Re: RARA-AVIS: Recent purchases

From: Bob Toomey ( btoomey@javanet.com)
Date: 06 Feb 2002


Rene Ribic wrote:

> The most exciting find is a Pan edition from 1961 of "Solomon's
> Vineyard" which I think may be the first unexpurgated edition, or at
> least the first pb edition. Does someone out there know?

Great book. International Polygonics, Lt. (IPL) brought out a nice unexpergated edition in 1988, the first American trade edition, with an introduction by William L. DeAndrea in which he calls it "one of the Great Missing Novels in the history of American Mystery Fiction." Despite his fondness for Upper Case, he's right. You'll love it. Also see if you can find Latimer's earlier wiseinhimer Bill Crane novels. They're a gas.

> "Mad River"; "Line of Fire"; "The Intriguers" by Donald Hamilton.

Good stuff. "Line of Fire" is possibly Hamilton's best novel, which makes it very good indeed.

> "Space for Hire" by William F Nolan.

A SF HB parody. Some may like it. I found it tiresome.

> "Two for Tanner" by Lawrence Block.

I've always enjoyed the Tanner series. "Tanner's Twelve Swingers" and "The Cancelled Czech" are probably the best..

> "The Hard-Boiled Detective" ed Herbert Ruhm.

One of the best HB anthologies.

> "Such Men Are Dangerous" by Lawrence Block (bought this one new).

Block in a serious vein, and one of his best.

> "Bordersnakes" by James Crumley

All of Crumley's books are hilarious, brilliant and obscene. I'd rate this the best of your current bunch. But I'd go back and read Crumley's earlier books first, in order: "The Wrong Case," "The Last Good Kiss," "Dancing Bear," and "The Mexican Tree Duck," to get some perspective on Milo and Sughrue, the Bad Ole Boys who star in "Bordersnakes."

BobT

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