hard case crime

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The Books of Greenwich Village

Chin: The Life and Crimes of Mob Boss Chin Gigante by Larry McShane

69 Barrow Street/Strange Embrace by Lawrence Block

The Pope of Greenwich Village by Vincent Patrick

May 11, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

Unintentionally so, I read three consecutive books set in Greenwich Village (well, I guess technically three out of four as one of the books is a two-for-one and the second story isn’t set in the Village). I decided to cobble together one review of the stories since they shared this similarity… Chin *** When I’d first heard of Chin Gigante, I was more fascinated with the idea that the mob had a thriving operation in Greenwich Village, an area I’ve always associated with Bohemians and the […]

“We’re in a kind of compulsory dodgeball game as we free-fall from Wherever to Ain’t Got a Clue.”

The Colorado Kid by Stephen King

April 16, 2022 by Halbs Leave a Comment

The Colorado Kid is one of Stephen King’s three entries in the Hard Case Crime series. These Hard Case Crime books are throwbacks to 1950-ish pulpy novels, which at the time they initially came out cost the same as a movie ticket. They even come with the slightly unseemly painted covers of yore. (The HCC books, like the books they’re based on, are roughly the same cost as a movie ticket, which kind of stinks because movies are expensive!!) Colorado Kid sounds like it would […]

Last Call

The Cocktail Waitress by James M. Cain

January 12, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

This month’s Hard Case Crime was a real winner. The kind of book I wish they could find and/or publish more often. Of course, unpublished works from crime masters aren’t exactly lying around waiting. Charles Ardai and co. lucked out when some mutual connects hooked them up with the last James Cain manuscript, one that had never seen the light of day. Cain is often considered part of the Hardboiled Trinity, along with Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. Yet he didn’t write the kind of […]

Merry Christmas!

The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem

The Girl With the Long Green Heart by Lawrence Block

Cold Shot to the Heart by Wallace Stroby

Hail Mary: The Rise and Fall of the National Women's Football League by Britni de la Cretaz and Lyndsey D'Arcangelo

All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris

Painfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortune and Misfortune of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty by Jonathan Pearson

The Blonde on the Street Corner by David Goodis

December 26, 2021 by Jake Leave a Comment

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! Having been busy with Christmas prep, avoiding Delta and Omicron, and other various things, I haven’t had the time to write long, 250+ reviews for these books. I figured I’d just cram them all here since I know I won’t finish Robert Caro’s Master of the Senate before New Year’s Eve. The Fortress of Solitude *** This clears the 3-star threshold but just barely. I appreciate what Lethem is trying to do here and I usually enjoy his work. But this was a […]

Sexless and the City

The Gutter and the Grave by Ed McBain

October 13, 2021 by Jake 1 Comment

Read as part of CBR13Bingo: Self care. I collect Hard Case Crime novels and read at least one a month. I’ve long wanted to finish at least one of the works of Ed McBain. I’ve tried, tried, and tried again with his 87th Precinct books but I just can’t get past the opening pages. I understand what he’s trying to do, and I really appreciate it. But they’ve just never clicked for me. He’s a good writer but I’ll be damned if I can engage […]

Vicious Vixens

The Corpse Wore Pasties by Johnny Porkpie

September 19, 2021 by Jake Leave a Comment

Read as part of CBR13Bingo: Shelfie. Posted is a picture of the book with other Hard Case Crime books I collect. This one’s Hard Case Crime book is one that I’ve been meaning to get to for some time. It almost qualified as my “white whale” for bingo but I decided to stick it here instead to show off part of my Hard Case Crime collection. And while I didn’t think it was as good as other HCC tales, I wish the label would put […]

narfna on And now, jump back hundreds and hundreds of years…#BlameMalin on this one for me, too, because she literally sent me a copy.
narfna on “And that very same evening—that very same evening—Lord Edgware dies. Good title that, by the way. Lord Edgware Dies. Look well on a book stall.”That's gotta be the new headcanon.
drmllz on “And that very same evening—that very same evening—Lord Edgware dies. Good title that, by the way. Lord Edgware Dies. Look well on a book stall.”I like to think the wife packs Hastings off to England to hang out with Poirot and enjoys having a whole ranch to herself...
Emmalita on And now, jump back hundreds and hundreds of years…Oh yay! Another #BlameMalin victim. That was an expensive miscommunication. I'm glad your grandmother is ok.
Emmalita on I liked this more as an exercise in boundary pushing for meI have to admit, I really liked this one. But Anita Kelly's whole vibe just works for me. I do have a couple of non...

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