--- In
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, DJ-Anonyme@... wrote:
>
> John mentioned that many contemporary literary
novels don't have form,
> much less formula. William asked if that was a bad
thing. That
> interchange reminded me of a question I sometimes
entertain: What
> authors are experimenting with form and formula in
hardboiled and noir
> fiction?
I think K.C. Constantine worked out a formula of his own, one
that I haven't seen elsewhere in crime fiction. There are
crimes and there are cops, but the stories became
progressively social studies of people in a particular place
and era. An excellent series that developed transversally to
trends. I think Constantine's work has staying power. And to
define his novels as "police procedurals" seems quaintly
inadequate.
Best,
mrt
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