I just finished the Hard Case reprint of The Peddler by
Richard Prather, and this was quite an achievement in
writing. I've read a half dozen or so Shell Scott books,
enjoyed them for what they were, but this book caught me by
surprise. You can think of it as a mix of Pacino's Scarface
and a Jim Thompson inspired nightmare. Tough kid Tony Romero
works his way up the ladder in the prostitution racket, and
things go from bad to worse with a bit of madness and
paranoia thrown into the mix. The writing, at least for me,
is very interesting, a naturalness to it that reminded me of
Paul Cain. Very tough, unflinching, and it's hard to imagine
this book being released in 1952. Anyway, this is well-worth
reading, and Charles, if you have any stories of the reaction
this book caused when it came out, I loved to hear them. And
pass onto Mr. Prather that this is one hell of a great
book.
--Dave
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