This special box set includes three gritty crime novels from Charles Goodey's Last Stand, Not Sleeping Just Dead and Fighting Back. For fans of John D. MacDonald, Raymond Chandler, Mickey Spillane and Elmore Leonard. Goodey's Last Stand (Joe Goodey #1) - Hailed as “...the next best thing to finding a new and unsuspected Raymond Chandler phantasmagoria” (The New Yorker), this hard boiled mystery novel might be Joe Goodey’s last. After the San Francisco PD dismisses Joe Goodey from the force and runs him out of town for shooting the mayor’s cousin, the ex-detective's career prospects look bleak. But then a local exotic dancer turns up murdered—and more importantly, her secret journal of clients goes missing. The mayor himself extends Joe Goodey the save the city's esteemed politicians from public embarrassment by retrieving the dancer's black book and Joe gets his badge back. But fail to deliver, and there are far worse fates than death for a down-and-out former cop. Not Sleeping, Just Dead (Joe Goodey #2) - She was rich, young and pretty—so why did Katie Pierce jump? Unless she didn’t. Former San Francisco detective turned private investigator Joe Goodey is broke and needs a case. When a wealthy man shows up at Goodey's local watering hole and cuts him a check on the spot to investigate his wealthy niece’s alleged suicide, Goodey immediately shuttles off to the scene of the a mansion housing a local cult called The Institute. To find the killer and uncover the truth about Katie Pierce's death, Goodey must infiltrate The Institute's ranks. But as the investigation twists and turns through the mansion's labyrinthine halls, Goodey finds that the murderer might not even be the most dangerous person in the group. Fighting Back - When Harry Castor opens a bar to support his family, no sooner do the doors open than local gangster Charlie Rizzo waltzes right through them, demanding a cut of the action. With his entire life's savings invested in the bar, Harry Castor can’t afford to pay Rizzo protection. But Harry can’t afford not to, either. Out of options, Harry concocts a desperate plan to fight back against the vicious mobster. But as the stakes escalate and the men's duel becomes more violent, both Harry and Rizzo realize that their thirst for vengeance and retribution could cost them the one thing they swore to protect—their families.
Goodey’s Last Stand Joe had to sign a paper resigning from the police force. His boss even tells him of all his citations which Joe was proud of, he tells now him of all the calls they got about someone impersonation a policeman. Joe you don’t look like a cop, and now with this shooting a relative of the mayor. Go to Mexico for six months, then we will see. An interesting noir will he find work as a PI, or come back. NOT SLEEPING JUST DEAD He maybe a PI now, but business is slow, a rich business guy comes wants answer about his granddaughter. She got mixed up with a cult, and was a drug addict, found below a cliff. He is more of a bumbling guy searching for answer, the character of him was well define in this plot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
The Jewish man took all of his savings and opened a bar. A member of The Mob tried to force the man into accepting "protection" . The man refused and the dispute was on.
Interesting box set. First two books have the same lead character, the third book was totally different. Each book had it's good points and kept me interested until the end.
Three of the best cemeteries I have read in a long time! Really kept you looking for the next incident to happen! Lots of action and suspense in each and every one!
Charles Alverson is an excellent writer. This book, The Triple Shot Box, contains Goodey's Last Stand, Not Sleeping, Just Dead and Fighting Back, all very good.
These 3 books are great reads. I will definitely look for additional books by Charles Alverson and wouldn't hesitate to recommend these books to friends
All books were ok.. I liked Goodey, disappointed he wasn't in the last book though! Ah well... I did however like the last book.. give them a read they aren't too bad!
There's no mystery here, these are two guys who don't like each other and from that fact comes the rest of the action, including self-confidence and self-discovery of the protagonists.