Crímenes de película

The Long Firm Trilogy #3

by Jake Arnott

Corren los años noventa y el crimen es el último grito en Londres. El periodista Tony Meehan ha logrado controlar sus tendencias homicidas y malvive redactando las autobiografías de otros. Julie McClusky lleva toda la vida intentando alejarse de su herencia familiar criminal. Ir a ver Pulp Fiction con su novio parece un plan inofensivo hasta que este se empeña en escribir la historia definitiva sobre los gánsteres londinenses. Sus indagaciones suponen para Julie la oportunidad de averiguar de una vez por todas quién encargó la muerte de su mafioso padre años atrás. Mientras tanto, Gaz, un delincuente de poca monta, pero con visión de futuro, acaba de salir de la cárcel. Con su instinto habitual para el dinero fácil descubre en seguida que el negocio está en la venta de pastillas de diseño a jovencitos. Durante una rave muere una chica y empiezan las complicaciones. Aunque no lo parezca, sus vidas están estrechamente vinculadas a un hombre: Harry Starks. Con Crímenes de película, Jake Arnott concluye magistralmente su trilogía dedicada al submundo gansteril de Londres de finales del siglo pasado.

Genres: Crime, Fiction, Noir, Mystery, Thriller, British Literature, London

360 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Jake Arnott is a British novelist, author of The Long Firm and four other novels. In 2005 Arnott was ranked one of Britain's 100 most influential gay and lesbian people. When he was included in a list of the fifty most influential gay men in Britain in 2001, it was declared that he was widely regarded as one of Britain's most promising novelists.

Reviews

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read all of Mr. Arnott's Long Firm trilogy about fifteen years ago and loved them and was tempted to give it five stars on the strength of that memory but have resisted. If I read them again maybe I'll gave more to say.

[Alberto Illán Oviedo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cierre de la trilogía por todo lo alto. Tres historias que confluyen, tres personajes, cada uno motivado por su pasado y la búsqueda de un futuro, tres vidas en torno a un gánster, que ha sido personaje secundario e imprescindible en las tres novelas, y un botín desaparecido que hay que encontrar y recuperar. Arnott nos hace tres estudios psicológicos del alma humana. Almas grises, casi negras, para los que el delito es una herramienta, incluso para la más ‘pura’ de ellas, que lo plantea como un método para saciar su vacía y atormentada vida, sin darse cuenta del daño que puede hacer a sus cercanos. Novela negra, no de buenos y malos, sino de fracasados que buscan un éxito efímero, con un final impecable para cada uno de ellos, incluso para los secundarios que los acompañan.

[Tosh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jake Arnott's first two novels were fantastic. A great history of British crime from the 60's and onward. This third one "truecrime' sucks. Why? Perhaps he felt like he had to finish the series off, but nevertheless the intensity stops in this particular volume. But I am not giving up hope on Arnott. I think he will re-charge and come back with another winner. But do read "The Long Firm" as well as "He Kills Coppers." Both are excellent crime novels but also deals with the byproducts of that age in London as well.

[Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm, I'm not sure how I feel about about this book. 2-stars is a little low and 3-stars is a little high. It's not a bad book, because it is interesting, but it's not enthralling. I think it's because it reads more like a novel featuring criminals rather than a crime novel.

[Jak · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a very good outing from Arnott as he wraps up his lose crime trilogy with ‘Truecrime’. Gone are the quick changes between character and POV and the gritty yet soothing tone to his narration which I most appreciated in ‘The Long Firm’ but also enjoyed in ‘He Kills Coppers’ and in come uninteresting one dimensional characters with little purpose to the over all thread and some serious pacing issues.

It’s a worry to think that Arnott might be a one hit wonder when you consider just how much I enjoyed ‘The Long Firm’

The worst of the characters was Julie McClusky, daughter of slain Gangland figure Jock McClusky. Her whole story and purpose seemed way of base and nothing to do with want Arnott’s previous books entertaining. Nothing she did seemed genuine and her whole motivation thin and desperate. It’s notable that this was first significant female character in the trilogy (maybe shoe horned in at the publishers request?) and possibly indication that he doesn’t write good female characters.

And while I recognise life imitates art his thinly veiled characters reprints of real life persons/events really did start to ware thin. Some but not al include.

Jez = Guy Richie
Ruby Rider = Barbara Windsor
Scrapyard Bulldog = Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrel’s
Gaz = Lenny McClean and Vinnie Jones
Gove Corporation = Ministry of Sound
Harry Starks = in a small way, Ronnie Biggs

We also had Tony the murdering hack back in the story and he was again more or less superfluous. I though he was superfluous in HKC’s and it was clear he was being set up for a major part in Truecrime. So it was disappointing that he was in there but added nothing and quickly became an irrelevance.

Gaz was another pointless character that struck me as padding to fill out what would have otherwise been a thin premise and thin book.

All in all Arnott has tried the trick of taking several strands and trying to intelligent weave them together into a coherent ending. However, as the strands are entirely separate the end product just doesn’t work. It would be like trying to weave wood, metal and woo the end product just would not feel right.

[Diane · Rating 1 out of 5]

An extremely disappointing read, considering the fact that the first novel in this trilogy, 'The Long Firm' was one of the best books I'd ever read. The plotline was thin, the characters one-dimensional, and halfway through, the reader was left hoping that all the characters would just hurry up and get gunned down in a hail of bullets, just to get the thing over and done with. Redemption came in one of the final scenes, where a modicum of suspense was unexpectedly achieved, but this was much too little, much too late. A sorry end to a promising trilogy. Arnott should have quit while he was ahead.

[Oscar Espejo Badiola · Rating 3 out of 5]

El mundo de los bajos fondos ingleses descritos con el estilo británico, parecido a Irvine Welsh, rápido, cruel, sin medias tintas, cada cosa con su nombre y encima, la novela acaba bien, no es una historia de perdedores, que es lo que siempre pasa y lo que me gusta, dicho sea de paso.
Me gusta el estilo, sin grandes descripciones, sin entrar en detalles escabrosos, sin repeticiones y con el lenguaje justo, sin cuestionar la época vivida .
Los personajes son todos distintos, se relacionan entre ellos, pero no son repetidos ni antagonistas, se complementan y siempre me han gustado las novelas con diferentes historias que al final se acoplan bien, sin artificios.
Por poner un pero, un pequeño pero, diría que el final lo veo un poco precipitado, todo encaja, pero en muy poco tiempo se resuelve todo, aunque eso sí, perfectamente.
Un gran descubrimiento el autor, pero de estas tres novelas, me quedo con la primera "Delitos a largo plazo", siendo las tres muy buenas, los personajes de la primera me llenaron más.

[Reason Restored · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Arnott’s Long Firm which centred on Harry Stark, erstwhile gangster. His name appeared in the blurb for this, and as Stark was such a compelling character i bought into it.
The book was enjoyable and well read, but Stark is barely a peripheral character so I was a bit disappointed.
The strange thing is that while the novel applies a sort of critical scrutiny to the whole True Crime genre, this book and its protagonists are really guilty of all the cliches and tropes that the author pinpoints so correctly.
Nonetheless, Arnott is an excellent novelist with an amazing ear for dialogue (well served by the talented reader here) and i really enjoyed it.

[Keith Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bravura piece of writing and a very satisfying conclusion to this excellent crime trilogy.

To quote from Erwin James of the Guardian " An ironic, post modern morality tale....The acid house scene, the rave scene, new lads meeting old lags, Brit gangster movies made by mockney directors, ecstasy... Arnott marshals these seedier elements of the 1990s in fine style".

If you enjoyed this book, do go back and revisit The Long Firm and He Kills Coppers, and marvel at this fine piece of writing that deserves all the praise it has received.

[Dan Harrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm going to have to read Arnott's first two books based on the terrible reviews this one is getting from readers familiar with him. Their expectations must have been exceedingly high to express such disappointment in truecrime.
Having come to this book with zero expectations I found it an unpredictable, crazy, delightful ride. I was somewhat let down by the ending but thoroughly enjoyed the read.

[Paul Westwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it’s fair to say that my expectations are being constantly confounded at the moment. I put aside a pile of books to read and then get rid of because I thought they’d all be fairly average, but I’ve found that most of them are better than I expected. This is another book that entered my collection from who-knows-where that has exceeded expectations. The title and the cover image led me to believe it would be a poorly written fug life kind of gangster porn, something like ‘Yardie’ which I rated poorly. What I got was an intelligently conceived satire on the world of crime and popular culture.
It's about British gang culture in the 1990s and has three separate narrative threads. The first follows a journalist who works as a ghostwriter for ex-criminals. The second follows a young actress who is trying to escape her family’s criminal background. And the last follows a small-time crook and drug dealer with aspirations beyond his abilities. Each thread is written in the first person and each character has a distinct voice and vocabulary. The journalist’s narrative is cleverly written with literary references and a wide vocabulary. The actresses’ narrative captures the voice of a young aspiring actor, educated and contemporary, with plenty of thespian allusions. The drug dealer’s story is, as you might expect, told using much simpler language and plenty of casual swearing.
All three characters are interesting and engaging in their own way, each with well-conceived back-stories and believable motivations. Throughout the story, small connections are made between the three storylines: the same minor character here, or a location in common there. As the story progresses you can see that the three narratives are converging and as it reaches its conclusion it becomes clear what will bring them together. This has a nice, neat feel to it that would probably suit the cinema very well, which I’d like to think was exactly the point Arnott wanted to make.
There was one quirk in the journalist’s story that I never quite understood. In the first chapter, as he’s interviewing a real gangster, it’s revealed that he’s a killer himself, having murdered a few people. This reminds me of Ring, which I read recently, where a character reveals that he’s a rapist. In both scenarios, their secret crimes never impact on the progression of the plot so I find it hard to grasp what their purpose was, from a literary perspective. In TrueCrime, the revelation is well-done and it adds a nice little shock to the first chapter, but I couldn’t see how it impacts on the wider story. The only thing I can think is that it helps to give credence to some of the risky things he does later in the story.
For some reason, the backstory presented in the dealer’s narrative felt more forced than the other backstories. In the others it felt like the information being imparted flowed naturally from the situation the characters were in, while his historical ruminations felt like they were necessitated by the plot rather than his situation. This is, of course, always a fine-line to walk when writing any story, how to present important backstory in a way that doesn’t feel contrived.
In the actress’s story, her boyfriend is making a low budget film about East End gangsters. All three plot-lines touch on the cult of gangster that was everywhere in the 90s and this subplot is one of the most obvious examples of that, along with the popular infamy achieved by the dealer later in the novel. The final film is described in detail and, for me, the film ‘Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ came to mind immediately. There were other similar films but that was probably the most iconic of the genre. I could imagine this novel being filmed in a similar style, making it a kind of post-modern satire of itself.
So, to summarise, this is an enjoyable, well-constructed novel that has a bit of fun with the gangster hype that was prevalent in the 90s. All three plot-lines are interesting though the drug dealer one felt a bit laboured. I would recommend it and would happily read more by the same author.

[Andrea Miles · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest, although the story overall is good , the way it's written doesn't help the comprehension of the story. It is written from several viewpoints but in some cases it's not really clear who's pov you are reading .

[Julian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bit of a slowish start but pacy conclusion - well structured overall, good story and good finish to the trilogy.

[Christopher Day · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the constant changing of the narrative between the different characters to be confusing.

[sally davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the first two in the trilogy, but still a great read.

[Dony Grayman]

Último tomo de la trilogía. No recuerdo si tengo esta misma tapa.

[Jackie Thurston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a mixture of fact and fiction set in a gangster empire New and old villains meeting with celebrities and media this is very cleverly written a great story

[Mark Jeffries · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third novel in The Long Firm trilogy. Not quite as good as the first two but nonetheless still a page turner and an enjoyable read.

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first two and strains to justify its existence. Still some really fire scenes. Arnott’s got a new one coming out in the fall, which has me excited.

[Garry Nixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

So it was true! Bowie was a fan!

[Alberto Valverde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novela negra un tanto diferente a la habitual que leo últimamente. En este caso no hay detective, sino tres historias de tres personajes relacionados de una u otra manera con la delincuencia (un periodista, una actriz de segunda o tercera fila, y un criminal) cuyas vidas tienen relación de manera directa o indirecta con un mafioso de la zona, y con el robo pasado de 13 millones de libras en lingotes de oro, cuyo destino final todos desconocen. La novela abarca desde finales de los 70 a final de los 90, siendo fiel reflejo del trapicheo de droga de cada momento (de la hierba y la heroína al ácido y la época rave, acabando con la coca) Bien estructurada y narrada, supone una historia bastante curiosa y entretenida. que va tejiéndose en torno al misterio del oro y del mafioso mientras conocemos mas sobre la vida de los tres protagonistas, para al final converger en un final del que no todos los personajes acabaran satisfechos.

[Richbern · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third book in Arnott's British Gangland trilogy is a fitting end to a great series--despite what many of the other reviewers have said. Gone is the glamor of the 60s gangsters, this book catches the characters struggling with aging--and relevance--in the 90s. While the writing still captures much of the stark grittiness of the first two books, here it's tinged with sadness as the characters face a very different world fueled by drugs and brutal, casual violence. One section of the novel perfectly captures the sense of loss with a couple of twentysomethings making a movie about the 60s gangster era. To them it's a world of glamor and larger-than-life characters. But to the the men that lived it, and who are consulting on the movie, it's a tragic irony.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Initially I found this depressing in a 'man's relentless inhumanity to man' sort of fashion but the introduction of Julie and the promise of a coming-togther of all characters added impetus. The first passage involving Julie and Eddie Doyle stayed with me all day, such impact the words had and there was much to enjoy, not least the high quality writing. I'd not hesitate to read others by Jake Arnott.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Took forever to get going, with too many characters telling you exactly what they're feeling. Bit of a comedown, compared to the prior two books in the series. Or maybe I just got tired of Arnott's tropes and motifs.

[Kenneth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11452417

[RA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, fast-paced, easy, fun read. Want to read his other books.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read, now I have to find the first 2 books in the trilogy.

[Martinxo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weakest of the trilogy but still good.

[Paul Hargreaves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even better second time around!

[Jenny Hemming · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not that great. Felt a bit thrown together. Seemed to be a bit of a parody.