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Blackball
The second, blisteringly original and darkly funny adventure in Jimmy Sangster's acclaimed series of crime novels.
James Reed is an ex-Scotland Yard cop who became the ex-husband of a famous Hollywood actress. He's happily lazing around in the Malibu beach house he snagged in the divorce when a storm slams the coastline with monster waves. He rushes out to help evacuate other homes...and discovers a passed-out, drunken neighbor and a naked woman robbing the man's floor safe. Reed lets her go... a mistake that gets him falsely accused of rape, chased by killers, and hired by a billionaire being blackmailed into marriage. And that's only the beginning of Reed's troubles.
James Reed is an ex-Scotland Yard cop who became the ex-husband of a famous Hollywood actress. He's happily lazing around in the Malibu beach house he snagged in the divorce when a storm slams the coastline with monster waves. He rushes out to help evacuate other homes...and discovers a passed-out, drunken neighbor and a naked woman robbing the man's floor safe. Reed lets her go... a mistake that gets him falsely accused of rape, chased by killers, and hired by a billionaire being blackmailed into marriage. And that's only the beginning of Reed's troubles.
"An unusually shaped plot and vivid characters." Kirkus Reviews
"A satisfying and well-constructed Chandleresque plot. Sangster definitely makes the grade as a gifted suspense writer." Publishers Weekly
"Read a couple of these James Reed novels and author Jimmy Sangster could get to be a habit." Anniston Star
"A second helping of James Reed should be as well received as the first. Sangster certainly has a ball writing this series." Chicago Tribune
"This is a fast-moving, funny, sexy -- very sexy -- story. The conclusion is a shocker. Sangster is writing better than ever and James Reed is a very charming character." Robert J. Randisi, writing in The Orlando Sentinel
236 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 11, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 17, 2019
Reed's Back in Book Two
Jimmy Sangster is one of those forgotten writers whose books are deservedly enjoying a rebirth. All his books are fast-paced, gritty, action-packed and fun to read. The James Reed series works quite well, breathing fresh life into private eye motifs and themes that have been used before. Reed's not Sam Spade. He's more like the suntanned beach bum version of Bogart running around with Michael Caine's face, a London accent, and the keys to a beachfront Malibu bungalow that he got after three years of marriage to the hottest of a Hollywood starlets. His stories reflect Sanger's familiarity with Southern California's schizoid split between face-lifted Malibu real estate agents and sleazy Venice Beach bars. Reed doesn't look for trouble but like any good private eye character it finds him all too easily.
This one starts out with Reed playing Good Samaritan to his neighbors during a storm, which only gets him booked for rape and up to his eyeballs in things he never anticipated.
Jimmy Sangster is one of those forgotten writers whose books are deservedly enjoying a rebirth. All his books are fast-paced, gritty, action-packed and fun to read. The James Reed series works quite well, breathing fresh life into private eye motifs and themes that have been used before. Reed's not Sam Spade. He's more like the suntanned beach bum version of Bogart running around with Michael Caine's face, a London accent, and the keys to a beachfront Malibu bungalow that he got after three years of marriage to the hottest of a Hollywood starlets. His stories reflect Sanger's familiarity with Southern California's schizoid split between face-lifted Malibu real estate agents and sleazy Venice Beach bars. Reed doesn't look for trouble but like any good private eye character it finds him all too easily.
This one starts out with Reed playing Good Samaritan to his neighbors during a storm, which only gets him booked for rape and up to his eyeballs in things he never anticipated.
August 11, 2020
For folks out there that have not discovered the publisher Brash Books, I highly recommend them and their products. I have yet to have read a bad book from them.
I just finished Blackball by Jimmy Sangster and find myself sadder than I get when I finish reading a Ralph Dennis Hardman novel. There are only eight novels written by Jimmy Sangster. Sure there are a whole lot of classic films that he wrote for Hammer but he was maybe a better author than screenwriter.
Black Ball is the second of the James Reed books. He pretty much dives into the story after the event the causes him to look into what was being hidden in the safe of his rich neighbor. I really like the character James Reed. He is not altogether lily white. He is a detective with a lot of gray in him. That being said he does try to do what is right in the end.
This is a good book. Check out the writings of Jimmy Sangster as they are totally worth the time and effort.
I just finished Blackball by Jimmy Sangster and find myself sadder than I get when I finish reading a Ralph Dennis Hardman novel. There are only eight novels written by Jimmy Sangster. Sure there are a whole lot of classic films that he wrote for Hammer but he was maybe a better author than screenwriter.
Black Ball is the second of the James Reed books. He pretty much dives into the story after the event the causes him to look into what was being hidden in the safe of his rich neighbor. I really like the character James Reed. He is not altogether lily white. He is a detective with a lot of gray in him. That being said he does try to do what is right in the end.
This is a good book. Check out the writings of Jimmy Sangster as they are totally worth the time and effort.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews