I'll say the writer is misinformed. Before Chandler, guys
like Hammett, Daly, Erle Stanley Gardner, Raoul Whitfield and
Paul Cain were dealing with distinctly hardboiled characters.
He is also wrong in putting Ross Macdonald (who represents a
shift towards the psychological) in with the hardboiled
school.
Had he said Donald Hamilton, Mickey Spillane or John D.
MacDonald (only in *some* of his fifties' work, though), I
would agree that they continued the hardboiled tradition. But
Ross Macdonald broke with it (in a different way, Jim
Thompson broke with it, too, by way of surrealist suspense
and sheer weirdness).
Speaking of contemporary hardboiled: I just finished _The Ex_
a really scary novel by John Lutz, an excellent hardboiled
writer I've learned to appreciate in the last few years. At
his best, Lutz is as good as Gores (cream of the crop).
If you want a scary double bill, read Westlake's _The Ax_ and
follow it up with Lutz's _The Ex_.
Regards,
MrT
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