Can't really help you with the book about the contract killer with the samurai code, but it sounds like something I'd like to read.
As for the others, Ross Thomas rules.
As for Melville, be sure to check out Le Doulous.
If you like Ghost Dog, check out Seijun Suzuki's Branded to Kill, one of the influences on it (you'll recognize a scene Jarmusch cribs). His Tokyo Drifter ain't bad either.
Mark
> To: rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com
> From: zoebleck@gmail.com
> Date: Wed, 8 Apr 2009 01:05:29 +0000
> Subject: RARA-AVIS: an intro and a question
>
> I've been lurking for a few weeks--joined because I was looking around for information and got a hit from a post here about Ross Thomas --whom I'm presently obsessed with...I don't know how I've missed him for all these years--have gone through John D. MacDonald periods, and Ross MacDonald periods--for some reason I thought he wrote police procedurals in the McBain vein and didn't bother with him. (nothing against McBain, I just am not that into procedurals)
>
> I picked up Briarpatch in the paperback exchange section of the library and was blown away.
>
> As for me--I've always loved detective novels--from Nancy Drew on--and read both old ones and new.
>
> I'm devoted to Film Noir also--Kiss Me Deadly, Detour--you name it, I'll watch it.
>
> I'm currently working my way through the films of Jean-Pierre Melville--started with Army of Shadows, have seen Le Deuxième Souffle,Bob le flambeur, and just watched Le Samourai last night--what an incredible filmmaker--his control and style is pretty astounding--I'm theorizing without enough evidence probably, but it occurred to me this morning that his subject is death--and death looked at squarely in a way that is pretty rare.
>
> But, this is my question for you all--in the Jim Jarmusch film, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, Forrest Whitaker plays a killer, a kind of holy man who kills, and of course follows the way of the Samurai. I could swear i read a mystery about a very similar character--a loner who did contract killing and lived by the Samurai code. He lived in a van. I can't remember the title of the book, or who wrote it--and there are no credits in IMDB for Jarmusch's film that mention it being based on a novel.
>
> Does anyone remember this book? I read it not long before the movie came out--some time in the '90s--and it was new when I read it.
>
> I associate it with Thomas Perry for some reason--i know Perry didn't write it, but I might have just started reading him at the same time.
>
> It's great to be here--Zoe
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> ------------------------------------
>
> RARA-AVIS home page: http://www.miskatonic.org/rara-avis/
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