Kevin is most certainly right that I just skim the surface of
non-US HB writers. Plus I listed only Brit writers. However,
there is one Brit I can't believe I left off my short list,
Ted Lewis. Ain't no way GBH and Get Carter aren't hardboiled
or noir or whatever. They are definitely stark, dark crime
fiction. Sure, the other two Carters dilute the franchise a
bit, but they're still pretty good. And Billy Rags has a lot
in common with US prison books like Bunker's Animal Factory
or Smith's Stone City.
Not being that familiar with international jazz, I can't
comment on foreign-to-US practitioners, but Paul does have
one thing right with his jazz analogy -- it seems American
hardboiled, too, is often more respected in Europe. As Kevin
pointed out, there are many US writers, new and old, who are
unobtainable in the States. I, too, read my first Pelecanos
as an import from UK. And I live all of two miles from where
Nick Stephanos does.
As far as few foreign HB writers being printed in the US
goes, less HB, period, is being printed. For instance, I sure
hope someone picks up John Shannon now that he has been
dropped by his publisher. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a
Brit imprint, say Mask Noir, Last Exit or Do Not Press.
Of course, I must ask, is the same thing going on in the UK?
I've noticed through some UK sites that most of the Nick
Sharmans have fallen out of print. And weren't they the basis
of a series of successful series of TV movies? (Speaking of
which, are any of them available on video in the US?)
Mark
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