--- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, Don Lee <donthepoet@...> wrote:
>
>
> IMHO that's Crumley's best book by far. I read it and the adjoining two that were re-published by Vintage years ago, and the other two were very good, but the ones I've attempted since then haven't struck me at all the same way. Don't know why. But THE LAST GOOD KISS IS, for me, one of the best detective novels period.
>
It is for me, too. One you can put alongside The Long Goodbye, The Taste of Ashes and The Maltese Falcon. Some critics like to say that it was the last truly great PI novel, the swan song as it were. I don't believe that because right now, somewhere, some guy is writing another great one. Just like somewhere, a kid is playing at the piano, waiting to become the next Ellington.
Later novels by Crumley (The Mexican Tree Duck, Bordersnakes) strayed from the genre, they were not very story driven. I liked them, but they were something else, definitely.
Best,
mrt
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