The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

Not sure how to describe what I am looking for.
Early 20th Century, urban setting, not necessarily about con men but something crime related. Doesn't have to be written in the early 20th century, can be written recently. Horse racing schemes would be good. I'm really interested in the men and women characters that hang around horse tracks and bars always looking for an angle. Not really wanting books that emphasize the Mafia or Las Vegas unless they are really worth my time.

Please don't recommend anything by Hammett, Chandler, and Cain as I've read all their stuff.

The Grifters ?

Fab movie too. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099703/

Only problem is that it's not early 20th century.

You might like Damon Runyon or Nelson Algren. I'm not sure they're early enough in the 20th century for you though; Runyon wrote during the Prohibition era & Algren for some years thereafter.
I just looked up something else and found a "Listopia" heading - "Con Men..." with lots of titles you could browse. Picked out a couple myself.

I love the Grifters movie, screenplay by Donald Westlake too. I need to read the book. No 20's and 30's are great. Pretty much anything up to WWII seems like what I would want. Even after if it is really good.

Not sure if this is crime-y enough for you, but I really enjoyed The Given Day by Dennis Lehane, set around 1919 in Boston. It follows a Boston family of police detectives on opposite sides of the Boston police strike. It also describes another real life event, the Great Molasses Flood, during which molasses flowed through the streets of the North End after a silo of molasses burst. Unforgettable.

Carol/Bonadie wrote: "Not sure if this is crime-y enough for you, but I really enjoyed The Given Day by Dennis Lehane, set around 1919 in Boston. It follows a Boston famil..."
I just bought this for $5 at Barnes & Noble's sale.

Carol/Bonadie wrote: "Not sure if this is crime-y enough for you, but I really enjoyed The Given Day by Dennis Lehane, set around 1919 in Boston. It follows a Boston famil..."

There's a book about that flood - Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919. I've come close to picking it up several times.

Wow, I didn't know The Given Day referenced that flood directly. I actually read Dark Tide to prep myself for reading The Given Day. Good Deal.