Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Hard Case Crime

I just joined the Hard Case Crime book club. Like your average mope in these stories, I can't see how this could come back to haunt me, although everyone else can.

I read the title at left. It's the hard luck tale of Max, a businessman who simply wants to have his wife killed so he can marry his blonde, 38DD (a bit small for Max), Irish (oh, but that accent) secretary. Max remains constantly amazed throughout the book that the fulfillment of this simple desire can get so complicated.

Bruen and Starr pull off the difficult trick of making none of their characters particularly likable, but writing them in such a way that the reader has a rooting interest in their success and feels pained by their inevitable undoing. Max in particular is a difficult hero in that 90% of the time he's hugely offensive, but he has just enough naivite that you can sympatize with his plight. After all, he only wants to have his wife killed.

There, but for the Grace, go we all.

3 comments:

ash said...

what are you talking about? i love my wife!

dave3544 said...

I knew when I wrote it that didn't read right. To put it right would take awhile and probably need you to know the book and would involve a lot of "you know what I mean?"s.

Oh well. Thank goodness the authors are better writers than I am.

lex dexter said...

raenie and i've been doing this for a year plus: not a dud yet.