Re: RARA-AVIS: Jason Starr question

From: Ron Clinton ( clinton65@att.net)
Date: 03 Aug 2003


From: "Michael Robison" < zspider@gte.net>
> I'm getting ready to order some books from Amazon and
> I've got Jason Starr's TOUGH LUCK on the list. I've
> never read him and I notice there are several others available
> by him. Is TOUGH LUCK a good one to start with? What
> would you recommend starting with? What is his best?

They're all terrific; Starr's one of my favorite authors, hands down. He does it about as well as -- and in most cases, better than -- many of the classic noir authors we all admire. Absolutely outstanding writer. Having said that, I would say that HARD FEELINGS is probably my least favorite of the bunch -- but even at that, it's a good read. Starr hasn't written a bad novel yet.

Speaking of remarkable novels, I just finished a novel that was firmly in the Starr tradition -- a down-and-out protagonist entrenched in circumstances spiraling out of control and, as in some of Starr's works, a liberal dose of humour thrown in for good measure...in this case, enough to label this one on the satirical side of noir. Fully-fleshed characters, thrilling narrative, clean & terse prose. SINCE THE LAYOFFS by Iain Levinson. One of the best crime/noir books I've read for quite some time...hmm, maybe since Starr's last one. If you like Starr -- or hitman novels -- you'll like this one.

Here's a review I found of it: http://www.noirnovels.com/review.php?review=16

Ron Clinton

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