Bill Hagen got me!
>For someone who likes to do bad things in church, I'm
surprised you don't
>include SERENADE.
I dunno. I don't remember much about it, but I do remember
really not liking SERENADE. As I remember it, it was a silly
bit of melodrama, more soap opera than crime story, with a
would-be opera singer sashaying in and out of the closet. Or
am I thinking of an entirely different book by Cain.
Funny how racism and sexism in old books slides right by, and
I can adjust for different mindsets, but I can't get my head
around out-dated, plain wrong notions about homosexuality at
all. It's not the attitudes (usually pretty much what you'd
expect) so much as the pseudo-scientific faux-Freud but
bone-headed mumbo-jumbo passed off as well-known fact that
ruins the whole thing for me, especially when the whole plot
depends on it. I had the same problem with one of Howard
Browne's Paul Pine books. The difference being, I think, that
I really liked Howard Browne's stuff, and Cain's stuff just
never hooked me the same way.
Not that I necessarily mind a good chunk of non-criminous
melodrama. I loved JDM's one about the wreck on the highway
(CRY HARD, CRY FAST?). I thought that was one was pretty
good, if I remember correctly. A real ballsy book for a guy
known for hard, fast crime PBOs to tackle.
Kevin Burton Smith The Thrilling Detective Web Site http://www.colba.net/~kvnsmith/thrillingdetective/
An A&E Mystery.com Site of the Week
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