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Losers Live Longer
The death of legendary private eye George Rowell looked like an accident; but searching for the truth behind it will put down-and-out East Village detective Payton Sherwood on the corpse-littered trail of a runaway investment scam artist, a drug-addicted reality TV star, and the bewitching beauty whose appearance set it all in motion...
249 pages
First published September 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
June 19, 2012
Legendary PI George "Owl" Rowell hires down on his luck detective Payton Sherwood for a job picking out the tail on his client. Before Sherwood learns the specifics, Owl is hit by car right outside his building. Sherwood investigates what happed to Owl, leading him into a web of intrigue involving a missing millionaire, his junkie girlfriend, a detectivev Sherwood used to work for, and a Ukranian femme fatale named Sayre Raur. Can Payton crack the case before the case cracks him?
I'm always skeptical of the Hard Case originals, as the reprints are often more my cup of tea. Losers Live Longer is a win for the new guys. The story is a twisted web involving a Ukranian child porn ring, a millionaire that's on the lam, and an iPod containing stolen files. The ending came out of nowhere and getting there was like navigating a country road through the hills during an ice storm. The writing is good, noir flavored with modern touches.
The front cover says that Losers Live Longer is a Payton Sherwood mystery. I guess my feelings on LLL is best summed up in the fact that I'll be looking for more of his cases.
I'm always skeptical of the Hard Case originals, as the reprints are often more my cup of tea. Losers Live Longer is a win for the new guys. The story is a twisted web involving a Ukranian child porn ring, a millionaire that's on the lam, and an iPod containing stolen files. The ending came out of nowhere and getting there was like navigating a country road through the hills during an ice storm. The writing is good, noir flavored with modern touches.
The front cover says that Losers Live Longer is a Payton Sherwood mystery. I guess my feelings on LLL is best summed up in the fact that I'll be looking for more of his cases.
June 3, 2020
"Losers Live Longer" is one of two full-length novels Atwood has written about NYC private eye Payton Sherwood. This is not a Mike Hammer type private eye or even a Phillip Marlowe type. With his wisecracking humor and his all too mortal fighting ability, Sherwood is more like a modernized version of Ed Noon if he could be compared to anyone. In this book, Sherwood manages to stumble out of his apartment/office building without shoes or socks, only to see his buddy/client Owl has been hit by a car. Not one to be too suspicious, Sherwood searches the body as the sirens approach.
Thinking someone (like a retro skateboarder) might have observed him, Sherwood takes off over trash and decay and things sticky and disgusting on the New York sidewalks in his bare feet. It is quite amusing as he searches in vain for a pair of shoes to don, finally finding a pair in the trash. From there, Sherwood literally stumbles onto one clue after another to wrap up a mystery. On the way, he is accosted by Russian mobsters, struck on the head with a briefcase, dodging bullets about the East River, and variously beat up and made a complete fool of.
The plot meanders quite a bit and, by the end, the plot is a little too disjointed to be compelling. It may just be that the book is way too long for what it tries to do.
There are a lot of positive things about Atwood's writing, including his inane, humorous descriptions of people and places. This is a detective who makes fun of himself and doesn't take himself too seriously. Indeed, Sherwood is about as down on his luck as one could possibly be, having only four paying clients in the past year and having already sold most of his possessions on Ebay. Sherwood thinks that someone out there was a billable client and he is going to stumble on that person. But, Sherwood is so sure no one will drop by that he is lounging around barefoot, drinking coffee, and when the buzzer rings, he figures it was just some drunk leaning against the doorframe and getting his bearings. When his buddy the older detective stops by (Owl), Sherwood describes him as "ancient and not too steady on his pins." He was a "geezer" who "could've used a registered nurse." And when he sees a body in the street, Sherwood thinks of the "white- haired scalp ruptured" and "a skull shard sticking out." Not to mention the emission of brain matter. As he walks down a corridor, he thinks of it as an "anonymous corridor" "about as lively as a sun-shrunken condom." When Sherwood gets battered, he says he was a "perfect pinball" especially as his head connects with the dresser's edge. When Sherwood sees a gorgeous woman, he thinks there is something irrestible about her, "something that made you think of Pavlov and dogs and bells, of maybe moths and flames." But not everyone in Sherwood's world is amazing. Some are dumpy with "copper-orange hair and harlequin glasses."
Thinking someone (like a retro skateboarder) might have observed him, Sherwood takes off over trash and decay and things sticky and disgusting on the New York sidewalks in his bare feet. It is quite amusing as he searches in vain for a pair of shoes to don, finally finding a pair in the trash. From there, Sherwood literally stumbles onto one clue after another to wrap up a mystery. On the way, he is accosted by Russian mobsters, struck on the head with a briefcase, dodging bullets about the East River, and variously beat up and made a complete fool of.
The plot meanders quite a bit and, by the end, the plot is a little too disjointed to be compelling. It may just be that the book is way too long for what it tries to do.
There are a lot of positive things about Atwood's writing, including his inane, humorous descriptions of people and places. This is a detective who makes fun of himself and doesn't take himself too seriously. Indeed, Sherwood is about as down on his luck as one could possibly be, having only four paying clients in the past year and having already sold most of his possessions on Ebay. Sherwood thinks that someone out there was a billable client and he is going to stumble on that person. But, Sherwood is so sure no one will drop by that he is lounging around barefoot, drinking coffee, and when the buzzer rings, he figures it was just some drunk leaning against the doorframe and getting his bearings. When his buddy the older detective stops by (Owl), Sherwood describes him as "ancient and not too steady on his pins." He was a "geezer" who "could've used a registered nurse." And when he sees a body in the street, Sherwood thinks of the "white- haired scalp ruptured" and "a skull shard sticking out." Not to mention the emission of brain matter. As he walks down a corridor, he thinks of it as an "anonymous corridor" "about as lively as a sun-shrunken condom." When Sherwood gets battered, he says he was a "perfect pinball" especially as his head connects with the dresser's edge. When Sherwood sees a gorgeous woman, he thinks there is something irrestible about her, "something that made you think of Pavlov and dogs and bells, of maybe moths and flames." But not everyone in Sherwood's world is amazing. Some are dumpy with "copper-orange hair and harlequin glasses."
November 5, 2009
*Warning- This review has a couple of gross details.*
This book was cooking right along as a pretty good private detective thriller with a low-rent down-on-his-luck smart-mouthed PI named Payton Sherwood getting sucked into a mystery when a former mentor is run down in front of his building moments after calling Payton to discuss hiring him for a job. And that’s when author Russell Atwood threw a couple of the weirdest, most random and disturbing paragraphs I’ve read in recent memory.
Our hero Payton has been running all over New York working the case and he makes a stop at his apartment and feels nature call. Most authors don’t feel the need to let us know when a character is going to have a B.M., and Atwood hasn’t told us about Payton’s previous trips to the restrooms. Then it turns out that poor old Payton is out of both toilet paper and paper towels and is reduced to using coffee filters. We’ve already established that Payton is poor and not especially good at managing his personal details so this seems like a little too much information in my crime story.
Then Atwood goes to a very odd place, and PROCEEDS TO DETAIL HOW THE SMELL OF HIS POO REMINDS PAYTON OF A SEXUAL ENCOUNTER HE HAD WITH ONE OF THE FEMALE CHARACTERS JUST A FEW HOURS BEFORE.
And then we just return to the story….
I’m not sure why Atwood felt the need to throw those little details in but it was just such a WTF moment that it threw me off for the rest of the book. I was worried about what other tidbits that I didn’t really want to know that he might feel like including.
Anyhow, that was just a few paragraphs out of a very solid detective story that was one of the better originals that HCC has published. I don’t mean to make too much out of it because I did like the book, but the sheer weird random nature of it is going to haunt me for days.
So I thought I’d share. You’re welcome.
This book was cooking right along as a pretty good private detective thriller with a low-rent down-on-his-luck smart-mouthed PI named Payton Sherwood getting sucked into a mystery when a former mentor is run down in front of his building moments after calling Payton to discuss hiring him for a job. And that’s when author Russell Atwood threw a couple of the weirdest, most random and disturbing paragraphs I’ve read in recent memory.
Our hero Payton has been running all over New York working the case and he makes a stop at his apartment and feels nature call. Most authors don’t feel the need to let us know when a character is going to have a B.M., and Atwood hasn’t told us about Payton’s previous trips to the restrooms. Then it turns out that poor old Payton is out of both toilet paper and paper towels and is reduced to using coffee filters. We’ve already established that Payton is poor and not especially good at managing his personal details so this seems like a little too much information in my crime story.
Then Atwood goes to a very odd place, and PROCEEDS TO DETAIL HOW THE SMELL OF HIS POO REMINDS PAYTON OF A SEXUAL ENCOUNTER HE HAD WITH ONE OF THE FEMALE CHARACTERS JUST A FEW HOURS BEFORE.
And then we just return to the story….
I’m not sure why Atwood felt the need to throw those little details in but it was just such a WTF moment that it threw me off for the rest of the book. I was worried about what other tidbits that I didn’t really want to know that he might feel like including.
Anyhow, that was just a few paragraphs out of a very solid detective story that was one of the better originals that HCC has published. I don’t mean to make too much out of it because I did like the book, but the sheer weird random nature of it is going to haunt me for days.
So I thought I’d share. You’re welcome.
July 28, 2021
Really loved this book. there is nothing like an older era, detective novel, with lots of bad guys, and bodies turning up left and right. The characters and setting (New York) were excellent. The Author was so good that I could not figure out what was going on and who was behind everything.
June 3, 2020
I thought this was a great book and will definitely be reading more of Atwood's novels.
July 22, 2010
I liked this book. It's good to see that there are some writers out there still writing in the tradition of the Gold Medal paperback originals. If you thought it can't be done in this day and age, you need to read this book.
The story takes place over a period of 24 hours starting on the morning of September 4, 2008 and finds the protagonist all over the East Village and Alphabet City.
Although you don't have to know the neighborhood to enjoy the book, it definitely adds to the pleasure of reading this if you do, or, like me, knew the neighborhood 20 years ago. He talks a lot about the gentrification of the area, but it still doesn't seem all that much safer than it did in the old days.
The story takes place over a period of 24 hours starting on the morning of September 4, 2008 and finds the protagonist all over the East Village and Alphabet City.
Although you don't have to know the neighborhood to enjoy the book, it definitely adds to the pleasure of reading this if you do, or, like me, knew the neighborhood 20 years ago. He talks a lot about the gentrification of the area, but it still doesn't seem all that much safer than it did in the old days.
March 20, 2017
'Losers Live Longer' is very well plotted and written. There are some inconsistencies with the main character, but otherwise characters and settings are also well done.
This is an excellent inclusion of the pulp genre by a contemporary writer in a current world of strong intolerance toward so much that makes up the genre. There are no excuses as to how characters are portrayed or respond. Political correctness is tough to find here. It's very nice volume of fresh air buried in silly neo-puritanical book efforts to include whatever attitudes are popular not to offend in the Media today.
Bottom line: I recommend this book. 7 out of ten points.
This is an excellent inclusion of the pulp genre by a contemporary writer in a current world of strong intolerance toward so much that makes up the genre. There are no excuses as to how characters are portrayed or respond. Political correctness is tough to find here. It's very nice volume of fresh air buried in silly neo-puritanical book efforts to include whatever attitudes are popular not to offend in the Media today.
Bottom line: I recommend this book. 7 out of ten points.
September 28, 2018
There was something about this book that rubbed me the wrong way from the beginning. Maybe it was because it's not set in the past... a PI running around New York looking for clues seems awfully odd in our world of internet searches. Sure, it was sort addressed (the main character did google a bunch of stuff at one point), but not really... at another, he had to have an 'expert' friend plug in an ipod to a computer to see what was on it (which made NO sense)
The main character tried to be you typical down on his luck type character, but he just didn't have any redeeming qualities, which made the ending not really make a lot of sense. Then there was the fact that the resolution of the case required FAR too much suspension of disbelief to make any sense at all. I guess every imprint is allowed a stinker now and then.
The main character tried to be you typical down on his luck type character, but he just didn't have any redeeming qualities, which made the ending not really make a lot of sense. Then there was the fact that the resolution of the case required FAR too much suspension of disbelief to make any sense at all. I guess every imprint is allowed a stinker now and then.
August 24, 2009
Atwood keeps the action moving nicely while also maintaining a nice tone of jaundiced cynicism that doesn't preclude decent behavior and good instincts on the part of the fuck-up out of luck private eye hero who, like Philip Marlowe as played by Dick Powell in Murder, My Sweet, gets knocked out with alarming frequency. Nice contemporary touches include a Bernie Madoff-type Wall Street ponzi scammer and several celebrity heroin enthusiasts, and young women on the run from sleazy Russian kiddie pornographers.
Nice turns of phrase throughout and only occasional clunky sentences that could have used editing
Nice turns of phrase throughout and only occasional clunky sentences that could have used editing
February 10, 2017
I read East of A and wanted more of Peyton Sherwood. Mr. Atwood did not disappoint in this action-filled addition to the series that concludes with a lightning strike ending I totally did not see coming. Wow! So, when's the next one coming out?
August 17, 2017
I was "this" close to giving "Losers Live Longer" by Russell Atwood five stars. Maybe next time.
"Losers Live Longer" is part of what I call the "hipster detective" movement. No, the detectives aren't sporting ironic moustaches or solving artisanal crime, but you know what I mean. The protagonist detective is a "modern noir" stereotype, usually a loner and an outsider--and not always a great detective. He is almost always a single male (which makes his inevitable seduction by the femmes fatales that much easier) and old enough to be disillusioned with life, yet young enough to still want to at least play at being a detective for a while longer.
"Losers Live Longer" reminded me very much of a duo of Hard Case Crime novels I've read in the past--"Little Girl Lost" and "Songs of Innocence" by Richard Aleas (the pen name of Hard Case Crime "boss" Charles Ardai)--which followed a similar, youngish hipster detective. I didn't much care for "Songs of Innocence" on the whole. Why? It went from dark (which I have no problem with, if done well) to totally bleak and ultimately pointless. But if I had to guess, I'd say that "Losers Live Longer" was inspired by those two novels. They seem to share similar DNA. Perhaps they're cousins.
I did end up enjoying "Losers Live Longer," although I found the author's "more is better" philosophy tiring at several points in the novel. More crimes! More suspects! More characters! More! More! More! And so on.
As is often the way of things in detective novels, multiple threads from disparate sources all pull together into one dangerous hullaballoo of a case. In "Losers Live Longer," the loser-ish detective hero gets a call from a legendary detective and becomes embroiled in the legend's last case. Why is it the last? Well, the legend dies under suspicious circumstances right in front of the detective's apartment a few minutes after phoning him. And it's up to the detective to piece together all of the many clues and suspects surrounding the case.
And, for a while, the detective can't even find his shoes. So there's that going on as well.
To complicate matters, there's a fugitive Ponzi scheme billionaire, the billionaire's heroin-addict girlfriend, the girlfriend's estranged film director husband, not one--but two!--competing detective agencies, a bloodthirsty PR firm, a Ukrainian human trafficking and kiddie porn ring, a mysterious lady broker and her hapless partner, a couple of would-be blackmailers, a stalker on a skateboard, a computer hacker neighbor, and so on.
Other than the overly enthusiastic piling on of more layers to the story--until it's hard to tell the players without a scorecard--"Losers Live Longer" is a pretty good modern noir. Though the identity of the ultimate bad guy(s) was pretty obvious from a little over halfway through the novel. And I was left with a few lingering questions about the ultimate fate of a couple of the characters in the story, as a reader, which the moody ending precluded the author answering. These are the three elements that prevented me from awarding this novel a 5-star rating.
If you like modern noir and your sensibilities aren't offended by a hipster-ish and loser-ish hero detective, "Losers Live Longer" is one of the better offerings from Hard Case Crime. Check it out!
"Losers Live Longer" is part of what I call the "hipster detective" movement. No, the detectives aren't sporting ironic moustaches or solving artisanal crime, but you know what I mean. The protagonist detective is a "modern noir" stereotype, usually a loner and an outsider--and not always a great detective. He is almost always a single male (which makes his inevitable seduction by the femmes fatales that much easier) and old enough to be disillusioned with life, yet young enough to still want to at least play at being a detective for a while longer.
"Losers Live Longer" reminded me very much of a duo of Hard Case Crime novels I've read in the past--"Little Girl Lost" and "Songs of Innocence" by Richard Aleas (the pen name of Hard Case Crime "boss" Charles Ardai)--which followed a similar, youngish hipster detective. I didn't much care for "Songs of Innocence" on the whole. Why? It went from dark (which I have no problem with, if done well) to totally bleak and ultimately pointless. But if I had to guess, I'd say that "Losers Live Longer" was inspired by those two novels. They seem to share similar DNA. Perhaps they're cousins.
I did end up enjoying "Losers Live Longer," although I found the author's "more is better" philosophy tiring at several points in the novel. More crimes! More suspects! More characters! More! More! More! And so on.
As is often the way of things in detective novels, multiple threads from disparate sources all pull together into one dangerous hullaballoo of a case. In "Losers Live Longer," the loser-ish detective hero gets a call from a legendary detective and becomes embroiled in the legend's last case. Why is it the last? Well, the legend dies under suspicious circumstances right in front of the detective's apartment a few minutes after phoning him. And it's up to the detective to piece together all of the many clues and suspects surrounding the case.
And, for a while, the detective can't even find his shoes. So there's that going on as well.
To complicate matters, there's a fugitive Ponzi scheme billionaire, the billionaire's heroin-addict girlfriend, the girlfriend's estranged film director husband, not one--but two!--competing detective agencies, a bloodthirsty PR firm, a Ukrainian human trafficking and kiddie porn ring, a mysterious lady broker and her hapless partner, a couple of would-be blackmailers, a stalker on a skateboard, a computer hacker neighbor, and so on.
Other than the overly enthusiastic piling on of more layers to the story--until it's hard to tell the players without a scorecard--"Losers Live Longer" is a pretty good modern noir. Though the identity of the ultimate bad guy(s) was pretty obvious from a little over halfway through the novel. And I was left with a few lingering questions about the ultimate fate of a couple of the characters in the story, as a reader, which the moody ending precluded the author answering. These are the three elements that prevented me from awarding this novel a 5-star rating.
If you like modern noir and your sensibilities aren't offended by a hipster-ish and loser-ish hero detective, "Losers Live Longer" is one of the better offerings from Hard Case Crime. Check it out!
June 7, 2017
It is September 2008 and Payton Sherwood is barely hanging on as a detective in the East Village. It has been a decade since he debuted in the novel East of A, and the world has since moved on without him. New York City is becoming gentrified. Payton cannot afford a cell phone, and his only connection to the internet is dial-up.
He is surprised when George Rowely, a legendary retired PI, asks him to help in a case. When George shows up dead in front of his office half an hour later, the victim of an apparent car accident, Payton finds himself thrust into the center of a mystery involving Hollywood celebrities, a child prostitution ring in Ukraine, and a manhunt for the nation’s most well-known scam artist.
Losers Live Longer is a fast, easy beach read, but it is best not to think about it too much. It suffers from more than one fatal flaw.
There is an annoying transparency in its “ripped from the headlines” characters. This includes a socialite who is famous for being famous (ala Paris Hilton). There is a banker who ripped off billions from A-list celebrities in a ponzi scheme (Bernie Madoff).
Payton lacks any supporting cast that makes him a memorable anti-hero. While I acknowledge the tough-guy loner is an accepted trope of the genre, he fits the bill a little too perfectly. He has no family; he has no network of informants on the police force or the criminal underworld. His professional peers dismiss him. He only has one friend, and her purpose to the story seems to be only to provide him with high speed internet.
The plot relies on at least three very implausible coincidences. Also, since Payton lacks the tools or connections to be a good investigator, it seems overly fortuitous that every scene in the story yields either a Very Useful Clue or a Dead Body. He tramples over crime scenes indiscriminately, and the police are never anywhere to be seen.
He is surprised when George Rowely, a legendary retired PI, asks him to help in a case. When George shows up dead in front of his office half an hour later, the victim of an apparent car accident, Payton finds himself thrust into the center of a mystery involving Hollywood celebrities, a child prostitution ring in Ukraine, and a manhunt for the nation’s most well-known scam artist.
Losers Live Longer is a fast, easy beach read, but it is best not to think about it too much. It suffers from more than one fatal flaw.
There is an annoying transparency in its “ripped from the headlines” characters. This includes a socialite who is famous for being famous (ala Paris Hilton). There is a banker who ripped off billions from A-list celebrities in a ponzi scheme (Bernie Madoff).
Payton lacks any supporting cast that makes him a memorable anti-hero. While I acknowledge the tough-guy loner is an accepted trope of the genre, he fits the bill a little too perfectly. He has no family; he has no network of informants on the police force or the criminal underworld. His professional peers dismiss him. He only has one friend, and her purpose to the story seems to be only to provide him with high speed internet.
The plot relies on at least three very implausible coincidences. Also, since Payton lacks the tools or connections to be a good investigator, it seems overly fortuitous that every scene in the story yields either a Very Useful Clue or a Dead Body. He tramples over crime scenes indiscriminately, and the police are never anywhere to be seen.
September 8, 2019
Starting in September, I’ve resolved to read at least one Hard Case Crime novel per month. I collect Hard Case Crime books as a hobby, though there are getting harder and harder to find in used book stores. I always enjoy reading them but I sort of take it for granted that I can do so at anytime; knowing they’ll always be there. I had to force myself to read Casino Moon last month in order to check off a library bingo square. It wound up being one of my favorite reads of the year. And it made me realize that I need to make a plan to get into more of my HCC books.
Losers Live Longer is first up, mostly because it’s an East Village tale and the East Village is my favorite neighborhood in New York City. Yet while the locale is fun and well-described, I didn’t enjoy this one too much. Atwood is a gifted writer but he packs way too much into what is supposed to be a compact mystery. Characters drop in and out, plots are easily resolved, the PI gets hit on the head one too many times. And that it takes place in the span of a day makes the pacing almost impossible. It’s a mess.
It’s a fun mess. There is a plot buried in there that would make for decent reading. Another draft or two may have helped Russell Atwood pull it out of there. But this is one of the weaker HCC novels I’ve read. Still enjoyed it as I enjoy most HCC novels but can’t recommend it.
Losers Live Longer is first up, mostly because it’s an East Village tale and the East Village is my favorite neighborhood in New York City. Yet while the locale is fun and well-described, I didn’t enjoy this one too much. Atwood is a gifted writer but he packs way too much into what is supposed to be a compact mystery. Characters drop in and out, plots are easily resolved, the PI gets hit on the head one too many times. And that it takes place in the span of a day makes the pacing almost impossible. It’s a mess.
It’s a fun mess. There is a plot buried in there that would make for decent reading. Another draft or two may have helped Russell Atwood pull it out of there. But this is one of the weaker HCC novels I’ve read. Still enjoyed it as I enjoy most HCC novels but can’t recommend it.
November 16, 2022
The fifty-ninth hard case crime novel finished #loserslivelonger is a fantastic private detective story by #russellatwood
Published in 2009. Obviously influenced by chandler and updated to 2008 New York. #paytonsherwood is flawed but honourable although he isn’t a Marlowe clone. He is not above sleeping with the attractive women that come into his office! I have spent years trying to find the magic of chandler and Marlowe and this is one of the closest I have come across. High praise indeed. An excellent writer. So much wit in the narration and dialogue. A complex mystery with lots of characters. I loved it. Very enjoyable.
Published in 2009. Obviously influenced by chandler and updated to 2008 New York. #paytonsherwood is flawed but honourable although he isn’t a Marlowe clone. He is not above sleeping with the attractive women that come into his office! I have spent years trying to find the magic of chandler and Marlowe and this is one of the closest I have come across. High praise indeed. An excellent writer. So much wit in the narration and dialogue. A complex mystery with lots of characters. I loved it. Very enjoyable.
June 29, 2021
Russell Atwood's Losers Live Longer gets a grudging three stars. The mystery is really good but the protagonist Payton Sherwood totally failed to endear himself to me. He gets ambushed one too many times (once by someone named Dough-as in Doe- spare me.) It is hard to believe how much of the TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) virus this guy is carrying, and it makes his brilliance in finally putting all the pieces together that much harder to believe in. Honestly the McGinnis cover may be the best thing about this book.
March 12, 2018
Rating if 3 stars.
I really expected to like this more than I did. Pulp style PI set in New York, on first look short sentences straight to the point, down at heel main character, opening chapter that grabs the attention but then .....
Not sure what happened for me, but the further along you get the more it felt like a pastiche or homage to the pulp style.
It wasn’t a bad read and kept me reading but something did not click for me somewhere along the line.
I really expected to like this more than I did. Pulp style PI set in New York, on first look short sentences straight to the point, down at heel main character, opening chapter that grabs the attention but then .....
Not sure what happened for me, but the further along you get the more it felt like a pastiche or homage to the pulp style.
It wasn’t a bad read and kept me reading but something did not click for me somewhere along the line.
September 19, 2018
I feel bad giving this book 2 stars because it was not terrible. However for such a short book the pace was way to slow. I opted for another hard case crime because I previously read Joyland by Stephen King and enjoyed it immensely. But Losers Live Longer was now where near the level of Joyland in my opinion.
October 1, 2017
3.75* out of 5.
May 30, 2018
I like the Hard Case Crime books, this one was okay; not the best but an engaging story that is quick and comes together.
August 15, 2018
If you love NYC, specifically the East Village and the LES this story has you covered. I really enjoyed the included short story.
January 21, 2021
I burned through this! Interesting plot and story and a lot of fun
November 7, 2024
Good story, good writing, nicely paced, very entertaining.
September 13, 2025
Quick paced and fun, I'd definitely read more of his work.
October 6, 2025
Readable and engaging but essentially the paradigm of the modern detective story, complete with the unshocking shock ending.
September 4, 2009
The glamor of being a PI had never materialized for Payton Sherwood. Out on his own for five years, he'd been reduced to living in his office with the bare minimum of furniture. Few cases, the morning the downstairs buzzer rang, he didn't answer it. Couldn't be a new client.
A minute later when the phone started ringing, he let it go to answering machine. But the voice that spoke made him lunge for the receiver, the legendary PI, George Rowell, a man who had to be in his eighties, a man Payton hadn't seen in years.
"Owl" needed his help and was at the pay phone across the street. Payton invited him up to talk about it. It was just starting to dawn on him that "Owl," even for a man in his eighties, was taking too long to get there when he heard the screech of brakes and a thump outside. He raced outside to find a crumpled body, Owl's, lying in the gutter. A quick frisk of the body finds only a few papers and a hotel key card.
This sets off a case that involves Russian mobsters, pedophiles, a missing financier in one of those ponzi schemes, an old "friend" out of the past that had taught him to be a detective, then fired him after a falling out.
Bodies start to pile up, a smart aleck kid on a skateboard keeps showing up to much to be coincidence, a murder attempt on Sherwood's life, he hasn't had this much going on all year.
Good one.
A minute later when the phone started ringing, he let it go to answering machine. But the voice that spoke made him lunge for the receiver, the legendary PI, George Rowell, a man who had to be in his eighties, a man Payton hadn't seen in years.
"Owl" needed his help and was at the pay phone across the street. Payton invited him up to talk about it. It was just starting to dawn on him that "Owl," even for a man in his eighties, was taking too long to get there when he heard the screech of brakes and a thump outside. He raced outside to find a crumpled body, Owl's, lying in the gutter. A quick frisk of the body finds only a few papers and a hotel key card.
This sets off a case that involves Russian mobsters, pedophiles, a missing financier in one of those ponzi schemes, an old "friend" out of the past that had taught him to be a detective, then fired him after a falling out.
Bodies start to pile up, a smart aleck kid on a skateboard keeps showing up to much to be coincidence, a murder attempt on Sherwood's life, he hasn't had this much going on all year.
Good one.
June 2, 2011
Private Detective Payton Sherwood takes off where legendary and recently deceased PI George 'Owl' Rowell left off in search of the truth surrounding a movie stars overdose which leads to a multitude of other seemingly linked revaluations uncovered along the way including an intercontinental child pornography ring and a runaway investment scam artist. It felt as though Atwood tried a little too hard to give Sherwood a voice that was both hip and laced with street slang resulting in the dialogue coming off as corny and dated only to waste a decent foundation for Sherwood's impoverished and good hearted nature. 'Losers Live Longer' wasnt all bad, the interlocking investigations worked well and kept the pages turning nicely while the bit players (especially Sayre) added a new dimension and POV. New York City played hoast to the core story and you could say it was the central character as Atwood described numerous streets and buildings to create a distinct urbane experience which complemented the cast well. Corny lines aside, the premise was solid, the ending very good and extremely well written (although I'm not sure I like the unveiling), and the characters enjoyable - overall an entertaining read that took a little while to get into - 2.5 stars.
July 19, 2010
This book was a notch above the rest of the Hard Case books that I have read in my opinion because the tone of the novel is not mocking. It's a crime novel with a gritty, serious feel to it. Several of the others in the series, while enjoyable, are basically humorizing hideously depraved crimes, but this book keeps the serious tone and the noir-ish pun making in sort of separate spheres.
The plot is well made and not predictable. The characters are interesting and not as stereotypical as they can tend towards in the genre, including the narrator, who often thinks in terms that are far more human than the usual crime-novel detective.
Overall a great read.
The plot is well made and not predictable. The characters are interesting and not as stereotypical as they can tend towards in the genre, including the narrator, who often thinks in terms that are far more human than the usual crime-novel detective.
Overall a great read.
January 18, 2012
And then a win for Hard Case Crime. Generally unsuccessful PI gets a case and solves it in a day. Sure, there are a lot of coincidences, and the entire case seems to fit into a single NY suburb, but the storyline is engaging, the main character is fun and the writing is cool and breezy. Oh, and there is a sex scene of some quality, which is always good. Rated MA for violence, language and a strong sex scene. 4/5
May 25, 2016
Really love this one. It follows private dick Peyton Sherwood all around New York City to solve the mystery of a dead friend. And the roads get twistier and twistier as he moves along. Dead bodies, dangerous dames, street junkies and a big surprise meet him in his travels. Atwood gives his tale a classic feel with his snarky neo-Marlow, Sherwood. He colors his prose in striking realism that blows me away.
May 15, 2016
Laugh out loud funny but slightly complicated plotting makes this a little bumpy in the second half.
Nevertheless, private eye Peyton Sherwood is the everyman gumshoe that takes his bad luck in stride and his punches to the gut with smile. A fun character with too few cases to his credit. Author Russell Atwood should expand this series as soon as possible.
Nevertheless, private eye Peyton Sherwood is the everyman gumshoe that takes his bad luck in stride and his punches to the gut with smile. A fun character with too few cases to his credit. Author Russell Atwood should expand this series as soon as possible.
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