--- K Montin <
kmontin@total.net> wrote:
>
> James Crumley, The Mexican Tree Duck followed
by
> Bordersnakes. Purely
> coincidentally, I read them in the right order.
Milo
> doesn't figure in the
> first, and in the second, alternate
first-person
> chapters are narrated by
> him and Shugrue. If I were writing a thesis on
the
> subject, I could
> probably find features to distinguish their
voices,
> but in a quick read it
> was the content, not the form, that gave it
away.
> That, and the helpful
> chapter headings. Too many people to count
get
> killed, usually shot. The
> stories are convoluted and move right along.
The
> Mexican Tree Duck I found
> somewhat more implausible than Bordersnakes,
but
> they're both worth a read.
> I am not a Western fan, but I see elements of
the
> Western in them, starting
> with the setting.
That's pretty astute. I think Crumley's books since DANCING
BEAR are best appreciated more as buddy Westerns than
traditional PI fare. I loved both of these, but I'm a
slavering Crumley fan. Haven't read the new one yet.
> John D. MacDonald, Bright Orange for the
Shroud
> (1965). Hey! A Gold Medal
> at last. At a library sale, for 50 cents apiece,
I
> picked up half a dozen
> JDMs PBs plus a hardcover omnibus edition, A Tan
and
> Sandy Silence and Two
> Other Great Mysteries (The Long Lavender Look
and
> Bright Orange for the
> Shroud, as I realized when I got home). McGee
goes
> after some con artists
> who have fleeced an acquaintance of his.
He
> triumphs, if only partially,
> but there is a happy romantic ending, although
not
> for him, the eternal loner.
ORANGE has one of my favorite McGee villians, the swamp
dwelling, atavistic throwback Boo (gotta love that name)
Wexwell.
> Ross Thomas, The Money Harvest (1975). One of
his
> Washington novels, in
> which lawyer Ancel Easter and unorthodox
> investigator Jake Pope (I don't
> think they are series characters, but I'm not
sure)
> try to figure out what
> is going to happen on a certain date. Whatever
it
> is, people are being
> killed over it. The plot revolves around
politics,
> greed, blackmail, and
> the commodities market. Thomas plots
fantastically
> well and his writing is
> equally good.
I thought this was very fine. His PORKCHOPPERS is even
better, one of the best poltical novels I've ever read.
doug
===== Doug Bassett
dj_bassett@yahoo.com
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