Jim wrote:
> Dick Francis, the former champion jockey whose
novels all involve
> horse racing, seems an obvious choice at first,
since his books are
> all admirably tough. They have never quite struck me
as noir,
> though, neither by my definition nor by Jack's.
They're great books,
> though. Four of them feature an ex-jockey turned PI
named Sid Halley.
Dang, you beat me to it.
Yep, tough as all hell, but not quite noir. But oh, so very
very close at times.
Particularly COME TO GRIEF, with all those nasty horse
mutilations.
And WHIP HAND, where the bad guy threatens to amputate Sid's
one good hand.
Alas, the recent one, UNDER ORDERS, isn't quite up to the
standards of the other three (all of which I believe won
Edgars -- surely some sort of record). Although it does have
a few memorable bits, particularly the assault-with-arm-stump
scene.
On another list, someone referred to Francis' books as
"cozies."
!!!!!
Makes me wonder what sort of scene would convince her they're
not cozies. Two Mexican dogs humping on a pile of dead
children?
Kevin
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