Brian wrote:
> I was under the impression that "Poisonville" was in Montana. I know
> that
> it's modeled on the labor problems in Butte when the IWW tried to
> organize
> the copper miners there during the early part of the 20th century.
> Hammett
> was among the Pinks sent in as strike breakers. The experience
> stayed with
> him.
For a fictionalized take on Hammett, unions, the Pinkertons and mining
companies, keep an eye out for the upcoming DEVIL' S GARDEN by Ace
Atkins. It's a nice companion piece (at least so far) to SPADE AND
ARCHER by Gores, and boasts our man Dash as a young Pinkerton op
called in to work on behalf of the defence in the notorious Fatty
Arbuckle case. But the prologue is all about the murder of Frank
Little. And like Gores, it looks like Atkins has definitely done his
research...
Over the years, numerous contmporary authors (William Denbow, William
Nolan, Gores himself) have tried to drag some of HB's best writer's
into the detective seat, with results ranging from dreadful (Denbow,
who did the truly dreadful CHANDLER) to pretty damn solid (Gores'
HAMMETT).
Gimmicky? Yes. But Atkins, who wrote all those books about the blues
professor (which I also found a little gimmicky), falls somewhere in
between, but he's definitely leaning to the Gores end of the scale
with this one...
Kevin Burton Smith
Thrilling Detective Web Site
"It's Been a Long Time Coming" Edition
Now Online
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