The Booklist review of the latest Stark House Press release:
Brewer, Gil. Wild to Possess / A Taste for Sin. Nov. 2006.
283p. Stark House, paper, $19.95 (1-933586-10-9). These
high-octane crime novels, originally published as pulps in
1959 and 1961 but long unavailable, have much in common: guys
with cheating spouses, drinking problems, and nagging
consciences launch long-shot money grabs with the wrong dames
while being stalked by men with dark agendas. But like a
practiced bluesman, the late Brewer improvised well within
the basic structure. One of the most enjoyable aspects of
both stories (but especially the superior A Taste for Sin) is
how the protagonists doggedly work out every last detail of
what remain utterly crazy schemes. For instance, they'll rob
a bank without knowing if the tellers' vaults can be broken
into by force, but meanwhile they will replace the scratched
kitchen countertop upon which they've been fashioning keys.
Watching these characters make their refreshingly oddball
choices underscores how formulaic many noir tales are. Brewer
also displayed a gift for hard-boiled descriptions:
"Cars littered the sloped lawn like discards on green felt";
"She was beating his head in with a hammer. It was a ball and
peen. She was using the peen." Deliriously delicious. -Frank
Sennett
As a librarian, I have a great respect for reviewers. I wish
I was as articulate as Frank Sennett. Most of my reviews go
something like:
"You gotta read this one!" (If I shake the book vigorously,
it means I really, really liked it.)
George the Librarian
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