Page 100 and our hero still has no tangible results or clues other than pathetic whining "he wasn't the type" on investigating his friend's alleged suicide. But Steve shouldn't be too surprised because he's just running around like a headless chicken for the better part of the book and gets knocked out every now and then. And to be a bit mean, his lack of progress can easily be attributed to a somehow unorthodox approach to interviewing his suspects, which is basically to threaten them with calling the cops if they don't cooperate. What a sissy...So now he gets frustrated (along with the reader) and changes his M.O. He's yelling at women, slaps them, pushes them around to get some helpful information. A bit mean and nasty and, of course, totally redundant stuff. This is not the type of hard-boiled prose we love and appreciate. What an asshole...
It just doesn't work. The unlikeable protagonist and non-moving plot and the pace that is just off. It keeps breaking the flow and dialogue with over-descriptive bullshit about everything and nothing (usually about women's anatomy). It is flat, without any real edge or tension, repetitious and dull dialogue with no snappy badass one-liners.
Try it if you need to battle insomnia.
2/5
Facts:
Hero:
"Detective," I said. "My name is Steve Conacher and I'm an investigator, a skip-tracer."
Dames:
There are several, and my favourite was Kate with her refrigerated eyes. But the main one is Vicki, who resembles the great American sex machine:
Her body was a masterpiece of planning, even under the casual red robe. In the quick moment of her leaving, in the flash of her hips and legs across the room, her whole frame sang of sex, an easy, rhythmic movement that would set the wolves howling on any street in the world.
There are several, and my favourite was Kate with her refrigerated eyes. But the main one is Vicki, who resembles the great American sex machine:
Her body was a masterpiece of planning, even under the casual red robe. In the quick moment of her leaving, in the flash of her hips and legs across the room, her whole frame sang of sex, an easy, rhythmic movement that would set the wolves howling on any street in the world.
New York
Body count:
2
The object of desire:
Then listen, sweetheart, I'm not in this for kicks, for laughs, for small talk and corny routines. Mike Smith was one of my best friends. Somebody murdered Mike. Somebody wanted him out of the way, don't you see? I'm going to find that person and kick his face in for killing a nice guy like Mike.
Which is cool and we all dig a bit of vendetta every now and then. But it becomes comical when he almost gets hired as a recruiter in order to find the cartoonist talented enough to step in the big shoes of his deceased friend. You see, Steve used to hang out a lot with this artistic crowd which somehow makes him an expert.
Blackouts:
Well, he's pretty incompetent, so he gets the shit kicked out of him no less than four times. None of them is very memorable. If I had to vote, I'd go for the first one. Thwacking thud?
#1 - I turned to bring Gwen back into focus. But I never made it.
Because she hit me with a thousand pounds of lead. She dropped it on my head, a thwacking thud that sent hot needles of pain into my eyes.
I was out cold.
#2- Somebody had thrown a building at me. The blackness waved and rolled around my head as I fought to open my eyes.
I never quite made it. Somebody walloped me again.
And this time, the blackness became permanent.
#3 - And I stepped into another smack in the face.
...I awoke in a bucket of black.
#4 - The noises above me were welling up in a monstrous cacophony of confusion. I heard many voices, many steps. Before my eyes closed it seemed that the room was suddenly filled with people.
"Easy, sister," somebody was saying. "Take it easy."
I passed out on that line.
References:
There's a bunch of references to various cartoonists, but most of them seem a bit forced, and the whole thing sometimes feels a little pretentious and patronizing, But here's a couple with which we are more familiar:
I released the pressure a bit. "Who wrote that continuity for you?"
"A friend of mine-" she said, "Ernest Hemingway."
"Weathering?"
"John," she said. "John Steinbeck."
"Weathering?" I asked again. "Or some other punk?"
"Gardner," she said. "Erle Stanley."
"You're wasting my time, Katie."
"Your imagination demands a big, broad and flat-headed gentleman to play detective for you. Admit it, girl."
"Not quite, Uncle Luke. Maybe I'm the Ellery Queen type."
"Upper class," I smiled. "Out of my league."
Title:
It's cool sounding (or is it?) but has no real connection to the story. I'm including the back cover scan, which may give it some meaning, but the whole text is fabricated. None of it is part of the book. Don't we just love these old pulp publishers?
2
The object of desire:
Then listen, sweetheart, I'm not in this for kicks, for laughs, for small talk and corny routines. Mike Smith was one of my best friends. Somebody murdered Mike. Somebody wanted him out of the way, don't you see? I'm going to find that person and kick his face in for killing a nice guy like Mike.
Which is cool and we all dig a bit of vendetta every now and then. But it becomes comical when he almost gets hired as a recruiter in order to find the cartoonist talented enough to step in the big shoes of his deceased friend. You see, Steve used to hang out a lot with this artistic crowd which somehow makes him an expert.
Blackouts:
Well, he's pretty incompetent, so he gets the shit kicked out of him no less than four times. None of them is very memorable. If I had to vote, I'd go for the first one. Thwacking thud?
#1 - I turned to bring Gwen back into focus. But I never made it.
Because she hit me with a thousand pounds of lead. She dropped it on my head, a thwacking thud that sent hot needles of pain into my eyes.
I was out cold.
#2- Somebody had thrown a building at me. The blackness waved and rolled around my head as I fought to open my eyes.
I never quite made it. Somebody walloped me again.
And this time, the blackness became permanent.
#3 - And I stepped into another smack in the face.
...I awoke in a bucket of black.
#4 - The noises above me were welling up in a monstrous cacophony of confusion. I heard many voices, many steps. Before my eyes closed it seemed that the room was suddenly filled with people.
"Easy, sister," somebody was saying. "Take it easy."
I passed out on that line.
References:
There's a bunch of references to various cartoonists, but most of them seem a bit forced, and the whole thing sometimes feels a little pretentious and patronizing, But here's a couple with which we are more familiar:
I released the pressure a bit. "Who wrote that continuity for you?"
"A friend of mine-" she said, "Ernest Hemingway."
"Weathering?"
"John," she said. "John Steinbeck."
"Weathering?" I asked again. "Or some other punk?"
"Gardner," she said. "Erle Stanley."
"You're wasting my time, Katie."
"Your imagination demands a big, broad and flat-headed gentleman to play detective for you. Admit it, girl."
"Not quite, Uncle Luke. Maybe I'm the Ellery Queen type."
"Upper class," I smiled. "Out of my league."
Title:It's cool sounding (or is it?) but has no real connection to the story. I'm including the back cover scan, which may give it some meaning, but the whole text is fabricated. None of it is part of the book. Don't we just love these old pulp publishers?
Edition:
Signet 1276, First Printing, February 1956
Cover:
Another great one by Robert Maguire, although not as iconic as the one he did for Knight's another Steve Conacher yarn Stone Cold Blonde. It makes you sad that such great artwork was wasted on such mediocre books.
And, as the title, the cover is also totally inaccurate. No woman gets killed in this one.
Cool lines:
Nothing really cool, but here are some WTFs that you might try to decipher:
His cadaverous face was strangely handsome, in the way that a thin girl might be handsome.
Weathering lived in a sloppy hole, two small cubicles and a bath, as disorganized as a Bohemian nightmare, as upset as a schizophrenic bride.
She spoke softly, too low for her usual speech pattern. Her words carried a strong alcoholic quality.
Signet 1276, First Printing, February 1956
Cover:
Another great one by Robert Maguire, although not as iconic as the one he did for Knight's another Steve Conacher yarn Stone Cold Blonde. It makes you sad that such great artwork was wasted on such mediocre books.
And, as the title, the cover is also totally inaccurate. No woman gets killed in this one.
Cool lines:
Nothing really cool, but here are some WTFs that you might try to decipher:
His cadaverous face was strangely handsome, in the way that a thin girl might be handsome.
Weathering lived in a sloppy hole, two small cubicles and a bath, as disorganized as a Bohemian nightmare, as upset as a schizophrenic bride.
She spoke softly, too low for her usual speech pattern. Her words carried a strong alcoholic quality.
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