The Long Goodbye58 reviews Raymond Chandler Vintage, 1988 Arguably Chandler's Best + The too-long Goodbye + Swell + The Idle Valley + "Down these mean streets a man must go..,"             The Dogs of Riga28 reviews Henning Mankell Vintage, 2004 Wallander Works His Magic in Eastern Europe + Recent Baltic history through Swedish eyes + Latvia in Wallender-Land In most mystery novels, the social order is disturbed when a horrific crime is committed. The hero/detective uses his superior skills to solve the mystery, catch the criminal and thus restore the social order. One variation on this pattern is when the mystery writer takes the hero/detective out of ...             Pop. 128030 reviews Jim Thompson Vintage, 1990 So much more than just a crime novel + Very pleasurable... + Classic Thompson . . . + MEAN, BUT TERRIFIC! + My first Thompson             Ride With the Devil17 reviews James Schamus, Daniel Woodrell, 1999 Huck Finn in Hell + Raw telling of not-so-famous Civil War events + Great Civil War Novel + A Great Book             The Postman Always Rings Twice59 reviews James M. Cain Vintage, 1989 An American Classic + Cain Proably Influenced Kerouac [98] + Excellent + Morality Play             The Talented Mr. Ripley136 reviews Patricia Highsmith Vintage, 1992 He could be your next door neighbour + Taut and compelling + The Talented Patricia Highsmith + BOOK PLOT CONTAINS MILD SPOILERS + Ripley: a dangerous Individual             Farewell, My Lovely45 reviews Raymond Chandler Vintage, 1988 A Lyrical Must-Read + Do not be misled + My curiosity was pretty well satisifed + Seeing The World As It Really Is + Not Free SF Reader             Controlled Burn: Stories of Prison, Crime, and Men8 reviews Scott Wolven Scribner, 2005 Brilliant Debut + 2 thumbs up + Crimes, Men, Prison... + The Chick Lit Antithesis             The Bright Forever: A Novel67 reviews Lee Martin Shaye Areheart Books, 2005 Efficiently Simple to Powerful Effect + Touching book, some shaky moments The Bright Forever Surprised me. By it's rather hokey cover with the little blonde curl on it, I went into it thinking it would probably be a lightweight summer read. I was wrong. Lee Martin's writing was, from cover to cover, superbly powerful and simple. His writing is so bullseye efficient ...             We're in Trouble10 reviews Christopher Coake Harcourt, 2005 Outstanding debut work! + Something will grab you + FRIGHTENINGLY TALENTED WRITER + Yes they are... and you get to read about it + A Stunning Collection             The Lady in the Lake37 reviews Raymond Chandler Vintage, 1988 Philip Marlowe Finds Another Body... + Good Book + Chandler worthy of hype. + THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA + One Of Chandler's Best!             Winter's Bone: A Novel46 reviews Daniel Woodrell Little, Brown and Company, 2006 Excellent + Strong, Smart, Touching + Could Not Put Down - Excellent Read Excellent book.This author is an excellent writer and I have read all of his work-I have yet to come across anything he wrote that isn't good.             The Maltese Falcon131 reviews Dashiell Hammett Vintage, 1989 You'll Read It, Like It, and Ask for Another! + "Falcon" lays an egg... + Do You Really Need a Review of This Book? + Best Mystery Novel ever             The Killing of Strangers11 reviews Jerry Holt Lucky Press, LLC, 2006 Thrill Ride in Ohio + Fun history lesson + Awesome Book + The Killing of Strangers + A plot-driven page-turner             Tomato Red: 622 reviews Daniel Woodrell Plume, 2000 Tough and True + Absolutely Stunning! + A Fine Book (But a Bit Too Ozarkian) + Exceptional! + Blood ,sweat, toil and tears             Muscle for the Wing2 reviews Daniel Woodrell Pocket, 1998 Tough, brash, great!!! + Juice Hardboiled Writing This is the third book by Woodrell which I've read and I plan to get to everything he's written. I love his use of language, his intelligent and accurate depiction of low and not-so-low life. With simple economy and smooth plotting, he unwinds stories which surprise us with their ...             No Country for Old Men410 reviews Cormac McCarthy Knopf, 2005 An Engaging and Thought-Provoking Book + When is evil too much to face? "No Country for Old Men" is a unique book. Utilizing a staccato and direct writing style, Cormac McCarthy covers many weighty topics under the umbrella of a disarmingly direct and powerful storyline. Topics such as life and death, good and evil and choice versus chance are all touched upon ...             The Death of Sweet Mister17 reviews Daniel Woodrell Plume, 2002 Just Tragic + one of the greatest books i've ever read + Criminal White Trash + A Hard Tale + Astonishing             The Big Sleep108 reviews Raymond Chandler Vintage, 1988 "Tough Like Some Guys Think They Are Tough" + Where it all began + One of the earliest detective noir fiction books Before Jim Thompson's nihilistic, tough guy crime fiction, and long before smart-talking private detectives like Robert Crais' Elvis Cole or Dennis Lehane's Patrick Kenzie, there was Raymond Chandler and his prototype hard boiled PI, Phillip Marlowe. While Hammett's Sam Spade pre-dates Marlowe's ...             I Am No One You Know : Stories10 reviews Joyce Carol Oates, 2004 Exquisite Trauma from the Personal to the Global + Oh My! Oh My! Where is the Six Star Button ? + Stories that grab you and hang on + America's Master Short Writer