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Nolan #7-8
Mad Money
Nolan must rob every store in a mall in one night – or his girlfriend dies. Two Nolan novels from Grandmaster Max Allan Collins, collected in one volume for the first time.
Nolan and Jon have put their lives of crime behind them – but when a cruel adversary from their past resurfaces, they’re forced back into the heist game with a brutal ultimatum: pull off an insanely ambitious overnight robbery or Nolan’s kidnapped lover won’t live to see the morning.
Appearing in bookstores for the first time in 35 years, this is Nolan’s biggest and deadliest job – and Mad Money also features, for the first time ever in the same volume, the bonus full-length novel Mourn the Living, offering a look back at Nolan’s early years as a professional thief.
Nolan and Jon have put their lives of crime behind them – but when a cruel adversary from their past resurfaces, they’re forced back into the heist game with a brutal ultimatum: pull off an insanely ambitious overnight robbery or Nolan’s kidnapped lover won’t live to see the morning.
Appearing in bookstores for the first time in 35 years, this is Nolan’s biggest and deadliest job – and Mad Money also features, for the first time ever in the same volume, the bonus full-length novel Mourn the Living, offering a look back at Nolan’s early years as a professional thief.
416 pages, Paperback
Published April 25, 2023
15 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
Max Allan Collins
802 books1,321 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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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
July 11, 2023
Mad Money reprises in one volume with great cover art, volumes 7 and 8 of the Nolan franchise (although chronologically volume 8 (Mourn the Living) takes place a decade earlier than even Nolan# 1 (Bait Money)).
In Spree, Collins takes 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 second novel in this two-fer set is Mourn the Living.
“Mourn the Living” was the final book published in the Nolan series, but chronologically it takes place ten years prior to the events in Bait Money when Jon meets Nolan. This was also the first one created in the series, written while Collins was still in College.
So does Nolan work without the juxtaposition of the seasoned criminal with the young, naive Jon. You bet it does. In some ways, with Nolan operating as a lone wolf in a strange town, particularly a college town,it does feel more like a Quarry novel than a Nolan one.
What’s great about this book is that it takes place shortly after Nolan makes his break from the Chicago outfit (a resignation given in bullets) and you get all the details laid out. Also, you can see how much a thorn in the side of the Outfit Nolan had quickly become.
In Spree, Collins takes 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 second novel in this two-fer set is Mourn the Living.
“Mourn the Living” was the final book published in the Nolan series, but chronologically it takes place ten years prior to the events in Bait Money when Jon meets Nolan. This was also the first one created in the series, written while Collins was still in College.
So does Nolan work without the juxtaposition of the seasoned criminal with the young, naive Jon. You bet it does. In some ways, with Nolan operating as a lone wolf in a strange town, particularly a college town,it does feel more like a Quarry novel than a Nolan one.
What’s great about this book is that it takes place shortly after Nolan makes his break from the Chicago outfit (a resignation given in bullets) and you get all the details laid out. Also, you can see how much a thorn in the side of the Outfit Nolan had quickly become.
January 15, 2024
The last and the first books in the Nolan series.
In Spree, Nolan and Jon are coerced into robbing the mall containing Nolan's restaurant. Might just be the best book in the series.
The second part, is actually the first story in the series, Mourn The Living. Nolan is wanted by the cops and the mob, but making a living by robbing the latter. A friend calls in a favor, and Nolan goes to a small town in Illinois to look into the death of the friend's hippie daughter. A real time capsule, like most of the books in this series.
Nolan is one of the most underrated series out there.
In Spree, Nolan and Jon are coerced into robbing the mall containing Nolan's restaurant. Might just be the best book in the series.
The second part, is actually the first story in the series, Mourn The Living. Nolan is wanted by the cops and the mob, but making a living by robbing the latter. A friend calls in a favor, and Nolan goes to a small town in Illinois to look into the death of the friend's hippie daughter. A real time capsule, like most of the books in this series.
Nolan is one of the most underrated series out there.
May 3, 2023
Mad Money consists of two Nolan novels: Spree (1987) and Mourn the Living (1999). While neither story is new, they are fun, and Mark Eastbrook nailed the Lee Van Cleef-inspired covers!
In the first novel, Spree, Nolan and Jon plan and execute robbing a shopping complex and attempt to save Nolan’s shanghaied girlfriend, Sherry, from the Comforts’.
While Mourn the Living was published later, it takes place chronologically much earlier in the series. Nolan is still dealing with The Family and kicking ass. This book felt like reading Quarry👌
In the first novel, Spree, Nolan and Jon plan and execute robbing a shopping complex and attempt to save Nolan’s shanghaied girlfriend, Sherry, from the Comforts’.
While Mourn the Living was published later, it takes place chronologically much earlier in the series. Nolan is still dealing with The Family and kicking ass. This book felt like reading Quarry👌
April 23, 2024
2 books in one again. These are very difficult to get in stand alone format so I’m glad hard case rereleased them.
This is Spree and Mourn The Living
Spree is a high action tale where it puts Nolan against the Comfort family yet again! This time Cole and Lyle Comfort are the super villains. They reminded me of the family of in-breaders from the
X-files. Yikes?!? Incest was not what I was expecting in a Nolan caper.
They kidnap Sherry and get Nolan to rob the mall where he has a restaurant and bar. It’s a pretty crazy enterprise and by the end you are not sure how anyone is going to make it out alive!
Super high body count. Nolan prevails but at a high cost.
This is Spree and Mourn The Living
Spree is a high action tale where it puts Nolan against the Comfort family yet again! This time Cole and Lyle Comfort are the super villains. They reminded me of the family of in-breaders from the
X-files. Yikes?!? Incest was not what I was expecting in a Nolan caper.
They kidnap Sherry and get Nolan to rob the mall where he has a restaurant and bar. It’s a pretty crazy enterprise and by the end you are not sure how anyone is going to make it out alive!
Super high body count. Nolan prevails but at a high cost.
November 13, 2023
Another (after 35 long years) Nolan book. The anti-hero from the mind of Max Allan Collins and from that great publisher, Hard Case Crime. I do have a few of the books from the original series and Nolan really didn't look like Lee Van Cleef back then. What the heck, Cleef with a rug.
Old foes of Nolan kidnap his girlfriend. Someone that Nolan seems to have feelings for. Also, he has gone straight. No more jobs except his bar/restaurant, "Nolans." He is blackmailed into robbing the very mall where his business is located. He has to race against time to plan this job and find his girl.
This is also set back in the 1980's. Late 80's to be precise. set in a bygone thing called an enclosed mall. This takes me back in time. Has all the feel as if it were written back then. Hope there's more to come from Nolan.
Old foes of Nolan kidnap his girlfriend. Someone that Nolan seems to have feelings for. Also, he has gone straight. No more jobs except his bar/restaurant, "Nolans." He is blackmailed into robbing the very mall where his business is located. He has to race against time to plan this job and find his girl.
This is also set back in the 1980's. Late 80's to be precise. set in a bygone thing called an enclosed mall. This takes me back in time. Has all the feel as if it were written back then. Hope there's more to come from Nolan.
December 5, 2022
Mad Money is the final two-in-one from Hard Case Crime and that collects the previous published Nolan books under a new, movie poster worthy cover. The first novel, Spree, takes our heroes heisting to an epic level in a breakneck thriller that had me turning the pages as fast as possible. The second, takes us back in time to meet an earlier version of Nolan that is more private eye than thief. It's a character build novel, as we get more insight into Nolan than ever before. Two incredibly different stories, but the same Nolan magic from Max Allan Collins.
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.
July 5, 2023
My favorite installment of the Nolan saga so far, Mad Money contains two Nolan stories “Spree,” and “Mourn the Living.” Each hit the right notes for me in different ways.
Spree is a big-time heist story with real drama between Nolan and his girlfriend Sherri.
Mourn the Living is a very paired down story with a strong noir theme running throughout.
Spree is a big-time heist story with real drama between Nolan and his girlfriend Sherri.
Mourn the Living is a very paired down story with a strong noir theme running throughout.
October 17, 2023
Another excellent set of entries in the Nolan series. There haven't been any bad books in the series yet. I have one left, unless Mr Collins decides to give us more. 🍀🤞
Fun and fast paced, Nolan is an awesome character. I picture Lee Van Cleef if he'd played in the Mel Gibson part in the movie Payback from the 90s. Anybody else get this vibe?
Fun and fast paced, Nolan is an awesome character. I picture Lee Van Cleef if he'd played in the Mel Gibson part in the movie Payback from the 90s. Anybody else get this vibe?
April 1, 2025
Another decent “Quad Cities Noir” story from the king of the Genre, Max Allan Collins…A Nolan and Jon adventure, featuring two former crooks who’ve gone straight, being pulled into a caper of robbing an entire shopping mall…A little dated, but a decent thriller!
May 4, 2023
The last Nolan reprint twofer from Hard Case. This book contains the stories, Spree and Mourn the Living.
Spree is a later Nolan tale, where we find Nolan living a non criminal life as a restaurant/pub owner. Everything seems to be running smoothly, until it gets too Comfortable. This Nolan story might be my favorite. It’s a bit longer than most Nolan stories and allows growth of our characters.
The second story takes place much earlier in Nolan’s career and starts with a bang. The opening scene is a hoot but soon after, the plot turns serious. Nolan finds himself heading back into the Family’s neighborhood to help a friend solve his daughter’s death. A bit more detective but highly enjoyable.
Spree is a later Nolan tale, where we find Nolan living a non criminal life as a restaurant/pub owner. Everything seems to be running smoothly, until it gets too Comfortable. This Nolan story might be my favorite. It’s a bit longer than most Nolan stories and allows growth of our characters.
The second story takes place much earlier in Nolan’s career and starts with a bang. The opening scene is a hoot but soon after, the plot turns serious. Nolan finds himself heading back into the Family’s neighborhood to help a friend solve his daughter’s death. A bit more detective but highly enjoyable.
April 9, 2023
Hard Case Crime completes their re-publishing of all of Max Allan Collins’ “Nolan” books with this “Mad Money” two-fer. I’ve enjoyed every one of the Nolan yarns, but this dual entry may, in fact, top the list.
The first book in this volume is “Spree” which comes in as the longest of the Nolan stories. Many readers consider this one the best and I probably find myself among them, although I hesitate to take anything away from the others as all of them are just absolutely top-notch.
“Spree” is the penultimate Nolan novel, at least as far as chronology is concerned. Nolan finds himself in a comfortable place, having gone straight as owner/manager of his own restaurant/club, located in the Brady Eighty shopping mall during the 1980s. His relationship with Sherry is solid and appears to be headed to a more long-term commitment. Meanwhile, his sidekick, Jon, is finally tasting some minor success with his lifelong dream of writing and drawing his very own comic book series. Unfortunately, that notorious family from the past, the Comforts, have reared their head again, this time led by Coleman Comfort and his son Lyle. Coleman, seeking revenge for several deaths of his family members at Nolan’s hands, makes his play, forcing Nolan to mastermind a truly ambitious heist of the entire 50-store Brady Eighty mall. A wonderful heist story, this one also reaches deep on an emotional level, with some wonderful new characters as well as several intensely dangerous scenes.
The second book in this volume, "Mourn the Living" is, reportedly, Max Allan Collins’ very first novel, written when he was an undergrad in 1967 or ’68, although it wasn’t published until 2001. I had always heard that the entire Nolan series was MAC’s tribute to the “Parker” series by Richard Stark (Donald E. Westlake), and I could really see the style similarities here. This one is pure Nolan with no Jon, no Sherry, and, in fact, acts as Nolan��s origin story. Previous novels have made reference to the events depicted here, especially how Nolan finds himself refusing to carry out an order from “The Family” and has to go on the run. The plot stems from an old friend from the Family named Sid Tisor. Sid’s daughter is dead, the victim of a long fall from a rooftop. Sid wants Nolan to investigate to see if she actually fell…or was pushed. It’s likely LSD and/or heroin was involved. This story is largely one of Nolan acting as PI, investigating and solving the mystery. A nice twist at the end that I should have seen coming, but didn’t, makes this one another fine read.
Together, these two books make a fine pair of bookends for the series, although MAC did provide a follow-up in 2020 with “Skim Deep.” I still have that one to read but I will add that these books, for the most part, read very well in this Hard Case Crime publication order. I am glad, however, that I saved “Skim Deep” until the final one, since it was written last and takes place after “Spree”. I don’t know if there will ever be any more Nolan stories written but if so, I plan to be first in line for my copy, regardless of when it takes place in the timeline.
The first book in this volume is “Spree” which comes in as the longest of the Nolan stories. Many readers consider this one the best and I probably find myself among them, although I hesitate to take anything away from the others as all of them are just absolutely top-notch.
“Spree” is the penultimate Nolan novel, at least as far as chronology is concerned. Nolan finds himself in a comfortable place, having gone straight as owner/manager of his own restaurant/club, located in the Brady Eighty shopping mall during the 1980s. His relationship with Sherry is solid and appears to be headed to a more long-term commitment. Meanwhile, his sidekick, Jon, is finally tasting some minor success with his lifelong dream of writing and drawing his very own comic book series. Unfortunately, that notorious family from the past, the Comforts, have reared their head again, this time led by Coleman Comfort and his son Lyle. Coleman, seeking revenge for several deaths of his family members at Nolan’s hands, makes his play, forcing Nolan to mastermind a truly ambitious heist of the entire 50-store Brady Eighty mall. A wonderful heist story, this one also reaches deep on an emotional level, with some wonderful new characters as well as several intensely dangerous scenes.
The second book in this volume, "Mourn the Living" is, reportedly, Max Allan Collins’ very first novel, written when he was an undergrad in 1967 or ’68, although it wasn’t published until 2001. I had always heard that the entire Nolan series was MAC’s tribute to the “Parker” series by Richard Stark (Donald E. Westlake), and I could really see the style similarities here. This one is pure Nolan with no Jon, no Sherry, and, in fact, acts as Nolan��s origin story. Previous novels have made reference to the events depicted here, especially how Nolan finds himself refusing to carry out an order from “The Family” and has to go on the run. The plot stems from an old friend from the Family named Sid Tisor. Sid’s daughter is dead, the victim of a long fall from a rooftop. Sid wants Nolan to investigate to see if she actually fell…or was pushed. It’s likely LSD and/or heroin was involved. This story is largely one of Nolan acting as PI, investigating and solving the mystery. A nice twist at the end that I should have seen coming, but didn’t, makes this one another fine read.
Together, these two books make a fine pair of bookends for the series, although MAC did provide a follow-up in 2020 with “Skim Deep.” I still have that one to read but I will add that these books, for the most part, read very well in this Hard Case Crime publication order. I am glad, however, that I saved “Skim Deep” until the final one, since it was written last and takes place after “Spree”. I don’t know if there will ever be any more Nolan stories written but if so, I plan to be first in line for my copy, regardless of when it takes place in the timeline.
April 15, 2023
Back in the 1970s and 80s, Collins published a series of paperback originals about Nolan, a former mob guy turned heist guy. The books were in the tradition of Donald Westlake's Parker books. The twist was that Nolan had worked for the mob and left on very bad terms. The mob had a contract out on him. Each book had him planning some big complicated robbery with a group of professionals while at the same time dodging mob hits.
Hard Case Crime has now republished all of the Nolan books. They have been issuing two novels in each volume. This is the last of them. It is a public service.
"Spree", originally published in 1987, is the first story in this volume and was last in the original series. It is a classic story. Nolan is retired from crime, comfortable financially and in a good relationship. People from his old life drag him back in for "one last job".
His protege, Jon, who is also out of that life, gets dragged in. They get dangled up with their old nemesis, the Comfort family. It gives Collins a chance to call back all of the old tricks.
The job is to rob an entire shopping mall in a night. Interestingly, the 1987 surveillance and alarm technology probably could have been defeated. Not sure you could do it today.
It is a good solid page turning caper with Nolan trying to pull off the heist at the same time he deals with all other kinds of threats.
( Speculation. The last season of "Better Call Saul" revolved around a fairly similar shopping mall heist. Was it inspired by, a homage to, or a rip-off of, this book?)
Just to confuse things, "Mourn the Living", originally published in 1999, was the first Nolan book Collins wrote, but it was the last one published. It is the second and shorter story in this volume.
Collins explains in his introduction to this volume this was a very early story that he wrote in 1967/68. It is a period piece. Nolan gets asked by an old mob friend to find out who killed his daughter. The police say it was a drug overdose, but her father does not believe it.
Nolan shows up in a Midwest college town. He deals with hippies, drug dealers, and mob guys. The hippies are drug addled phonies. They girls all throw themselves at Nolan. He figures out what happened to the daughter of his friend, finds a dame and steals a big pile of money. A good trip all around. This is a fun story, but you can tell Collins hadn't hit his stride yet.
Collins is a first-rate adventure story writer and "Spree" is one of his best.
Hard Case Crime has now republished all of the Nolan books. They have been issuing two novels in each volume. This is the last of them. It is a public service.
"Spree", originally published in 1987, is the first story in this volume and was last in the original series. It is a classic story. Nolan is retired from crime, comfortable financially and in a good relationship. People from his old life drag him back in for "one last job".
His protege, Jon, who is also out of that life, gets dragged in. They get dangled up with their old nemesis, the Comfort family. It gives Collins a chance to call back all of the old tricks.
The job is to rob an entire shopping mall in a night. Interestingly, the 1987 surveillance and alarm technology probably could have been defeated. Not sure you could do it today.
It is a good solid page turning caper with Nolan trying to pull off the heist at the same time he deals with all other kinds of threats.
( Speculation. The last season of "Better Call Saul" revolved around a fairly similar shopping mall heist. Was it inspired by, a homage to, or a rip-off of, this book?)
Just to confuse things, "Mourn the Living", originally published in 1999, was the first Nolan book Collins wrote, but it was the last one published. It is the second and shorter story in this volume.
Collins explains in his introduction to this volume this was a very early story that he wrote in 1967/68. It is a period piece. Nolan gets asked by an old mob friend to find out who killed his daughter. The police say it was a drug overdose, but her father does not believe it.
Nolan shows up in a Midwest college town. He deals with hippies, drug dealers, and mob guys. The hippies are drug addled phonies. They girls all throw themselves at Nolan. He figures out what happened to the daughter of his friend, finds a dame and steals a big pile of money. A good trip all around. This is a fun story, but you can tell Collins hadn't hit his stride yet.
Collins is a first-rate adventure story writer and "Spree" is one of his best.
June 12, 2023
This omnibus collects the 7th and 8th novels in the Nolan series.
Spree (1987)
"He was the most frightening of men: a guileless dope who meant you no harm but would kill you without blinking. Lyle would do that because his pa had so ordered. To Sherry, in that frozen, surreal moment, Lyle embodied the banality of evil. It was the ultimate empty irony: she would be killed by someone who didn't even dislike her."
Cole and Lyle Comfort kidnap Sherry and force Nolan and Jon to participate in an audacious heist -- robbing an entire shopping mall in a single night!
Cole, of course, blames Nolan for killing his brother Sam (in Hard Cash) so there is no chance Nolan is going to be left alive even if everything goes according to plan…
This novel is just as well written and maybe slightly more polished than Fly Paper and Scratch Fever. Malls were a significant aspect of our commercial and social lives in the 80's, and Collins may have been the first author to postulate how to bring one down. However, I confess I had a hard time trying to gin up much enthusiasm for the premise of this plot. Shopping malls just seem blasé today.
There are two small twists in the final chapters that fall flat. I will not spoil them in this review, but the ending is a real letdown.
Mourn the Living (1999)
"Don't waste your tears on the dead, Sid. You got to mourn somebody, mourn the living--they got it tougher."
Nolan always pays his debts. So, when an old friend asks him to investigate the death of his daughter, Nolan heads to Chelsey University and a possible confrontation with the Chicago Family that still wants him dead. He finds a commune of would-be hippies living off their parents' allowance checks, gangsters pushing drugs on campus, and a lot of dead bodies starting to mount up.
The author wrote this book while an undergrad in 1967-68, although he did not find a publisher for it for three decades. It contains some amateurish missteps--villains who confess too much, an identity reveal that comes out of left field--but I enjoyed it more than Spree. It has raw energy and verve that is fun to read.
It is best not to think of this as part of the larger series but rather as an early alternate take on the character. Nolan is very different without Jon as sidekick. The timeline does not fit the later books, and there are incongruities regarding Nolan's backstory. However, it is interesting to experience this younger, gruffer version of the thief.
Spree (1987)
"He was the most frightening of men: a guileless dope who meant you no harm but would kill you without blinking. Lyle would do that because his pa had so ordered. To Sherry, in that frozen, surreal moment, Lyle embodied the banality of evil. It was the ultimate empty irony: she would be killed by someone who didn't even dislike her."
Cole and Lyle Comfort kidnap Sherry and force Nolan and Jon to participate in an audacious heist -- robbing an entire shopping mall in a single night!
Cole, of course, blames Nolan for killing his brother Sam (in Hard Cash) so there is no chance Nolan is going to be left alive even if everything goes according to plan…
This novel is just as well written and maybe slightly more polished than Fly Paper and Scratch Fever. Malls were a significant aspect of our commercial and social lives in the 80's, and Collins may have been the first author to postulate how to bring one down. However, I confess I had a hard time trying to gin up much enthusiasm for the premise of this plot. Shopping malls just seem blasé today.
There are two small twists in the final chapters that fall flat. I will not spoil them in this review, but the ending is a real letdown.
Mourn the Living (1999)
"Don't waste your tears on the dead, Sid. You got to mourn somebody, mourn the living--they got it tougher."
Nolan always pays his debts. So, when an old friend asks him to investigate the death of his daughter, Nolan heads to Chelsey University and a possible confrontation with the Chicago Family that still wants him dead. He finds a commune of would-be hippies living off their parents' allowance checks, gangsters pushing drugs on campus, and a lot of dead bodies starting to mount up.
The author wrote this book while an undergrad in 1967-68, although he did not find a publisher for it for three decades. It contains some amateurish missteps--villains who confess too much, an identity reveal that comes out of left field--but I enjoyed it more than Spree. It has raw energy and verve that is fun to read.
It is best not to think of this as part of the larger series but rather as an early alternate take on the character. Nolan is very different without Jon as sidekick. The timeline does not fit the later books, and there are incongruities regarding Nolan's backstory. However, it is interesting to experience this younger, gruffer version of the thief.
August 18, 2024
How many times does the author use the phrase “Brady Eighty” in the first one hundred pages of this book? A common game to play with a Nolan book! Also, how many pages until someone Nolan cares about is kidnapped? (spoiler: 84 in this one)
The plot of the first book is to rob an entire mall! Sort of like a Parker novel, but not written by Westlake. Lots of description filler in this one.
But great last two pages!
Book Two is titled “Mourn the Living” - which, in a sense, is the first book of the Nolan series. And I liked it much more than the first book in this collection! Much more stripped down and bare-knuckled! Nolan is much 'harder' in this, more violent and vengeful. I liked him that way! Decent twist at the end of this one!
The plot of the first book is to rob an entire mall! Sort of like a Parker novel, but not written by Westlake. Lots of description filler in this one.
But great last two pages!
Book Two is titled “Mourn the Living” - which, in a sense, is the first book of the Nolan series. And I liked it much more than the first book in this collection! Much more stripped down and bare-knuckled! Nolan is much 'harder' in this, more violent and vengeful. I liked him that way! Decent twist at the end of this one!
June 1, 2023
My first Nolan(s)! And gotta say! Pretty freaking fun!
I’ve got a fuller and more introspective review coming for DIS/Member but truly, I love that Hard Case Crime is keeping 2-in-1 novel collections alive. And these books are genuinely really entertaining! Spree especially I couldn’t put down after a while.
And even coming into these pretty cold, I got a really awesome sense of Nolan and Jon and the whole ecosystem of these books even without having read really any of them (im more of a Heller guy anyway). Tho I gotta say? Now that I’ve finished this one, I REEEALLLY wanna read some more of them. Collins writes one hell of a caper.
I’ve got a fuller and more introspective review coming for DIS/Member but truly, I love that Hard Case Crime is keeping 2-in-1 novel collections alive. And these books are genuinely really entertaining! Spree especially I couldn’t put down after a while.
And even coming into these pretty cold, I got a really awesome sense of Nolan and Jon and the whole ecosystem of these books even without having read really any of them (im more of a Heller guy anyway). Tho I gotta say? Now that I’ve finished this one, I REEEALLLY wanna read some more of them. Collins writes one hell of a caper.
July 16, 2023
Mad Money is the the last of the Nolan re-issues from Hard Cast Crime. It contains the final original Nolan novel “Spree”, which the author has said is, in his opinion, the best of the series. I would not disagree with him. The character beats and tension that build throughout the novel are a head above the rest of the series, which already had set a pretty high bar. The second novel collected, “Mourn the Living”, is a very entertaining prequel to the rest of the series. While this is more of a mystery than a suspense/action piece, it provides a nice complement to the other stories.
May 18, 2023
4/5This was a fantastic Nolan novel. A little dated as some people may not actually remember a full shopping mall, much less being able to grasp how someone would rob it all in one night, but a blast nonetheless.
February 4, 2024
MAC delivers again
The double novel process putting the last Nolan with the first was interesting. I really enjoyed the early Nolan. Let's us see the development of the character.
The double novel process putting the last Nolan with the first was interesting. I really enjoyed the early Nolan. Let's us see the development of the character.
December 15, 2025
Two crime yarns for the price of one, featuring a tough named Nolan who got on the wrong side of the Mob and is now determined to take them down. But because the Mob is big and he’s only one man, he relies on Fabian tactics to wear his enemies down. He shows up when least expected, kills some mob goons and then disappears again into the night. Occasionally he also hangs around long enough to bed some young thing and put together a score, maybe even meet with one of his few friends.
He's more of a type than a rounded character, but there’s enough to him to sustain interest through a couple of novels. The first here is the better of the two, and finds Nolan having gone as straight as someone like him can. He’s running his own restaurant in a big suburban mall, shacked up with a sexy woman, and minding his own business. But then a fat redneck with an incestuous thing for his daughter shows up to settle an old score. The technical details of heisting a mall were clearly well-studied by author Max Allan Collins in advance of him writing this tale. It makes the story interesting even when the characters are mostly just going through their pro forma beats. It’s not the kind of thing to shake up the genre or widen its parameters, but it could keep an elevator operator entertained during a slow shift.
Second up—and slightly inferior—is a tale in which Nolan goes about fulfilling a promise to an old friend by finding out what happened to said-friend’s daughter. Apparently she downed a sugar cube of some strong acid and tried to fly off the roof. Nolan shows up intown, operating under the pseudonym Webb and pretending to be a reporter trying to get to the bottom of the story. What he finds is a tangled pretzel knot of corruption and graft along with a seamy underbelly inhabited by obnoxious wannabe hippy pests. The awkward attempt to recreate Flower Child language and mores gives this one the feel of an old “Dragnet” episode. “We gotta figure out how to stop this plague of the acid before all these beatniks spike the water and have us tripping until we end up microwaving our babies!”
Still, the second yarn held my attention almost as well as the first. Awarding 4 stars for the mall caper yarn and three for psycho-hippy number gives us 3.5, which rounds up to 4 stars overall. I’m not bowled over by Max Allan Collins, but neither was I scared off by his workmanlike-but-entertaining style. Recommended.
He's more of a type than a rounded character, but there’s enough to him to sustain interest through a couple of novels. The first here is the better of the two, and finds Nolan having gone as straight as someone like him can. He’s running his own restaurant in a big suburban mall, shacked up with a sexy woman, and minding his own business. But then a fat redneck with an incestuous thing for his daughter shows up to settle an old score. The technical details of heisting a mall were clearly well-studied by author Max Allan Collins in advance of him writing this tale. It makes the story interesting even when the characters are mostly just going through their pro forma beats. It’s not the kind of thing to shake up the genre or widen its parameters, but it could keep an elevator operator entertained during a slow shift.
Second up—and slightly inferior—is a tale in which Nolan goes about fulfilling a promise to an old friend by finding out what happened to said-friend’s daughter. Apparently she downed a sugar cube of some strong acid and tried to fly off the roof. Nolan shows up intown, operating under the pseudonym Webb and pretending to be a reporter trying to get to the bottom of the story. What he finds is a tangled pretzel knot of corruption and graft along with a seamy underbelly inhabited by obnoxious wannabe hippy pests. The awkward attempt to recreate Flower Child language and mores gives this one the feel of an old “Dragnet” episode. “We gotta figure out how to stop this plague of the acid before all these beatniks spike the water and have us tripping until we end up microwaving our babies!”
Still, the second yarn held my attention almost as well as the first. Awarding 4 stars for the mall caper yarn and three for psycho-hippy number gives us 3.5, which rounds up to 4 stars overall. I’m not bowled over by Max Allan Collins, but neither was I scared off by his workmanlike-but-entertaining style. Recommended.
April 25, 2023
The book that was meant to be the last Nolan story is finally reprinted and available for all us Max Allan Collins fans unlucky enough not to be able to catch the original printing 35 years ago. Thanks to Hard Case Crime the whole series plus one new one, Skim Deep which is now the final last story, is easily available at an affordable price. What a treat! There is also a bonus short story which is the first Nolan story Max wrote. Spree starts the book with an insane heist story Nolan is forced into by the kidnapping of his girlfriend. The second story is Mourn The Living where Nolan does a favor for a friend and is really more of a detective story in which the detective is a professional thief. I have all the Quarry books published by Hard Case Crime and now I have all the Nolan stories, if I can just catch up on the few Nate Heller books I missed, I’ll be a happy man.
April 25, 2023
Mad Good!
"Mad Money" contains two Nolan novels: the penultimate "Spree" and the origin story, "Mourn The Living". It is a great pairing because these stories portray Nolan near the end of the series and the beginning. Both are great fun to read. Lots of action! Times two! Lots of suspense! Times Two! Nolan! Times two! Highly entertaining. Definitely worth reading.
If you love the Parker series by Richard Stark (Donald E. Westlake), you will love Nolan.
"Mad Money" contains two Nolan novels: the penultimate "Spree" and the origin story, "Mourn The Living". It is a great pairing because these stories portray Nolan near the end of the series and the beginning. Both are great fun to read. Lots of action! Times two! Lots of suspense! Times Two! Nolan! Times two! Highly entertaining. Definitely worth reading.
If you love the Parker series by Richard Stark (Donald E. Westlake), you will love Nolan.
August 18, 2023
The Nolan books are not as good as the Quarry books, but still worth reading. This is two early Nolan books and both very entertaining. Warning: Can get confusing as Hard Case Crime reissues some Quarry books under new titles. Apparently they may be doing the same with Nolan's, but two to a new book.
December 15, 2025
Spree
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.
Mourn the living
Collins actually wrote this Nolan novel first, back when he was in college but it didn't get published until the 90's. Nolan is only around 40 and you actually get to see why he's on the outs with the Chicago mob. The story itself takes place in a small Illinois college town for rich kids. Nolan's looking into the death of the daughter of someone he owes a favor to. Even without Jon this is great stuff.
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.
Mourn the living
Collins actually wrote this Nolan novel first, back when he was in college but it didn't get published until the 90's. Nolan is only around 40 and you actually get to see why he's on the outs with the Chicago mob. The story itself takes place in a small Illinois college town for rich kids. Nolan's looking into the death of the daughter of someone he owes a favor to. Even without Jon this is great stuff.
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