop.

I've never seen books with maps on the back. Are they maps of the area the book is set?

Yes Ma'am. Dell Books used to publish paperback mysteries (and other genres as well) with such maps on the back cover. You can see some here Here and Here.

I have a bunch of these from years of collecting here and there, but most of them come from a giant haul I got at a womens shelter, for about $10.00 for a big garbage bag full. Lucky me!

I wouldn't mind having an apartment the size of this one - here.

Those are great covers. Thinking about it I do have some Margery Allingham books with maps of the crime scene in chapter 1.

That is one BIG apartment.

Are the Allingham books good? What tradition are they in, hardboiled or Agatha Christie puzzles?

How about a spoof of hardboiled?

I love the Kaminsky books about Toby Peters. They're mostly set in LA and the cast of characters is interesting, to say the least.


http//:www.stuartkaminsky.com/tobypage.html

Sorry about the link; you'll have to copy & paste it, I think.

Dread Scott wrote:

Are the Allingham books good? What tradition are they in, hardboiled or Agatha Christie puzzles?

Apologies for the late reply!

Allingham is in the English tradition, but not in the whodoneit tradition. She has some very good characters and she writes with good detail. Her main character is Albert Campion, an upper class black sheep who has a vague background in crime circles. I would recommend them.

I'll second Albert Campion (his alias, by the way).

I've only read one, but thought it was wonderful. He's rather wry, and enjoys going about pretending to be a twit, which lets him get 'round the people he wants to hoodwink.

Thanks for the reminder...I need to find some more to read.

Oh try 'The Fashion in Shrouds', what better combination than crime and 30s fashion?

I will!

As much as I enjoy re-reading my tried-and-true library, I love finding new things. I've got to get back in the habit of going to the public library. Now that I no longer live across the street I'm seldom there (even though it's only blocks away).

Out of sight...

I'll look for some Campion stories! I have read some Toby Peters stories, and enjoyed them.

For some English hard-boiled, try some Peter Cheyney (as I am sure many of you already have).

Oh I've not heard of him- I'll have to see if I can get anything.

I would really recommend 'They Drive By Night' by James Curtis. Nothing like the film of the same name but is full of London criminals, lorry drivers and travelling 'tarts'. A great picture of the seedy side of 30s England. It's been republished (I have a hardback copy from the 40s) and can be found at London Books.

I've just had some sad news that 'Murder One', the best crime book shop in London, is liquidating I think I'll have to go there on Saturday for one last big shop.

I am going to have to sit down and make a proper list from this thread!

Miss R, I'm sorry to hear about the incipient death (murder)?

I used to shop at Murder, Ink in midtown Manhattan. They've moved down to the Village, and somehow I never get down there when I'm in the City now. I don't know why.

Opening a mystery bookstore used to sound like a decent retirement option, but I'm not so sure these days!

Kate's Mystery Books in the Boston, MA is closed, too.

It's really sad news. I'd only manage to get there every three months or so but would always find some great books.

I would have thought specialist bookshops would have more of a chance of surviving against the big chains and Amazon but apparently not.