Girard’s Comments (group member since Sep 29, 2018)

Girard’s comments from the Point Blank group.

Hi, Joe! It's been awhile since I've downloaded any at 99¢; I don't understand Amazon's pricing logic. I'll probably start picking them up at $1.99 when I get to holes in my series reading - I've been reading them in order and am up to #14. The next hole in my collection is #19. Maybe some more will come down in price by the time I get there.

I try to give a book about 50-60 pages. If it hasn't grabbed me by then, I move on. There's too many good books out there. I like the Crime Reads newsletter, but rarely check out the latest books, as I have too many "old" books to catch up on. Any current reading I do is usually based on direct recommendations from friends, or the Pulp Fiction monthly read.

You might want to start the Slough House series with the first book, Slow Horses. It's a good introduction to all the characters, providing some background for the later books. That said, I think the subsequent books might stand up well if read out of order. If Slow Horses doesn't grab you, I don't think the other books will.

87th Precinct - definitely familiar ground! I haven't done any in-depth assessment of these. I've been downloading the Kindle editions when they become available at 99¢. I now have 38 of 'em. The Amazon pricing is perplexing. Right now prices range from $1.99 to $15.99! Anyway, I find they're great as a palate cleanser in between meatier tomes. I can't say they are great, but they're consistently well-written and entertaining - I always want to know what happens. All the beautiful writing in the world won't hold one's interest if there is no story. The 87th Precinct books are like old friends and comfy shoes.

The 2nd Slough House book, Dead Lions, has some particular style characteristics in common with McBain. I'll be curious if you agree, if Herron interests you enough to read that far.

Thanks for all the references, and the reminder of High & Low, which I haven't seen in years. It's time to watch it again!

Hey Joe! Can't say I'm an aficionado of spy fiction, but have read a few spy novels in my day. Thoroughly enjoyed the Robert Ludlum's Bourne series way back when. Eric Ambler is definitely worth exploring, and some of his books might qualify as noir.

I've recently stumbled on Mick Herron and his Slough House series. I've read three and intend on finishing the series. To me, they are the spy equivalent of Ed McBain's great police procedural series, 87th Precinct. Slough House is where hapless MI5 spies are sent, in hopes they'll quit. There is a cast of recurring characters, but the plots concentrate more on spycraft/spy v spy stuff rather than their personal lives. That said, the characters are well-drawn and fill out as the series progresses.

Sometimes you'll see the books described as comic, which I think gives a false impression. There are some wryly comic moments, but these are serious stories. I'm not sure they qualify as noir, buth they are highly recommended by me, FWIW.

And I agree about Tinker Tailor (too opaque and hard to follow), and The Spy Who. . . (good noir-ish read).

Hi, Joe - LA Confidential was my first James Ellroy, and I remember having trouble following all the storylines. However, as I like to say, I was along for the ride. It was a fun read and subsequent re-readings help sort out the storylines. It's still among my favorites. I thought the film did a good job of adapting the characters and stories and keeping the flavor of the book. Black Dahlia, by the often fatally-flawed Brian DePalma, was a disappointment.

I just loved White Jazz, the apotheosis of Ellroy's trademark pared-down style. There was talk at one time of a Joe Carnaham film of this, with George Clooney as the main character (bad, bad cop) and John Cusack as his partner. Too bad it never got made - it would have been great to see Clooney play against type.

I agree with you about The Big Nowhere, which somehow gets neglected after The Black Dahlia and LA Confidential. Great book. Might be time for a re-read of Ellroy's LA Quartet. I enjoyed those more than the more recent novels. That said, all Ellroy's novels are worth reading. He's probably my favorite crime writer.

I had the pleasure of attending an Ellroy book signing/reading in DC for White Jazz. He was very entertaining, and could not have been more gracious. Even my wife, not a crime-fiction reader at the time, thoroughly enjoyed him. I had several hardbacks for him to sign, which he held up to the crowd, many with bags of paperbacks, and said, "Look, folks - full pop!" Definitely a Good Dude.

Earlier this year, I picked up a boatload of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct books on Kindle for .99, but they've all gone up since then. I've got the rest of them listed in a wish list, and check it regularly to see if any of 'em go down to .99.

Between the public library and my personal library (anybody want to post pix of their crime libraries?), I don't EVER have to buy another book. Yet - it keeps happpening!

Joe, I noticed Sleep with the Devil on your list. It's a Day Keene I hadn't heard of, and it's available for 99 cents as a Kindle e-book on Amazon, if anybody is interested.

Hi, Geoff - I just finished The Border and was able to give it an unqualified 5 stars. My only wish is that a), it had a cast of characters, or b) that I had created one. There are lot of players and shifting alliances, at times difficult to keep track of. Please don't let that deter you!

It reminded me of my experience with LA Confidential, the first Ellroy I read. After a point, I was simply along for the ride, which was great. Re-reading it, I was better able to keep track of characters & connections. I'm a huge Ellroy fan; White Jazz might be my favorite. This Storm is in my TBR stack, along with Mark Bowden's The Last Stone, and Davies' Deptford Trilogy.

I'll get back to Bad Blood, based on your recommendation - thanks!

Watched the 1st episode and liked it, but haven't gotten back to it yet, mainly because my wife and I have started watching City on a Hill on Showtime. Two episodes in, and we're hooked. We also liked Ozark - a lot. At first, I called it a poor man's Breaking Bad, but that was unfair. It has turned out to be a solid drug crime show with a good story and really good characters. You'll have to let me know if I need to get back to Bad Blood.

I'm finishing up Don Winslow's The Border - it's a GREAT book, the 3rd in his Cartel trilogy, which FX is turning into a series. These are must-reads for crime fiction fans.

If drugs and crime are of any interest, I can highly recommend a non-fiction book called Underground Empire: Where Crime and Government Embrace, by James Mills. It details 3 operations by the US drug agency Centac. It's an older book, but it reads like a thriller, and is still pertinent today.

I'm not really a fan of JD MacDonald. I do read him, and am working my way through the McGee books because so many people I respect like him so much. But - I don't get it. McGee's attitude towards women just rankles today. I do find MacDonald's non-McGee books to be more palatable, but some still display a Neanderthal attitude. IIRC, there's a sexual encounter in Flash of Green which I would call rape. Maybe I'd be more of a fan if I had read him back in the day - maybe not. I did like The Executioners, bka Cape Fear, and I'm also working my way through his non-McGee books. I'm curious how MacDonald's style and McGee's attitude evolve over his career. I would recommend any Ross MacDonald (I think I've read them all) over the JD MacDonalds I've read so far.

Just finished Peter Blauner's Sunrise Highway, and have to say I'm disappointed. I felt the same way after reading Proving Ground. Somehow, the tone and characterizations just didn't feel right to me. These books are as good as most series books, but I expected a better read from Blauner. Readers seem to favor series books these days, and this seemed like an effort to get on that train. There's nothing wrong with making money - writers gotta eat! - but I feel the Robles books aren't up to Blauner's past work.