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Nolan #7
Spree
Nolan, the reformed thief, has finally gotten his life in order. He has a restaurant and a beautiful lady friend. Then Coleman Comfort shows up and makes things clear immediately. He and his son have kidnapped Nolan's girlfriend, and if Nolan does not do what they say, Sherry is dead.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
4 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Max Allan Collins
808 books1,323 followersReceived the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) in 2006.
He has also published under the name Patrick Culhane. He and his wife, Barbara Collins, have written several books together. Some of them are published under the name Barbara Allan.
Book Awards
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1984) : True Detective
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1992) : Stolen Away
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1995) : Carnal Hours
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) : Damned in Paradise
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1999) : Flying Blind: A Novel about Amelia Earhart
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (2002) : Angel in Black
Japanese: マックス・アラン・コリンズ
or マックス・アラン コリンズ
He has also published under the name Patrick Culhane. He and his wife, Barbara Collins, have written several books together. Some of them are published under the name Barbara Allan.
Book Awards
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1984) : True Detective
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1992) : Stolen Away
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1995) : Carnal Hours
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) : Damned in Paradise
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1999) : Flying Blind: A Novel about Amelia Earhart
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (2002) : Angel in Black
Japanese: マックス・アラン・コリンズ
or マックス・アラン コリンズ
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 27, 2023
Take an ex mobbed-up guy and pair him with an overgrown 20year old comic book collector who also plays in a rock band and has a Charles Atlas physique and you have the Nolan and Jon series. This is the final book in the terrific seven book series and it is a great crime thriller that is both easy to read and quick reading.
The basic plot is that, after pulling off a few capers together, Nolan and Jon have both retired from the business. Nolan runs a restaurant/ nightclub called Nolan's and is shacked up with a twenty-two year old blonde Sherry who is also the hostess at his restaurant. Jon is shacked up with the lead singer of his band, but she is heading off to greener pastures and leaving him without a band and without a home. Meanwhile, the Comfort clan rears its ugly head again. One of them spots Nolan and they figure if they grab the girl, they can force him to pull off the ultimate caper with them. This book feels more like one of Westlake's Parker books than any of the other Nolan books, particularly when it comes to putting together the crew and pulling off the heist and all the double and triple crossing that follows.
This is kind of a different version of Nolan than readers of this series might be used to. "In Nolan's life, right now, comfort was very important." He circulates around his restaurant, greeting patrons, and spends nights sometimes "stretched out on a recliner" and watching a boxing match. He now has a slight paunch and plays golf with other business owners in the community.
Sherry had originally been a waitress at a motel he ran for the mob and he had fired her for spilling coffee on too many customer's laps. "Then she sat on his, and they wound up spending the summer together. When she wasn't in a bikini, poolside, she was in his bed and wasn't in a bikini." Now, she's plotting to get Nolan to Vegas and get hitched.
What makes this book stand out from all the various crime thrillers available is Collins' writing, particularly his character development. For instance, the Comforts are a backwoods redneck family with the patriarch (Coleman Comfort) of the family wandering around in overalls. His airhead son, Lyle, dresses like a Miami Vice character but has the brains of a mosquito. Lyle didn't really like killing people, but he did what Pa told him to do. Lyle's sister is Cindy Lou, a cute curvy strawberry blonde freckle-faced sixteen-year old who dresses in a halter and short jeans and barefeet and comes across as "being somewhere between Daisy Mae and Lolita."
The portraits drawn of the Comfort family are just charming. Old Coleman Comfort's wife had been all "Georgia peaches and cream." "Thick as a plank she was, but she kept her looks over the years; never ran to fat." "What did it matter if she thought two plus two was twenty- two, and signed her name with an X?"
In this book as in the others in the series, Nolan realizes that he can never fully retire, that he always is going have to be on his guard, and that the shadows from the past will always haunt him. All in all, this book is exactly what you should expect from Collins: a terrific read that, once you start, you won't put down no matter how late the hour.
The basic plot is that, after pulling off a few capers together, Nolan and Jon have both retired from the business. Nolan runs a restaurant/ nightclub called Nolan's and is shacked up with a twenty-two year old blonde Sherry who is also the hostess at his restaurant. Jon is shacked up with the lead singer of his band, but she is heading off to greener pastures and leaving him without a band and without a home. Meanwhile, the Comfort clan rears its ugly head again. One of them spots Nolan and they figure if they grab the girl, they can force him to pull off the ultimate caper with them. This book feels more like one of Westlake's Parker books than any of the other Nolan books, particularly when it comes to putting together the crew and pulling off the heist and all the double and triple crossing that follows.
This is kind of a different version of Nolan than readers of this series might be used to. "In Nolan's life, right now, comfort was very important." He circulates around his restaurant, greeting patrons, and spends nights sometimes "stretched out on a recliner" and watching a boxing match. He now has a slight paunch and plays golf with other business owners in the community.
Sherry had originally been a waitress at a motel he ran for the mob and he had fired her for spilling coffee on too many customer's laps. "Then she sat on his, and they wound up spending the summer together. When she wasn't in a bikini, poolside, she was in his bed and wasn't in a bikini." Now, she's plotting to get Nolan to Vegas and get hitched.
What makes this book stand out from all the various crime thrillers available is Collins' writing, particularly his character development. For instance, the Comforts are a backwoods redneck family with the patriarch (Coleman Comfort) of the family wandering around in overalls. His airhead son, Lyle, dresses like a Miami Vice character but has the brains of a mosquito. Lyle didn't really like killing people, but he did what Pa told him to do. Lyle's sister is Cindy Lou, a cute curvy strawberry blonde freckle-faced sixteen-year old who dresses in a halter and short jeans and barefeet and comes across as "being somewhere between Daisy Mae and Lolita."
The portraits drawn of the Comfort family are just charming. Old Coleman Comfort's wife had been all "Georgia peaches and cream." "Thick as a plank she was, but she kept her looks over the years; never ran to fat." "What did it matter if she thought two plus two was twenty- two, and signed her name with an X?"
In this book as in the others in the series, Nolan realizes that he can never fully retire, that he always is going have to be on his guard, and that the shadows from the past will always haunt him. All in all, this book is exactly what you should expect from Collins: a terrific read that, once you start, you won't put down no matter how late the hour.
February 20, 2012
Nolan had finally gone legit and was managing a successful club when Cole Comfort kidnapped his girlfriend in order to force Nolan to plan one last job. Can Nolan pull off the job or does Comfort have other ideas...
I've got mixed feelings about this one. On one hand, the story is pretty good. Nolan and Jon are forced back into pulling a job. It takes awhile but the action is pretty intense once it finally starts. The planned heist is slightly far-fetched but still fairly good. There's a bit of smut as well, not unusual for a Collins book. The villains are pretty vile, much more so than Nolan, although Lyle is a sympathetic character.
On the other hand, Jon and Nolan kept doing stupid things that seemed out of character. Does it make sense to sleep with a girl you know is the daughter of the man you're supposed to be watching for while you're staking out his hotel? And Nolan just lets things happen and doesn't do much to track Sherry down. I feel like Collins had a plot and shoe-horned Nolan and Jon into it without regard to how stupid they'd have to act.
I liked Spree but it wasn't without its flaws. Still, it's a quick read and pretty exciting. Get it if you can find it affordably priced.
I've got mixed feelings about this one. On one hand, the story is pretty good. Nolan and Jon are forced back into pulling a job. It takes awhile but the action is pretty intense once it finally starts. The planned heist is slightly far-fetched but still fairly good. There's a bit of smut as well, not unusual for a Collins book. The villains are pretty vile, much more so than Nolan, although Lyle is a sympathetic character.
On the other hand, Jon and Nolan kept doing stupid things that seemed out of character. Does it make sense to sleep with a girl you know is the daughter of the man you're supposed to be watching for while you're staking out his hotel? And Nolan just lets things happen and doesn't do much to track Sherry down. I feel like Collins had a plot and shoe-horned Nolan and Jon into it without regard to how stupid they'd have to act.
I liked Spree but it wasn't without its flaws. Still, it's a quick read and pretty exciting. Get it if you can find it affordably priced.
January 4, 2024
This is probably the best of the series in most ways, but I've got to admit the regressive take on an Autistic character bugged me just enough to keep me from giving it the extra star to fully reflect that.
Yes, I can see the year it came out. Yes, I can say that much of it is from the point of view of less than enlightened people. Yes, it's possible the portrayal could reflect a single individual autistic person. Yes, I've avoided the need to rank down other books, and other media, with similar regressive takes on other minorities because I recognized those as being reflective of the culture of the time they were written.
So, I know I'm being just a little petty, but let's say this is a pretty small pettiness. This was a 4 1/2 star book that I probably would have rounded up and I rounded down instead.
It's a solid ride all along, with a great buildup and exciting resolution. I love how Nolan, Jon and Sherry have developed over the course of the series from stock ideas with a bit of depth into really developed characters. So, I'd certainly say that people who wanted to round up instead have a point.
Yes, I can see the year it came out. Yes, I can say that much of it is from the point of view of less than enlightened people. Yes, it's possible the portrayal could reflect a single individual autistic person. Yes, I've avoided the need to rank down other books, and other media, with similar regressive takes on other minorities because I recognized those as being reflective of the culture of the time they were written.
So, I know I'm being just a little petty, but let's say this is a pretty small pettiness. This was a 4 1/2 star book that I probably would have rounded up and I rounded down instead.
It's a solid ride all along, with a great buildup and exciting resolution. I love how Nolan, Jon and Sherry have developed over the course of the series from stock ideas with a bit of depth into really developed characters. So, I'd certainly say that people who wanted to round up instead have a point.
May 15, 2021
After reading the new Nolan book, I thought I'd go back and see if I could find any of the others. This is the "last" Nolan book, from many years ago, featuring (once again) the Comfort clan and their plan to rob an entire suburban mall. They need Nolan's help, so what do they do? Why, kidnap Nolan's girlfriend Sherry of course. Nolan brings his apprentice Jon back into the fold, and off they go, trying to set up the robbery while searching for Sherry and figuring out how to stay alive and maintain their "straight" existence.
Good, hard-boiled writing and characterization makes this a step above most caper novels. Not quite as good as Westlake's Parker books but still pretty entertaining.
Good, hard-boiled writing and characterization makes this a step above most caper novels. Not quite as good as Westlake's Parker books but still pretty entertaining.
August 27, 2023
The seventh book in the Nolan series, Nolan has retired and went legit. He's running a nightclub off the new mall and doing well. Sherry, the girl he lives with is half his age and they're contemplating marriage in their own way. His partner, Jon, is still with the lead singer from his old band and making comic books. Things change though when the family of their old foes, the Comforts, come across them and realize they are still alive. What follows is the grand score, robbing every store in the mall back in the 80's when malls were still profitable. Nolan and Jon are forced into it and now they've got to get to the Comforts before the Comforts get to them, all in the midst of a score. Good stuff.
November 1, 2024
Coleman Comfort's farm is a crime family ground zero.
Cole and his young grandson and granddaughter have a vendetta against heister Nolan and his young protege. Our heroes killed Sam Comfort and his youngest when Nolan and Jon struck their junkyard bunker to retake twice-stolen loot.
In Spree, this lethal tit-for-tat expands to widescreen epic.
* * *
Cole and his young grandson and granddaughter have a vendetta against heister Nolan and his young protege. Our heroes killed Sam Comfort and his youngest when Nolan and Jon struck their junkyard bunker to retake twice-stolen loot.
In Spree, this lethal tit-for-tat expands to widescreen epic.
* * *
November 29, 2024
Another caper. But this time,Nolan’s an unwilling participant. This book is also known as Mad Money. I picked it up and started reading it with the alternate title till I realized I had already read it under the spree title.
February 7, 2022
Disappointed in the many mistakes Nolan makes throughout.
January 2, 2024
9.5/10
320 pages
320 pages
February 22, 2011
Nolan and Jon are living the straight life now. Nolan owns a restaurant doing well and Jon has finally made it in the comic book industry, drawing a comic he created for a small publisher.
Then the past reaches out once more. The Comfort family is back. One branch the pair had taken down when they tried a double-cross. Old Sam's brother Nolan and his two kids, Lyle and Cindy Lou, are out to avenge their family members.
They snatch Sherry, Nolan's girl friend, and force him to mastermind a plan to rob the mall where his restaurant is located. It's the pre-Christmas season and the bank inside will be loaded with night deposits from the fifty stores. Three jewelry stores, an expensive leather goods shop, designer clothes, appliances and electronics.
The plan is to loot the mall at night because security is nonexistent, the mall owners relying on an alarm system that is tied to a single phone trunk line out of it. Nolan had warned them several times to upgrade. He certainly didn't want to rob the stores. These people were his friends.
He has to find Sherry somehow and stop it because he knows, despite what old Nolan says, the deaths of Jon, Sherry, and himself will follow.
Then the past reaches out once more. The Comfort family is back. One branch the pair had taken down when they tried a double-cross. Old Sam's brother Nolan and his two kids, Lyle and Cindy Lou, are out to avenge their family members.
They snatch Sherry, Nolan's girl friend, and force him to mastermind a plan to rob the mall where his restaurant is located. It's the pre-Christmas season and the bank inside will be loaded with night deposits from the fifty stores. Three jewelry stores, an expensive leather goods shop, designer clothes, appliances and electronics.
The plan is to loot the mall at night because security is nonexistent, the mall owners relying on an alarm system that is tied to a single phone trunk line out of it. Nolan had warned them several times to upgrade. He certainly didn't want to rob the stores. These people were his friends.
He has to find Sherry somehow and stop it because he knows, despite what old Nolan says, the deaths of Jon, Sherry, and himself will follow.
August 6, 2015
Last of the Nolan books and a very exciting read was a great pleasure. I need to read the books between the first two and this one.
February 25, 2019
Pretty in depth for a Nolan, probably the best one yet
November 15, 2013
Not the best Max Allan Collins I have ever read...the plot was somewhat predictable; still an okay book though.
December 30, 2013
Not bad little caper story. Collins' homage apes Westlake and Leonard equally well. Good quick read.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews