Mark Sullivan wrote:
>Carrie, if you felt Block's Burglar was too cute
(can't argue with >that),
>you've gotta read more Scudder. The early ones, like
Sins of >the Father,
>are okay, but the reaches its stride with Eight
Million >Ways to Die. That,
>along with When the Sacred Ginmill Closes, are as
>good as the contemporary
>PI novel gets.
Thanks for the tip. Is there a big advantage to reading the
series in order, or should I skip straight to "Eight
Million"? I'm not a read-in-order fanatic, and some of these
are hard to find.
Forgot to mention Jeremiah Healy/Cuddy as one I've read and
liked recently.
I think the point when I threw the "Burglar" book was when
the narrator made some pun on the word "dyke" in reference to
Bernie's lesbian friend; something about the littleDutch boy
putting his finger in, etc - I wasn't so much offended as
pained by the pun. Though I really like the extensive word
play in the Keller books - it seems to go with Keller's
methodical personality and doesn't feel like something
imposed by the author. When I started reading Dortmunder, I
realized that's what I expected the Bernie books to feel
like. Nothing wrong with the various series being different,
and I suppose that's one of the reasons both Westlake and
Block write so many different series, each with a different
"feel."
Though I'm enjoying Westlake's lighter books so far, which of
the "dark" ones would you recommend? I remember reading an
article in GQ, I think, a few years back arguing that Leonard
and Block had both gotten softer as time went on but Westlake
had kept his edge. Can't remember what specific books were
referenced, and I've really never been able to do Leonard at
all - again probably starting with the wrong books. I tried
"Cat Chaser" and "Get Shorty," and though I appreciated the
quality of writing in both, neither story held my
interest.
recommendations appreciated as always, Carrie
*****************
"Is that what you do for a living?" she asked. "Find
folks?"
"Sometimes," I said. "Other times I just look."
-James Crumley, "The Last Good Kiss"
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