The Hackman Blues

by Ken Bruen, Ray Banks (Foreword)

"This violent, profane novel. . .is also wickedly entertaining and, in places, quite funny."? Booklist "Bruen combines jazz, drugs, sex, and violence into a heady brew that goes down easy and leaves a long aftertaste."? Publishers Weekly "A masterpiece of London noir."? BBC Greater London Radio " The Hackman Blues is British noir at its most brutal and honest. The Hackman Blues is the book that will change the way you read crime fiction, that will show up most other writers trading in the darkness of the soul as rank amateurs compared to Ken Bruen. This is noir. This is Bruen. This is The Hackman Blues ."?Russel McLean, author of The Good Son Brady is fifty, gay, and a manic-depressive professional criminal of Irish descent, strung out on lithium and excessive drinking. Add in a lethal ex-con, an Irish builder obsessed with Gene Hackman, and the biggest funeral Brixton has ever seen, and what you get is the Blues like they've never been sung before. This new edition features an original foreword by British crime writer Ray Banks and a new afterword by Ken Bruen! Ken Bruen has been nominated for two Edgar Awards and has won or been nominated for pretty much every other mystery and crime award out there, including the Barry, Macavity, and Shamus awards. His books have been adapted to film? Blitz (starring Jason Statham) and London Boulevard (starring Colin Farrell and Keira Knightley)?and for British television ( The Guards ). He lives in Galway, Ireland.

Genres: Crime, Fiction, Ireland, Noir

200 pages, Paperback

First published April 13, 1997

About the author

Ken Bruen was an Irish writer of hardboiled and noir crime fiction.

Reviews

[LJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

THE HACKMAN BLUES – Okay
Ken Bruen – 2nd book
Brady is a gay, bipolar, tough guy, criminal-detective ex-con. He is asked to find a white girl in Brixton, which sounds simple, but causes all kinds of complications.

I am a huge fan of Bruen’s more recent works (The Guards, The Killing of the Tinkers, The Magdalen Murders), but you can really tell this is his 2nd book and he hasn’t found his voice as yet.

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, violent, darkly funny, and written in the author's trademark staccato like style this was a good early work by Bruen though he definitely got better with later books.

[Bill McFadyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short novel with characters straight out of a Guy Richie movie. A light read for an afternoon on a subbed. I loved the nods to music and film scripts - I am sure there is more to Ken Bruen than this light fluff.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only Bruen can do this...

[Pam]

rec via bookmooch

[Vaughan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but not great. Is this his first book? If it's not, what is his first book?

[Asher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ken Bruen at his most hard boiled.

[John Sheehan · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was OK. It read more like a first draft than a fully formed novel. It was very short.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical Bruen, fast paced, enjoyable, violent.