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Nolan #3-4
Double Down
Veteran thief Nolan tangles with a skyjacker and vigilante in two full-length novels from Grandmaster Max Allan Collins (
Road to Perdition
), collected in one volume for the first time ever.
It Takes a Thief to Take a Thief.In the aftermath of a bloody heist, Nolan and Jon find themselves flying home to count their ill-gotten gains -- but a skyjacker taking the same flight has other plans. Meanwhile, in Des Moines, someone is offing members of the Mob-connected DiPreta family and the Mob thinks maybe Nolan can make it stop. Maybe he can -- for a six-figure fee.Originally published as two separate novels (and unavailable in bookstores for 40 years!), DOUBLE DOWN finds Nolan and Jon pursuing the American dream in their inimitable criminal fashion. Flying high off his recent return after more than three decades in SKIM DEEP, Nolan is one of MWA Grand Master Max Allan Collins' most unforgettable characters, and DOUBLE DOWN is Nolan at his hard-boiled, larcenous best.
327 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 25, 2021
26 people are currently reading
80 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
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 31, 2022
Two books in the Nolan series: Fly Paper and Hush Money collected in one volume. This is where the series became it's own thing, as the situation is established. In the first one, Nolan and Jon rip off the Comfort family, who would become their arch villains for a while. Then they fly home, and their plane is skyjacked!
The second book is a parody of The Executioner series and the many imitations proliferating the newsstands back in those days.
Now, I really wish Collins had been able to continue his series. These are excellent 70's time capsules, as well as being excellent novels.
The second book is a parody of The Executioner series and the many imitations proliferating the newsstands back in those days.
Now, I really wish Collins had been able to continue his series. These are excellent 70's time capsules, as well as being excellent novels.
June 14, 2021
DOUBLE DOWN contains two books from Max Allan Collins’ Frank Nolan series, which was originally published almost 50 years ago. Both are gems. Nolan, a master criminal heist planner, was too good a character in too good a series to dwell in obscurity.
Hard Case Crime has been releasing these titles in the same manner in which Ernest Hemingway’s characters go bankrupt: gradually and then suddenly. TWO FOR THE MONEY, containing reprints of two novels that first appeared in the early 1970s, was published in 2004. Then...crickets until 2020, when SKIM DEEP appeared. Now we are blessed just a few months later with DOUBLE DOWN, which revives FLY PAPER and HUSH MONEY. Both are as sharp, fresh and entertaining as if they were written yesterday.
ROAD TO PERDITION, which is arguably Collins’ best-known work, was almost 20 years in his future when FLY PAPER and HUSH MONEY were published. The Nolan books demonstrate that the talent that gave rise to ROAD TO PERDITION was firmly established well before Michael O’Sullivan was introduced to the world of crime fiction. FLY PAPER finds Nolan running what is, for all intents and purposes, a hotel management school in an Iowa resort for the Chicago crime syndicate. The mob in the 1970s is in the process of converting its interests into legitimate businesses, and it needs people to run them. Nolan shows them how it is done and sends them on his way. He is paid well enough for this, though it is far from a princely sum. The worst of it, though, is that he is bored.
So when a former associate of Nolan’s turns up on his doorstep, bloodied but unbowed as the result of a doublecross, Nolan is interested in acquiring a little off-the-books side action while helping his former/current partner-in-crime obtain a measure of revenge. He is assisted in this endeavor by Jon, his protégé of sorts, an aspiring comic book artist who also shows some talent in criminal matters. He just needs guidance, which Nolan is more than able to give. Meanwhile, a clever but not smart engineer is working on his own, unrelated heist. As might be expected, paths will cross and turns will twist all the way to a surprise ending in which the coincidences are actually credible and entertaining, even as the reader wonders what occurred the next day, and thereafter.
HUSH MONEY takes place almost immediately after FLY PAPER. A sniper is targeting the members of the DiPretas, a well-known Iowa family who has long been suspected of having ties to organized crime. It is all but certain that the bloody murders are motivated by some kind of revenge. The Chicago crime family approaches Nolan, requesting that he make the problem stop. It takes a while --- an interesting “while,” for sure --- for the reader to learn the whys of the murders, as well as the reason that Nolan is somewhat uniquely qualified for the job. Jon is along again, of course, and finds himself in an extremely interesting situation that might cause him trouble, although he has no desire to extricate himself from it. There are a number of unexpected twists and turns, which serves as a reminder that Collins has been writing memorable crime fiction for well over four decades with no apparent sign of slowing down.
Either of the novels contained in DOUBLE DOWN would be worth the price of admission all by itself. The Hard Case Crime imprint has plans to publish the remaining volumes in the series on a slow roll over the next couple of years, and lovers of crime fiction as it was meant to be written will be the richer for it.
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Hard Case Crime has been releasing these titles in the same manner in which Ernest Hemingway’s characters go bankrupt: gradually and then suddenly. TWO FOR THE MONEY, containing reprints of two novels that first appeared in the early 1970s, was published in 2004. Then...crickets until 2020, when SKIM DEEP appeared. Now we are blessed just a few months later with DOUBLE DOWN, which revives FLY PAPER and HUSH MONEY. Both are as sharp, fresh and entertaining as if they were written yesterday.
ROAD TO PERDITION, which is arguably Collins’ best-known work, was almost 20 years in his future when FLY PAPER and HUSH MONEY were published. The Nolan books demonstrate that the talent that gave rise to ROAD TO PERDITION was firmly established well before Michael O’Sullivan was introduced to the world of crime fiction. FLY PAPER finds Nolan running what is, for all intents and purposes, a hotel management school in an Iowa resort for the Chicago crime syndicate. The mob in the 1970s is in the process of converting its interests into legitimate businesses, and it needs people to run them. Nolan shows them how it is done and sends them on his way. He is paid well enough for this, though it is far from a princely sum. The worst of it, though, is that he is bored.
So when a former associate of Nolan’s turns up on his doorstep, bloodied but unbowed as the result of a doublecross, Nolan is interested in acquiring a little off-the-books side action while helping his former/current partner-in-crime obtain a measure of revenge. He is assisted in this endeavor by Jon, his protégé of sorts, an aspiring comic book artist who also shows some talent in criminal matters. He just needs guidance, which Nolan is more than able to give. Meanwhile, a clever but not smart engineer is working on his own, unrelated heist. As might be expected, paths will cross and turns will twist all the way to a surprise ending in which the coincidences are actually credible and entertaining, even as the reader wonders what occurred the next day, and thereafter.
HUSH MONEY takes place almost immediately after FLY PAPER. A sniper is targeting the members of the DiPretas, a well-known Iowa family who has long been suspected of having ties to organized crime. It is all but certain that the bloody murders are motivated by some kind of revenge. The Chicago crime family approaches Nolan, requesting that he make the problem stop. It takes a while --- an interesting “while,” for sure --- for the reader to learn the whys of the murders, as well as the reason that Nolan is somewhat uniquely qualified for the job. Jon is along again, of course, and finds himself in an extremely interesting situation that might cause him trouble, although he has no desire to extricate himself from it. There are a number of unexpected twists and turns, which serves as a reminder that Collins has been writing memorable crime fiction for well over four decades with no apparent sign of slowing down.
Either of the novels contained in DOUBLE DOWN would be worth the price of admission all by itself. The Hard Case Crime imprint has plans to publish the remaining volumes in the series on a slow roll over the next couple of years, and lovers of crime fiction as it was meant to be written will be the richer for it.
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
December 5, 2022
Double Down is the second collection of Nolan two-for-ones from Hard Case Crime as the publisher reprints the titles with beautiful new covers. The first novel, Fly Paper, begins to really set the series in motion as a series. It's also an excellent time capsule into when it was written, and our heroes Nolan and Jon gain enemies before having to take on a skyjacker. The second novel, Hush Money, see them taking on an Executioner/Punisher vigilante with their sights set on the Oufit. A few years ago, I began rereading all the books in the series to prepare for the coda volume Skim Deep, so I was worried that revisiting these novels so soon would diminish them, but that was not the case at all. MAC provides us with vivid and interesting series characters as well as great ones that come in and out of our heroes' lives. I tore through the two in three sittings, even though the story was still fairly fresh in my mind.
Special Thanks to Hard Case Crime, Titan Books and Edelweiss Plus for a digital ARC.
Special Thanks to Hard Case Crime, Titan Books and Edelweiss Plus for a digital ARC.
April 12, 2024
2 books in one.
Fly Paper and Hush Money.
Both books were excellent showcases of Nolan being Nolan. Hush Money had a sour ending though. No HEAs in a Nolan book these are pulp novels after all.
Fly Paper and Hush Money.
Both books were excellent showcases of Nolan being Nolan. Hush Money had a sour ending though. No HEAs in a Nolan book these are pulp novels after all.
June 1, 2021
Ok; neo-pulp. Collins is reprinting his early catalog, a lot of which was caught in various publishing company disputes.
February 15, 2024
Max Allan Collins and Charles Ardai delivered a bit of pun in Double Down. The book is actually two books in one. Readers will enjoy them even more when they read Collins’ explanation of how his “Nolan” series of books ended up with postponed and revised publication. Part of the problem, as he notes in the front matter was that Don Pendleton of The Executioner fame, the best-selling pulp adventure series of one man’s war against the mafia published at least a decade before Marvel’s The Punisher appeared, thought Collins was trying to rip him off because of the similarity in protagonist names (Mack Bolan versus Nolan). No wonder the second novel in Double Down, Hush Money, has a one-man war against the mafia that ends quite differently than either a Bolan novel or a Punisher comic!
One of the fascinating aspects of the Nolan novels is his partnership with a failed artist, comic book nerd named Jon. The nephew of a valued friend and colleague who was murdered, Nolan helped Jon get revenge. In the first novel of Double Down, Fly Paper, the title also is a pun. Part of the story is a skyjacking and part of the story is a revenge plot on behalf of another of Nolan’s former colleagues. Jon assists Nolan in what the experienced hard case (See, I can do word play, too, Charles!) thinks is going to be a straightforward caper. Jon convinces Nolan to accomplish the revenge heist from a headquarters at a regional comic book (and media) convention. Jon surprises Nolan at times in this novel and, as Collins notes from observations of a previous editor, Jon rather humanizes Nolan.
Hush Money also has a dual meaning. It is not only a slang term for paying a person to keep them quiet (although, as a certain former president knows, it doesn’t always work) or for a contract in which a hit man is paid to ensure a person’s permanent silence. In this novel, there are offers of hush money and there are incidents in which the payoffs somewhat backfire.
Yes, both novels are, admittedly, what Collins calls “pulp adventure.” Some of the action scenes and “coincidences” are as improbable as those in The Shadow, The Spider, The Green Hornet, Doc Savage and more modern thrillers, only without the disguises and secret bases. Yet, they are well-written enough to feature what I consider some extremely vivid lines. In one scene, Nolan who is almost a notoriously penurious as Jack Benney, is stuck in a taxi with a garrulous cabbie. Collins writes: “The price in this case was double-stiff: the tinny racket of that disembodied mechanical head hooked to the dash, wolfing down Nolan’s money, was depressing enough, let alone having to put up with the cabbie’s gloomy line of patter.” (p. 66) And, I couldn’t help but shake my head at the cynical humor of law enforcement commenting on a gangster killed by a sniper during a golf outing: “It isn’t every day somebody shoots a hole in one.” (p. 194) At another point, a greedy operator is viewed as likely to: “find yourself in the middle of a job as sloppy as Fibber McGee’s closet and end up in a jail cell about as big.” (p. 224)
Although more perceptive than amusing, I appreciated the observation about a character’s uncontrolled predilection for gambling as compared to alcoholism or sexual addition as practiced, “in dead earnest, with little joy and less success.” (p. 49) Then, even though it is simply stated and hyperbolic, I had to catch my breath when Nolan was described as having “had enough bullets in him to provide ammunition for a banana republic revolution.” (p. 232)
I would hope you could tell that I enjoyed these books a lot. They may be pure escape (duh!) and part of a genre that gets less respect than a broadcast television series, but they are very, very good for their genre.
One of the fascinating aspects of the Nolan novels is his partnership with a failed artist, comic book nerd named Jon. The nephew of a valued friend and colleague who was murdered, Nolan helped Jon get revenge. In the first novel of Double Down, Fly Paper, the title also is a pun. Part of the story is a skyjacking and part of the story is a revenge plot on behalf of another of Nolan’s former colleagues. Jon assists Nolan in what the experienced hard case (See, I can do word play, too, Charles!) thinks is going to be a straightforward caper. Jon convinces Nolan to accomplish the revenge heist from a headquarters at a regional comic book (and media) convention. Jon surprises Nolan at times in this novel and, as Collins notes from observations of a previous editor, Jon rather humanizes Nolan.
Hush Money also has a dual meaning. It is not only a slang term for paying a person to keep them quiet (although, as a certain former president knows, it doesn’t always work) or for a contract in which a hit man is paid to ensure a person’s permanent silence. In this novel, there are offers of hush money and there are incidents in which the payoffs somewhat backfire.
Yes, both novels are, admittedly, what Collins calls “pulp adventure.” Some of the action scenes and “coincidences” are as improbable as those in The Shadow, The Spider, The Green Hornet, Doc Savage and more modern thrillers, only without the disguises and secret bases. Yet, they are well-written enough to feature what I consider some extremely vivid lines. In one scene, Nolan who is almost a notoriously penurious as Jack Benney, is stuck in a taxi with a garrulous cabbie. Collins writes: “The price in this case was double-stiff: the tinny racket of that disembodied mechanical head hooked to the dash, wolfing down Nolan’s money, was depressing enough, let alone having to put up with the cabbie’s gloomy line of patter.” (p. 66) And, I couldn’t help but shake my head at the cynical humor of law enforcement commenting on a gangster killed by a sniper during a golf outing: “It isn’t every day somebody shoots a hole in one.” (p. 194) At another point, a greedy operator is viewed as likely to: “find yourself in the middle of a job as sloppy as Fibber McGee’s closet and end up in a jail cell about as big.” (p. 224)
Although more perceptive than amusing, I appreciated the observation about a character’s uncontrolled predilection for gambling as compared to alcoholism or sexual addition as practiced, “in dead earnest, with little joy and less success.” (p. 49) Then, even though it is simply stated and hyperbolic, I had to catch my breath when Nolan was described as having “had enough bullets in him to provide ammunition for a banana republic revolution.” (p. 232)
I would hope you could tell that I enjoyed these books a lot. They may be pure escape (duh!) and part of a genre that gets less respect than a broadcast television series, but they are very, very good for their genre.
April 30, 2022
Even mediocre Max Allan Collins provides more entertainment value than much of the crime fiction that is out there, and with this volume one gets two episodes from the neo-noir series featuring the professional thief Nolan for the price of one. Double Down is a recent Hard Case Crime reissue of the third and fourth novels of Collins’ Nolan series, Fly Paper and Hush Money. Originally written back in the ’70’s, but not published until 1981, these novels have since been often out-of-print.
In Fly Paper, Nolan has settled into retirement from pulling jobs for the Detroit mob, surviving old enemies to manage one of organized crime’s legitimate businesses, the Tropicana hotel and nightclub outside Chicago. But Nolan receives a call from his protégé Jon that sets the pair up for a heist of some easy money from a member of the Comfort family, a crime clan who continue as a principal antagonist to Nolan in the series. Meanwhile, a man plots the daring hijacking of a flight for some ransom money. Unfortunately for this man, he has chosen the flight that Jon and Nolan are taking after netting their easy score.
Fly Paper is an odd entry to the Nolan series compared to the others I’ve read. The heists and crimes come down entirely to happenstance, showcasing the Pasteur quote “Fortune favors the prepared mind.” It all ends up feeling like a cakewalk, with Nolan and Jon barely breaking any sweat. Additionally, the novel has the feel of being two stories set in one (compounded here with Fly Paper being paired with another novel.) There is the one plot with the Comfort family, which easily resolves, and then there is the plot inspired by the real history of “D.B. Cooper” and his hijacking of Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305. I imagine Collins read the news stories about this stunning event back in the early 1970’s and thought, hmm, I wonder how that would’ve gone down if a real bad ass were on board at the time to steal from the thief? Beef that concept up with a set-up to get Nolan on the plane, and print it.
Hush Money takes place concurrently with Fly Paper, and immediately following. Someone in Des Moines is killing business associates of organized crime, and the Mob thinks that Nolan may be the best person out there to find who is responsible and cleanly make it end. With the amount they offer him, how could Nolan turn it down, especially with Jon eager to help? It takes a good third of the short novel for Nolan and Jon to even appear, so a good chunk of Hush Money involves the killer, the targets, and their families during the time when Jon & Nolan are making bank off the Comforts and an odd plane trip home. Again, this gives Hush Money the feel of being two stories that merge into one. The plot feels superior to that in Fly Paper, though, with less of a reliance on happenstance, and without the DB Cooper gimmick going on. It’s also interesting to see Nolan work in a role of mediator where he ends up not ever having an ‘enemy’ or ‘evil person’ who he has to go up against for survival.
Neither Fly Paper or Hush Money are ground-breaking or remotely compare to the best noir that Collins has produced. But, regardless, he can write. Nolan shines with style, wit, and a charming elegance that imparts that compulsively readable pulp crime vibe. Jon has more naiveté, but an earnest drive to learn and find success. The stories and dialogue smoothly flow to give a simply entertaining diversion of crime fiction, bread-and-butter of the Hard Case Crime line that doesn’t demand much, but also doesn’t insult or fail.
In Fly Paper, Nolan has settled into retirement from pulling jobs for the Detroit mob, surviving old enemies to manage one of organized crime’s legitimate businesses, the Tropicana hotel and nightclub outside Chicago. But Nolan receives a call from his protégé Jon that sets the pair up for a heist of some easy money from a member of the Comfort family, a crime clan who continue as a principal antagonist to Nolan in the series. Meanwhile, a man plots the daring hijacking of a flight for some ransom money. Unfortunately for this man, he has chosen the flight that Jon and Nolan are taking after netting their easy score.
Fly Paper is an odd entry to the Nolan series compared to the others I’ve read. The heists and crimes come down entirely to happenstance, showcasing the Pasteur quote “Fortune favors the prepared mind.” It all ends up feeling like a cakewalk, with Nolan and Jon barely breaking any sweat. Additionally, the novel has the feel of being two stories set in one (compounded here with Fly Paper being paired with another novel.) There is the one plot with the Comfort family, which easily resolves, and then there is the plot inspired by the real history of “D.B. Cooper” and his hijacking of Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305. I imagine Collins read the news stories about this stunning event back in the early 1970’s and thought, hmm, I wonder how that would’ve gone down if a real bad ass were on board at the time to steal from the thief? Beef that concept up with a set-up to get Nolan on the plane, and print it.
Hush Money takes place concurrently with Fly Paper, and immediately following. Someone in Des Moines is killing business associates of organized crime, and the Mob thinks that Nolan may be the best person out there to find who is responsible and cleanly make it end. With the amount they offer him, how could Nolan turn it down, especially with Jon eager to help? It takes a good third of the short novel for Nolan and Jon to even appear, so a good chunk of Hush Money involves the killer, the targets, and their families during the time when Jon & Nolan are making bank off the Comforts and an odd plane trip home. Again, this gives Hush Money the feel of being two stories that merge into one. The plot feels superior to that in Fly Paper, though, with less of a reliance on happenstance, and without the DB Cooper gimmick going on. It’s also interesting to see Nolan work in a role of mediator where he ends up not ever having an ‘enemy’ or ‘evil person’ who he has to go up against for survival.
Neither Fly Paper or Hush Money are ground-breaking or remotely compare to the best noir that Collins has produced. But, regardless, he can write. Nolan shines with style, wit, and a charming elegance that imparts that compulsively readable pulp crime vibe. Jon has more naiveté, but an earnest drive to learn and find success. The stories and dialogue smoothly flow to give a simply entertaining diversion of crime fiction, bread-and-butter of the Hard Case Crime line that doesn’t demand much, but also doesn’t insult or fail.
December 6, 2021
Hard Case Crime is republishing Collins' Nolan books. This volume collects two of them, "Fly Paper" and "Hush Money". They were both written in the early 70s. Collins explains in the introduction that because of the vagaries of publishers of pulp adventure stores, they were not first published until the early 80s.
Nolan is inspired by Donald Westlake's novels starring Parker. Nolan is also a tough guy loner who organizes armed robberies. He had a falling out with the mob. There was a hit on him. In previous books he worked that out and now he is running a mob hotel.
As "Fly Paper" begins, Nolan is restless and bored. He learns of a chance to rob a bad guy with a pile of cash. He and his young sidekick Jon pull off the job. On the flight home, they end up in the middle of a D.B. Cooper type skyjacking. Nolan's annoyed reaction to an amateur trying to pull off a caper is great fun, the skyjacker is very well done, and the ending is satisfying.
As "Hush Money" begins, Nolan is still bored. Someone is assassinating members of the crooked DiPreta family that runs Des Moines. They run legitimate businesses like construction, restaurants, and real estate but they are loosely connected with the mob and cut too many corners. Someone is assassinating members of the family. The mob asks Nolan to straighten out the mess.
Nolan and Jon visit Des Moines. The plot gets fairly complicated. There are a few too many coincidences to be plausible. This was an OK thriller but not as good as most of the other Nolan books.
Collins has fun with narrative tricks. He likes to jump back and forth in time. He changes the viewpoint from character to character. He ends at a cliff hanger and then later has someone describe what happened. These books rely less of pages of dialogue and more of a mix of narrative then most of these kinds of thrillers.
This is a good solid series, a cut above most of the paperback original thrillers of the 70s and 80s.
Nolan is inspired by Donald Westlake's novels starring Parker. Nolan is also a tough guy loner who organizes armed robberies. He had a falling out with the mob. There was a hit on him. In previous books he worked that out and now he is running a mob hotel.
As "Fly Paper" begins, Nolan is restless and bored. He learns of a chance to rob a bad guy with a pile of cash. He and his young sidekick Jon pull off the job. On the flight home, they end up in the middle of a D.B. Cooper type skyjacking. Nolan's annoyed reaction to an amateur trying to pull off a caper is great fun, the skyjacker is very well done, and the ending is satisfying.
As "Hush Money" begins, Nolan is still bored. Someone is assassinating members of the crooked DiPreta family that runs Des Moines. They run legitimate businesses like construction, restaurants, and real estate but they are loosely connected with the mob and cut too many corners. Someone is assassinating members of the family. The mob asks Nolan to straighten out the mess.
Nolan and Jon visit Des Moines. The plot gets fairly complicated. There are a few too many coincidences to be plausible. This was an OK thriller but not as good as most of the other Nolan books.
Collins has fun with narrative tricks. He likes to jump back and forth in time. He changes the viewpoint from character to character. He ends at a cliff hanger and then later has someone describe what happened. These books rely less of pages of dialogue and more of a mix of narrative then most of these kinds of thrillers.
This is a good solid series, a cut above most of the paperback original thrillers of the 70s and 80s.
March 19, 2023
This omnibus collects the 3rd and 4th novels in the Nolan series. This series is not on the same level as Max Allan Collins’ Road to Perdition, Black Hats or the Quarry books, but they are still entertaining in their own right.
Fly Paper (1981)
“When killing gets easy, a man is less than human, in Nolan’s opinion, and a man who likes killing isn’t a man at all. Besides, it’s bad for business.”
This is the best Nolan book I’ve read (so far). It is structured into two distinctive halves with separate plots.
In the first half, Nolan and Jon rob the Comforts, a hillbilly redneck family of petty thieves that go on to become recurring antagonists in this series. The comedic heft of this story is balanced by the emotional core of Jon’s choice to kill a man for the first time to save Nolan’s life.
The back half of the novel concerns the trip back home with the stolen loot. Nolan must stop a skyjacker who has taken over their plane. The antagonist Ken is a D. B. Cooper-type character. I love the airline’s policy to serve unlimited free drinks during a skyjacking…Keep the good times rolling!
Hush Money (1981)
Steve McKracken is trying to kill the DiPreta crime family, whom he blames for the death of his parents. He is a satire of Mack Bolan of the Executioner series, a traumatized Vietnam vet who believes he is waging a righteous war against evil on US soil.
Nolan is sent as a sort of negotiator by The Family in Chicago. His involvement is only because of some minor friendships with the principle characters twenty years ago, which are hastily shoehorned into the backstory to give some vague plausibility for his being there.
Jon does not have much to do in the story.
The final chapter redeems the weak plot to some degree. The bosses in Chicago cannot be trusted. They kill a character to whom Nolan has promised protection, so Nolan has to figure how to get even without starting another war with the Mafia:
“He’d thought the change of regime meant something. That times had changed, that businessmen had taken over, public relations men and computers taking the place of strongarms and Tommy guns. Which was true, he supposed, to a point. Past that point, however, underneath the glossy corporate image, the Family was the same bunch of ruthless bastards they’d always been, always would be.”
Fly Paper (1981)
“When killing gets easy, a man is less than human, in Nolan’s opinion, and a man who likes killing isn’t a man at all. Besides, it’s bad for business.”
This is the best Nolan book I’ve read (so far). It is structured into two distinctive halves with separate plots.
In the first half, Nolan and Jon rob the Comforts, a hillbilly redneck family of petty thieves that go on to become recurring antagonists in this series. The comedic heft of this story is balanced by the emotional core of Jon’s choice to kill a man for the first time to save Nolan’s life.
The back half of the novel concerns the trip back home with the stolen loot. Nolan must stop a skyjacker who has taken over their plane. The antagonist Ken is a D. B. Cooper-type character. I love the airline’s policy to serve unlimited free drinks during a skyjacking…Keep the good times rolling!
Hush Money (1981)
Steve McKracken is trying to kill the DiPreta crime family, whom he blames for the death of his parents. He is a satire of Mack Bolan of the Executioner series, a traumatized Vietnam vet who believes he is waging a righteous war against evil on US soil.
Nolan is sent as a sort of negotiator by The Family in Chicago. His involvement is only because of some minor friendships with the principle characters twenty years ago, which are hastily shoehorned into the backstory to give some vague plausibility for his being there.
Jon does not have much to do in the story.
The final chapter redeems the weak plot to some degree. The bosses in Chicago cannot be trusted. They kill a character to whom Nolan has promised protection, so Nolan has to figure how to get even without starting another war with the Mafia:
“He’d thought the change of regime meant something. That times had changed, that businessmen had taken over, public relations men and computers taking the place of strongarms and Tommy guns. Which was true, he supposed, to a point. Past that point, however, underneath the glossy corporate image, the Family was the same bunch of ruthless bastards they’d always been, always would be.”
January 24, 2022
I like Max Collins' writing and these are great, pulpy tales in the style of the 1970s. In the two novels stitched together into Double Down, the protagonist, Nolan, hasn't made his break with the Chicago "family" yet.
Regarding the series overall, it does seem a little implausible to me that someone with Nolan's temperament and skills could be content as just a nightclub manager and vice versa, that someone who came up as a nightclub manager could develop the nerve and steeliness that Nolan possesses.
In the preface to this book, Collins is proud of creating the Comfort family, but I don't see them as the great antagonists that he does. I think mostly it falls flat for me because they are just psychotic grifters. They don't have an organisation and resources behind them.
Also in the preface Collins talks about setting two sympathetic forces at odds but in Fly Paper I didn't find Ken, the skyjacker, sympathetic at all. I was hoping the entire time that Nolan would kick his ass and that he would die.
Regarding the series overall, it does seem a little implausible to me that someone with Nolan's temperament and skills could be content as just a nightclub manager and vice versa, that someone who came up as a nightclub manager could develop the nerve and steeliness that Nolan possesses.
In the preface to this book, Collins is proud of creating the Comfort family, but I don't see them as the great antagonists that he does. I think mostly it falls flat for me because they are just psychotic grifters. They don't have an organisation and resources behind them.
Also in the preface Collins talks about setting two sympathetic forces at odds but in Fly Paper I didn't find Ken, the skyjacker, sympathetic at all. I was hoping the entire time that Nolan would kick his ass and that he would die.
August 18, 2021
The next two Nolan books, 3 and 4 in the series. Initially written as a homage of Stark's (AKA Westlake's) Parker novels, not as good as the originals, but they are still good, pulp, hardcore crime novels.
This time we see Nolan settling down and getting bored. So when his young partner has an opportunity for some action, Nolan jumps right in. A quick score to get even with thieves who double-crossed a fellow thief, Nolan gets the money back, and walks straight into a hijacking following in the footsteps of D. B. Cooper. In the second novel, Nolan is called to figure out who is taking out the brothers of a crime family, the Chicago mob asking him to help solve this problem.
A fun read.
This time we see Nolan settling down and getting bored. So when his young partner has an opportunity for some action, Nolan jumps right in. A quick score to get even with thieves who double-crossed a fellow thief, Nolan gets the money back, and walks straight into a hijacking following in the footsteps of D. B. Cooper. In the second novel, Nolan is called to figure out who is taking out the brothers of a crime family, the Chicago mob asking him to help solve this problem.
A fun read.
September 20, 2021
Solid double book entry in the Nolan series. I love Collins books. I really enjoy his Noir inspired series Nolan and Quarry. He understands the genre so well. In fact at times I think besides Donald Westlake writing as Richard Stark is there anyone better. Strong story telling, plenty of character and easily accessible stories. He is not asking for you to be overly sympathetic about the characters just to enjoy their stories. Nolan and Jon are complete characters and sit high in Collins pantheon of gritty crime fiction.
March 6, 2021
Thanks to Hard Case Crime for the snazzy new edition of two early Nolan & Jon adventures by Max Collins.
They’ve been out of print for nearly 40 years but are still full of fun.
After reading the new Nolan novel ‘Skim Deep’ recently it was great to go back to the beginning. Hard boiled crime fiction at its best.
They’ve been out of print for nearly 40 years but are still full of fun.
After reading the new Nolan novel ‘Skim Deep’ recently it was great to go back to the beginning. Hard boiled crime fiction at its best.
July 5, 2021
Double the action-Double the fun!
Any book with "Nolan" and "Max Allan Collins" on the cover is guaranteed to be a great slam-bang read of action and surprises.
If you like the others in the Nolan series, don't miss Double Down. If you like Richard Stark's Parker series, this one is also for you.
A total winner--times two!
Any book with "Nolan" and "Max Allan Collins" on the cover is guaranteed to be a great slam-bang read of action and surprises.
If you like the others in the Nolan series, don't miss Double Down. If you like Richard Stark's Parker series, this one is also for you.
A total winner--times two!
July 3, 2022
Two books in this volume:
Book One is titled “Fly Paper", and has Nolan and Jon stealing back money from a family who stole it from a friend of theirs. So, introducing the Comfort family, well… “They aren’t a family, they’re a social disease.”! Also, the two men wind up on an airplane that gets skyjacked, but that’s a whole other ball of wax…
Book Two is titled “Hush Money”, in which an assassin takes on the DiPretas crime family. And, small world that it is, turns out Nolan knows the guy! This is the better of the two stories, and has a good ending to boot!
Book One is titled “Fly Paper", and has Nolan and Jon stealing back money from a family who stole it from a friend of theirs. So, introducing the Comfort family, well… “They aren’t a family, they’re a social disease.”! Also, the two men wind up on an airplane that gets skyjacked, but that’s a whole other ball of wax…
Book Two is titled “Hush Money”, in which an assassin takes on the DiPretas crime family. And, small world that it is, turns out Nolan knows the guy! This is the better of the two stories, and has a good ending to boot!
August 11, 2023
Not as good as the first two book combo, but Collins has a subtle way of taking the story where you don't expect it to, not necessarily anti-climactic, but perhaps a more realistic and less over-the-top Hollywood plot structure. Establishing the main character as looking like the actor Lee Van Cleef seems like a good choice for representing Nolan, especially if you've seen Van Cleef in movies.
June 7, 2022
Hard to go wrong with the Nolan stories by Max Allan Collins. In this, we get two sharp and entertaining novels together: FLY PAPER and HUSH MONEY. Thanks to Hard Case Crime for releasing these as well as further Nolan books.
October 6, 2023
After waiting FOREVER for the TWO readers in front of me on Libby I finally, after several weeks, got my chance to read this. I read it in two days.
May 5, 2025
Both good as stand-alone novels, and a great double set. The endings are a bit off, but both are much more good than bad. My first experience of Nolan, but not the last.
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