Scatalogic claimed there was little, if any, British
hardboiled worth notice besides Derek Raymond.
First of all, let me agree that Derek Raymond is very worthy
of all of his praise. Also, you are right to seek out Ted
Lewis. And not just the Carter books, GBH is at least as good
as Get Carter.
However, in my Yankee mind, they are far from the only
worthwhile Brit hardboiled writers. I'm a big fan of many of
the Serpent's Tail and Do Not Press, especially Fresh Blood,
writers. I've noted several times before how much I think of
Russell James and Ken Bruen (man, I wish Dufour would get on
the ball and distribute their latest in the US, scheduled for
April but not out yet). They are true hardboiled masters. Let
me add a few more nominees.
Small Time by Jerry Raine is a nicely detailed book about an
off-license clerk coming to terms with being mugged. Has he
come out with a second book? I'd like to read it.
Maxim Jakubowski's Tenderness Junction is a disturbing trip
of a PI into the world of kinky sex, with echoes of Eye of
the Beholder.
John, I'll have to check out David Peace. I picked up
Nineteen Seventy Four.
I recently got around to reading John Milne's Dead Birds,
which has been on my shelf for over a decade. Its downcast
mood kind of reminded me of Greenleaf's Tanner series. Just
in mood, though, this is a very Brit novel. There is no
mistaking Jimmy Jenner for a Yank PI. I've got the other two
in the series.
And, of course, there's Ian Rankin if we expand Brit to
include Scotland. His Rebus series always reminded me a bit
of William McIlvaney's Jack Laidlaw, both solving crimes in
Glasgow's fog, although Laidlaw might have been even gloomier
than Rebus, believe it or not.
A bit lighter, A White Merc with Fins by James Hawes is a
fine, slightly tongue in cheek caper novel. Nicholas Blincoe
was written several books in that interesection between crime
and rave/drug novel (I'm guessing this is who Scatalogic was
complaining about, but I like him).
So I guess I'm more optimistic about Brit hardboiled than
Scatalogic is.
Mark
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