The Long Goodbye

Book Description

Marlowe befriends a down on his luck war veteran with the scars to prove it. Then he finds out that Terry Lennox has a very wealthy nymphomaniac wife, who he's divorced and re-married and who ends up dead. and now Lennox is on the lam and the cops and a crazy gangster are after Marlowe.

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Marlowe befriends a down-on-his-luck war veteran with the scars to prove it. Then he finds out that Terry Lennox has a very wealthy nymphomaniac wife, who he's divorced and re-married and who ends up dead. Now Lennox is on the lam and the cops -- and a crazy gangster -- are after Marlowe.

"Raymond Chandler is a master."
   THE NEW YORK TIMES

"[Chandler] wrote as if pain hurt and life mattered."
   THE NEW YORKER

"Chandler seems to have created the culminating American hero: wised up, hopeful, thoughtful, adventurous, sentimental, cynical and rebellious."
   ROBERT B. PARKER, THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

"Philip Marlowe remains the quintessential urban private eye."
   LOS ANGELES TIMES

"Nobody can write like Chandler on his home turf, not even Faulkner.... An original.... A great artist."
   THE BOSTON BOOK REVIEW

"Raymond Chandler was one of the finest prose writers of the twentieth century.... Age does not wither Chandler's prose.... He wrote like an angel."
   LITERARY REVIEW

"[T]he prose rises to heights of unselfconscious eloquence, and we realize with a jolt of excitement that we are in the presence of not a mere action tale teller, but a stylist, a writer with a vision."
   JOYCE CAROL OATES, THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS

"Chandler wrote like a slumming angel and invested the sun-blinded streets of Los Angeles with a romantic presence."
   ROSS MACDONALD

"Raymond Chandler invented a new way of talking about America, and America has never looked the same to us since."
   PAUL AUSTER

"[Chandler]'s the perfect novelist for our times. He takes us into a different world, a world that's like ours, but isn't. "
   CAROLYN SEE

"A serious rereading of the Marlowe novels and stories yields more surprises than a rereading of Hemingway."
   RICHARD RUSSO, AUTHOR OF EMPIRE FALLS

Customer Reviews:

This is the one.......2007-10-01

This is the one, the master's masterpiece. The story is heart-wrenching in its sad inevitability; the characters are unforgettable, the style honed to perfection. It also represents the perfect realization of the vision for noir fiction which Chandler articulated in "The Simple Art of Murder." Marlowe is as noble as it gets in a decidedly ignoble world and few of the other characters deserve to be on stage with him. The setting is palpable. You taste the smog and feel it against your skin, just as you taste the gimlets at Victor's. This is the writer's guidebook and the greatest pain comes from the fact that Chandler makes it look so easy. This is exhibit A for the art of writing. It's not using strange words. It's using everyday words in new ways. Here he does it on nearly every page.

Marlowe's pursuit of the truth is what makes this book great.......2007-09-30

Detective Philip Marlowe, looking into the death of casual drinking buddy Terry Dexter, finds that what few answers emerge merely raise more questions. It's like peeling back the layers of an onion. Dexter flees to Mexico after his wife is brutally murdered, and there kills himself under cloudy circumstances. His death too neatly disposes of the potentially scandalous murder, his wife having been the wild daughter of a secretive, Hearst-like newspaper magnate. And too many people benefit. Marlowe doesn't buy it, and when arrested on suspicion of having aided Dexter's escape, refuses to talk.

By coincidence he is then drawn into the sad marriage of a wealthy, alcoholic writer and his to-die-for wife, who happen to be neighbors and friends of Dexter's in-laws. What happens there leads him back, again and again, to the Dexter case.

When I first read this, I thought it the best detective novel ever. Rereading it years later, I'm less sure.

Lately I find detective-novel conventions tiring. The loner detective. All that hardboiledness. The hard-to-explain intergrity. The pursuit of cases with no client and no paycheck. "Because they are there" may work for mountain-climbing, but not for unsolved mysteries. Mid-century novels like this one are dated by all those fedoras and martinis, although I suppose the willing readers convert those into retro-chic charm.

What I find most implausible, though, is this: Everyone sitting still for a private eye's persistent questioning. Suspects may think they can better allay suspicion by talking than by clamming up, either because there's scant evidence or because they have powerful allies. The innocent witnesses, meanwhile, invariably hold back the truth, which conveniently allows a plot to continue that otherwise would end. The private eye always reaps great benefits from finding some hole in the story's fabric. No matter how tiny it is, enough unravels for him to move his case ahead, but never (until the end) enough to finish it.

But, really, would you talk to a private eye about a murder? Especially one to which you might be tied? That tough guys either talk to Marlowe at all, or rough him up (how quaint all those fists seem) but don't kill him, leaving him alive to snoop another day, is equally problematic. And if you were innocent, wouldn't you occasionally tell it all, having decided to talk to a private eye at all?

"The Long Goodbye", I hate to say it, drags. One drawing room scene follows another, more than usual because the plot is so complex. Marlowe talks to people in bars, diners, and offices as well as drawing rooms, parlors and porches. There's precious little action.

So, that's what's wrong with it. What's right with it?

Much. Chandler and Dashiell Hammett invented the 20th century American private eye. When Chandler wrote this, the genre was hardly 20 years old. Novels like this created archetypes that were not yet stereotypes, and can't be blamed for a half century of subsequent overuse.

I find merits in it, but different ones from back in the day, when I couldn't stop turning the pages.

Chandler's leisurely writing job contains less action, but yields great character development, set in the ennui of wealthy suburbia - at the novel's writing around 1950, still a new phenomenon. He finds in the boozy cocktail parties, unhappy marriages and wandering spouses deeper evidence of its rot.

The more we learn about the enigmatic Terry Dexter, the less we understand him. Ditto the writer Roger Wade and his wife Eileen. Marlowe's lonely integrity is what holds the plot together: no one else cares about all the parts, and anyone whose interest were material might have been put off when one part was declared solved. Chandler does pull off the delicate job of maintaining Marlowe's involvement and interest in a non-case case in which he has no interest and continually mulls dropping while frequently being warned off it by the usual criminal or rich bullies.

Keeping at the truth - through all those layers of the onion - are what make this book great, in addition to Marlowe's ultimately believable pursuit of it. Chandler keeps you guessing until the last page. The end's ambivalence and murk fit well with the LA smog just then beginning to become a Southern California fixture.

A world unto hiimself.......2007-09-17

We all sometimes wish we could permanently step into the world of a book and live there. The world presented here would be one of my top choices. It's not the happiest, the safest, but it's got style, class, hot dames, and action. The way he describes Los Angeles back then makes me nostalgic for an LA that was long gone before I was even born. This is a fantastic read on so many levels. One of the best writers of the last 100 years.

THE Private Eye.......2007-09-17

"Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid? The detective must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man. He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honor. He talks as the man of his age talks, that is, with rude wit, a lively sense of the grotesque, a disgust for sham, and a contempt for pettiness."
-- Raymond Chandler from `The Simple Art of Murder' (an essay)

Philip Marlowe is cult pulp fiction at its best. His characters are intertwined and Marlowe deals with all of `em with his cool temperament and a style that can be created only by Raymond Chandler.

Raymond's stories may not be as complex and extraordinary as those of established genius detectives like Sherlock Holmes or Poirot. But his tales have emotions and noir elements that are instantly attractive and captivating.

The friend who is dead, the rich woman's known escapades, the drunk author, the rich reclusive father-in-law to the dead friend, the various characters that hit Marlowe and us in a well-crafted detective fiction is beautiful and worthy or re-reading just to relive the moments described so wonderfully.

This was the first Chandler fiction I read and have now collected a few others as well. These are a prized collection from an author who has class, style and worldly wit.

Familiar Noirish Murder Mystery.......2007-08-29

Raymond Chandler's characters in THE LONG GOODBYE (1953) have become archetypes that now inhabit countless Noir movies. These include the dogged private investigator with a hard-to-explain integrity, the tough cop on the edge of the law, the spoiled manipulative rich girl, the suave and distant crime boss, and the ruthless tycoon. I don't know if these were mystery archetypes when Chandler created them in TLG. But now, they fit into cinematic boxes and serve as familiar types in a downbeat story, where the hero's idiosyncratic integrity survives in the face of brutality, deception, and murder.

As a result, a fair way to judge Chandler is to consider his craftsmanship, not just his overly familiar characters. This, in my opinion, is superior in TLG, since there is not a vague personality or needless scene in its 350+ pages. This is tight and disciplined work. Chandler definitely knew what he was doing.

Nonetheless, TLG struck me as sheer entertainment. Perhaps Chandler realized this and wanted something, shall we say, more profound. This might explain why Marlowe calls another character a "moral defeatist" in the last chapter. Implicitly, this explains Marlowe's perseverance in TLG as he searches for the truth about Terry Lennox, his occasional drinking buddy. Looking back on the book, it's credible to view Marlowe as fighting back against such weakness, which was certainly a profound position in the year's following World War II. Further, this makes him more than a relentless and humorless wise guy, which is how everyone but Terry reacts to him. Poor Marlowe really needs a friend.

Incidentally, an element in TLG that I enjoyed immensely was Chandler's insider comments on the publishing scene and writing. These came to me as complete and delightful surprises. Perhaps the popularity of Noir movies has robbed the equivalent element of surprise from his characters.

The Hard Goodbye (Sin City, Book 1: Second Edition)

Average customer rating:

Graphic SF Reader
"Here's a sign."
A classic in the comic medium.
excessively violent; should be banned; utter tripe
Worth dying for, Worth killing for, Worth going to hell for, Amen

The Hard Goodbye (Sin City, Book 1: Second Edition)
Frank Miller
Manufacturer: Dark Horse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1593072937

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Sin City launched the long-running, critically acclaimed series of comics novels by Frank Miller. Having worked on some of the most important comic books in the 1980s, including Marvel Comics's Daredevil and the influential Batman graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns, Miller was already a heavy-weight cartoonist, but he hit his stride with Sin City. It gave him the freedom that doesn't come when working on someone else's characters. While the art isn't as polished as in later books, it is in many ways the quintessential Sin City story: tough-guy Marv finds the girl of his dreams, an incredible beauty named Goldie. But when Goldie is murdered on their first night together, Marv scours the bars and back alleys of Sin City to find her killer in hopes of avenging her death.

Book Description

Legendary artist Frank Miller opened a noir opus in Sin City. This critically-acclaimed triumph-honored by both an Eisner Award and the prestigious National Cartoonists' Award-combines the pulp intensity of writers like Spillane and Cain with the gritty graphic storytelling that only Miller can deliver. Sin City is the place-tough as leather and dry as tinder. Love is the fuel, and the now-infamous character Marv has the match ... not to mention a "condition." He's gunning after Goldie's killer, so it's time to watch this town burn! Frank Miller is one of modern comic's first talents to publish a comic book that he created, crafted, and owned. That book is Sin City, which grew from the wellspring of Miller's passionate desire to create a comic book with two distinct qualities - it wouldn't be a superhero comic, and it had to be a crime comic. Enter Marv and Goldie. And a psychotic killer. And a crime-drenched town. And a corrupted diocese. Sin City is a town like no other, but most places resemble it in one way or another. In real life, thugs live everywhere and women sell their bodies all the time, but if everyday life is a storm, Sin City exists in the eye of a hurricane.

Customer Reviews:

Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03

A violent, brutal, story, but somehow it is good. A cannibal bishop and his superfreak protege enjoy a lot of female long pig. One night, they kill the wrong girl, set up a hulking thug named Marv to take the fall. They mess up, fail to get him. He likes the girl they killed, a lot. Maximum carnage ensues.

"Here's a sign.".......2007-07-23

Frank Miller starts his Sin City series off with a bang. Marv is probably the best anti-hero since Dirty Harry. His sense of justice is rough and his means of enforcing it is rougher. And watching it play out makes THE HARD GOODBYE an excellent introduction to these books.

Marv is not the most introspective man around. He is as psychologically troubled in his everyday life as he is psychologically untroubled by his use of violence to help and avenge those he deems to be worthy of such. In THE HARD GOODBYE, he focuses his attention on Goldie, the only woman to ever show him the slightest bit of solace. After she winds up dead, Marv has no other purpose but to find and kill those responsible. Woe to those who get in the way.

Though not the sharpest crayon in the box, Marv nonetheless shows more smarts than many would give him credit for. His ensnaring of Kevin, a truly scary character, demonstrates an ability to plan things out in detail when necessary to accomplish his goals. If Marv lacks subtlety, it is most likely because, well, he does not need it.

THE HARD GOODBYE sets the tone for the rest of the Sin City catalog. The action and characters are usually as black and white as the art. The characters are often archetypes and it is to Frank Miller's credit that they do not become stereotypical. It may not be the most intellectual of reading, but for those times you just want the action, these books fit the bill.

A classic in the comic medium........2007-07-19

No comic book series has ever went outside the lines as much as Frank Miller's Sin City. Book 1 of 7, The Hard Goodbye is a tale of love lost and revenge. Featuring hardcore violence and gritty dialogue, this story is as dark as they come. If you like noir, this will become your paradise. Be sure to check out the other graphic novels as well, and the movie too. I hope you enjoy this book!

excessively violent; should be banned; utter tripe.......2007-05-24

I usually hate the idea of censorship, but this is one work that should definitely be banned. It contributes nothing and is filled with mindless violence. If you enjoyed this book, then there is something wrong with you.

Worth dying for, Worth killing for, Worth going to hell for, Amen.......2007-03-31

Excellent book with a lot of action, although it was a very quick read.

The Lady in the Lake, The Little Sister, The Long Goodbye, Playback (Everyman's Library)

Average customer rating:

Chandler reigns
A nice way to begin Raymond Chandler addiction

The Lady in the Lake, The Little Sister, The Long Goodbye, Playback (Everyman's Library)
Raymond Chandler
Manufacturer: Everyman's Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0375415025
Release Date: 2002-10-15

Book Description

(Book Jacket Status: Not Jacketed)

Creator of the famous Philip Marlowe, Raymond Chandler elevated the American hard-boiled detective genre to an art form. Chandler’s last four novels, published here in one volume, offer ample opportunity to savor the unique and utterly compelling fictional world that made his works modern classics.

The Lady in the Lake moves Marlowe out of his usual habitat of city streets and into the mountains outside of Los Angeles in his strange search for a missing woman. The Little Sister takes Marlowe to Hollywood, where he tries to find a sweet young thing’s missing brother, uncovering on the way a little blackmail, a lot of drugs, and more than enough murder. In The Long Goodbye, a case involving a war-scarred drunk and his nymphomaniac wife has Marlowe constantly on the move: a psychotic gangster’s on his trail, he’s in trouble with the cops, and more and more corpses keep turning up. Playback features a well-endowed redhead who leads Marlowe to the California coast to solve a tale of big money and, of course, murder.

Throughout these masterpieces, Marlowe’s wry humor and existential sense of his job prove yet again why he has become one of the most recognized and imitated characters in fiction.

Customer Reviews:

Chandler reigns.......2006-01-21

I first came across Chandler when I heard the Coen brothers interview and discovered that 'The Big Lebowski' was written in the style of a Chandler novel (name itself being derived from 'The Big Sleep'). This alone interested me enough to buy and read The Big Sleep.

Six novels later, I'm still reading Chandler novels, and still finding each and every one different, interesting and intriguing. The main character Marlowe is a wisecracking detective, wary of women - whom he obviously mistrusts - except for the "bad type of women", for whom he does not particularly care. He is also a complex, intelligent man, often an altruist who goes to some extraordinary lengths for his clients, even when he's not paid.

Novels are usually set in 30's/40's Hollywood and Bay City (which is since called something else), and are especially nostalgic, if you've lived in the surrounding areas.

Chandler's writing is funny and unique - the stories - all told in first person, are written so that the reader is both aware of Marlowe's conscious thoughts, and at the same time, when the ending or some pivotal point in the story arrives - is not. This point is not easy to describe, but it works extremely well - the stories are always amusing, captivating, and suspenseful.

I will easily recommend any Chandler novel for anyone interested in mysteries, as well as to those that enjoy unconventional styles of storytelling.

A nice way to begin Raymond Chandler addiction.......2004-05-10

If you don't already have a bookshelf full of Raymond Chandler, Ross McDonald and other excellent mystery writers of those times this is a fine start, three good, solid novels to take up the shelf space of only one. I'd easily give every Raymond Chandler novel he ever penned 5 stars and these are no exception. You won't go wrong reading Chandler mysteries and you won't go wrong with this compact edition of three great books in one.

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The Goodbye Look
The Gooddbye Look/ private eye/mystery
An artfully written but overly convoluted narrative.
Chandleresque
Macdonald offers solid fare in this Archer mystery.

The Goodbye Look
Ross Macdonald
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0375708650
Release Date: 2000-12-05

Book Description

In The Goodbye Look, Lew Archer is hired to investigate a burglary at the mission-style mansion of Irene and Larry Chalmers. The prime suspect, their son Nick, has a talent for disappearing, and the Chalmerses are a family with money and memories to burn. As Archer zeros in on Nick, he discovers a troubled blonde, a stash of wartime letters, a mysterious hobo. Then a stiff turns up in a car on an empty beach. And Nick turns up with a Colt .45. In The Goodbye Look, Ross Macdonald delves into the world of the rich and the troubled and reveals that the past has a deadly way of catching up to the present.

If any writer can be said to have inherited the mantle of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, it is Ross Macdonald. Between the late 1940s and his death in 1983, he gave the American crime novel a psychological depth and moral complexity that his pre-decessors had only hinted at. And in the character of Lew Archer, Macdonald redefined the private eye as a roving conscience who walks the treacherous frontier between criminal guilt and human sin.

Customer Reviews:

The Goodbye Look.......2007-08-20

The Goodbye Look is another excellent Lew Archer novel by Ross MacDonald. Archer is called on the case to investigate the theft of a antique jewelry box owned by the wealthy Chalmers family. Initially suspicion falls on the Nick the only son. Nick is a mixed up kid who has just dropped out of college. As Archer investigates, the threads he pulls lead him to murders commited decades before.

This another excellent installment in the Lew Archer series. MacDonlad is a worthy heir to Hammett and Chandler in the hardboiled detective genre.

The Gooddbye Look/ private eye/mystery.......2007-05-12

Ross Macdonald is an excellent writer of the private eye and mystery grouping.. the book was in excellent condition/ paperback .. and delivery was adequate..

An artfully written but overly convoluted narrative. .......2005-06-18

To refer to Nick Chalmers of Pacific Point, California as a troubled young man would be completely understating the case. The truth is he's guilt ridden to the point of being suicidal.
Private eye Lew Archer, whose newest client is Nick's mother Irene, is determined to unravel the complex web of events that has brought Nick to the wretched mental state in which he now finds himself.

The Goodbye Look serves up plenty of typical Ross Macdonald fare as the narrative, an exceedingly complex one even by Macdonald's standards, unfolds. Three families, the Chalmers, the Truttwells and the Swains are plagued by a series of intertwined tragedies that have played out over 25 years and more.

As Archer traverses much of the southern California landscape steadfastly trying to sort out this sordid saga of murder, larceny, infidelity, parental malfeasance and hidden identity, the reader is drawn into Macdonald's world. A world where the sins of the father's are invariably visited upon the children and one's destiny is determined before one is old enough to have any say in the matter.

Enhancing this book's interest quotient is the fact that Archer himself becomes an active participant in the ongoing soap opera when he engages in sex with a married woman. Not just any married woman, but one who has, as it turns out, played a key role in the mystery Archer seeks to solve.

As is the case in most Lew Archer novels, the dialogue and descriptive prose are first rate. However, The Goodbye Look is not quite as strong as some of Macdonald's other work because the plot is so twisted that its unravelling raises as many questions as it answers. Readers, particularly those who are already Ross Macdonald fans, will enjoy certain aspects of this book. For example, a scene where clues are found by viewing a decades old home movie is particularly well written. But overall, The Goodbye Look ranks a notch or two below the author's best work.

Chandleresque.......2002-09-19

I picked this one up because of the numerous good reviews that Macdonald has received over the years, and his obvious prolificity. The Goodbye Look is supposed to be his best, and while it is very good, it is a style of mystery that isn't quite to my taste. Macdonald is very much like Raymond Chandler. His hero is a rough, ready, and usually untalkative type who goes through a mystery case as gently as he downs a fifth of scotch. The mystery is also very Chandleresque--several dysfunctional families, incestuously lying and cheating their way to unhappiness. If you like Chandler, you'll like Ross Macdonald. However, based on my impression of this book, if you want more characterization, try John D. McDonald.

Macdonald offers solid fare in this Archer mystery........1999-07-13

Lew Archer works for the sleaziest rich people in California on a consistent basis. Their concealed pasts go back 20 years, sometimes longer, and in the process of the plot's unravelling several dead bodies usually turn up (including fresh ones). In this novel, his first national bestseller in 1969, two broken families have intertwined tragic pasts that Archer ends up disclosing. By the end they're not happier, but have faced the ugly truth about themselves. This book is compact, unified in time and setting, and has nice plot twists. Macdonald has been criticized for rewriting the same book, and there is a consistency of character and milieu in his work. But hey, if it's not broke... The end is a lift from Macdonald's The Galton Case, widely regarded as his best book. When you've read that one--and if there's a better PI novel written since WWII I don't know of it--try this one. It's a good read by a good writer.

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(3.5) "Tenderness. You get it where you can. Even if you have to pay for it."
3 - 3 and 1/2 stars
The generic title gives you an idea of what to expect.
Harsh and nasty, but not much mystery
Like a bite from a dog with no teeth

Kiss Her Goodbye (Hard Case Crime)
Allan Guthrie
Manufacturer: Hard Crime Case
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0843953551

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(3.5) "Tenderness. You get it where you can. Even if you have to pay for it.".......2007-08-09

Given the protagonist's sorry state of affairs, Joe's last name, Hope, boggles the mind, the man embroiled in a grim predicament, accused of a brutal murder soon after the suicide of his nineteen-year-old daughter, Gemma. An Edinburgh man, Joe is no slacker, a tough guy who makes his living as an enforcer in the criminal underbelly of the city, his companion, Cooper, partial to violence when making a point. Hard-living and hard-drinking, Joe frequently accompanies his mate when it is necessary to convince an errant customer to pay his debts. Long-immersed in a lifestyle that favors as little contact with the law as possible, Joe's world is rough, dangerous and frequently violent, a baseball bat his tool of the trade. Indeed, it is the baseball bat that indicts Joe in the murder of his wife, Ruth, baseball not being a big sport in Edinburgh.

In a drunken haze after learning of Gemma's suicide, Joe barely has time to react to the news when he is summarily arrested for the brutal bludgeoning his wife. Granted husband and wife have been picking the marriage apart for years, no love lost between them anymore, but Joe can't recall a row serious enough for him to have reacted that violently. Instead, he has been focused on what happened to Gemma, traveling to Orkney to see Ruth's cousin, Adam Wright, who runs a writer's retreat where Gemma was staying when she ended her short existence on the earth. Trussed up by the so-called evidence that marks him as a murderer, it takes Joe a while, due to his hard-headed nature, to even begin to figure out who could be framing him and why. His alibi for the night of the murder is shot, the deadly baseball bat belongs to him and there is no one to support his own description of the facts.

Guthrie fashions his tough-guy-hit-by-tragedy tale from the criminal element in Edinburgh, perfectly capturing the downtrodden losers, the soulless, directionless lives of men who have little to celebrate save the occasional rousing drunk and whatever random violence attends the moment. As unsavory as most of his fellow travelers, Joe's world is filled with the harsh realities of people scrambling for an edge, as assortment of bullies and miscreants; but underneath his bravado, Joe has a heart, although he expends a great deal of energy avoiding his feelings. Inevitably, those feelings translate into action, the currency of his trade. In the end, it's no wonder that bullets fly, bats swing wildly and damaged bodies scramble for cover. Imbuing this underground life with menace, Guthrie recreates the dark side of Edinburgh, bristling with con artists, gangsters and opportunists acting out their personal dramas on the seedy streets, where every action has a consequence and the powerless bow to threat. Redeemed, Joe resurfaces, reeling from a betrayal even he didn't see coming, the world just as bleak as before. Luan Gaines/2007.

3 - 3 and 1/2 stars.......2006-05-30

If you can get thru the first half-dozen chapters (or so) of the author calling every other character and/or street character the same name (starts with T, has a W, and ends with T) then you'll be pleasantly surprised with the double murder mystery that develops over the course of the rest of KISS HER GOODBYE, a double-dose of tough love for the main character, a small-town Scottish mob enforcer ironically named Joe Hope.

The lowdown: after spending a night away from his estranged wife, Hope is given the news that his daughter has committed suicide. He believes Adam -- her cousin -- failed to watch out for the young girl, but before Hope can arrange a formal sitdown with the man he's caught by the police and charged with the murder of his own wife! Hope must stay one step ahead of his lawyer, his (somewhat) love interest, and the police if he's going to save his skin and hold those responsible for these two crimes.

Allan Guthrie holds up his reputation for noir thrillers here, delivering a wealth of characters the average reader probably will hold suspect until the very last few pages, but there's little more to get excited about. The mystery unfolds rather predictably, but KISS HER GOODBYE is a quick, guilty-pleasure-read like much of the HARD CASE imprint. It's one of the stronger early entries in the line, and, on those merits alone, it deserves to be read.

The generic title gives you an idea of what to expect........2006-03-14

I had read several glowing book reviews of "Kiss Her Goodbye" on different websites so I purchased this book. Mr. Guthrie is apparently a young, up-and-coming crime writer, but his sophomore effort is a wheezing slog through a bare bones plot that is not only stretched thin to reach the scant 220 pages, but the whole book felt like a re-run of other, better British crime stories.

The book unwisely follows a sad-sack knucklehead anti-hero, with zero redeeming qualities who bungles his way deeper and deeper into a mystery that completely baffles him, although it won't baffle the reader. Mr. Guthrie could have supplied at least one additional suspect just to, you know, keep us guessing past page 30.

The premise seems intriguing as a collections man armed with a baseball bat (in Edinburgh?) finds out his daughter "killed herself." I was expecting a "Get Carter" style trail of bodies as dark secrets get dredged up and punters get wasted for getting in the way. But no. Our anti-hero "Tough Guy" spends the bulk of the book whinging about his bruised ribs. We also meet such unlikely characters as an effeminate tanning salon worker (in Edinburgh!) a hooker with a slightly tarnished heart of gold, a sadistic cop and a wishy-washy writer living in a retreat on an island. The plot is padded out with a shy love story between the writer and his maid which makes the timidity of "Howard's End" seem downright courageous. Each chapter that features the ill-starred lovers pining for each other, yet neither akes the first move, the already sluggish plot stopped dead in it's tracks.

"Kiss Her Goodbye" uses gruesome violence merely for titillation, and throws a whiff of incest in just for shock value. Neither is germane to the plot.

So, finally I did give it two stars instead of one, and I did spend the time and effort to write an in-depth review of the book because I did see potential in both the writing and the setting. Mr. Guthrie's rookie effort "Two-Way Split" has garnered him some acclaim and notoriety, so it's clear he has talent. I just felt this story was uninspired, just like the title.

For Brit Noir that Mr. Guthrie clearly is indebted to, spend the time and effort to seek out "Get Carter" by Ted Lewis and "The Devil's Home on Leave" by Derek Raymond. Both are quite intense, tough and gritty. They both show how to write an unlikeable bastard hero correctly.

Harsh and nasty, but not much mystery.......2006-02-13

Joe Hope is an enforcer for a loan shark in Edinburgh Scotland who finds out his daughter Gemma has committed suicide on the isle of Orkney. His immediate concern is to take out his anger on his wife's cousin who was supposed to be looking out for Gemma. But first he gets drunk and spends the night sleeping it off at his friend and employer's home. The next day he takes off for Orkney where he is promptly arrested for the murder of his wife. Turns out her body was found in the boot of his car, beaten to death with Joe's baseball bat. Joe's lawyer eventualy gets him released and he goes about unravelling the mystery of who is framing him for the murder and why his daughter killed herself.

This isn't a badly written book although it is unabashedly violent and the language is beyond salty. It isn't however that much of a mystery. You will figure out who is behind the murder fairly quickly. Then Joe himself reveals it with still about 80 or 90 pages to go. It is also hard to root for the main character of Joe Hope because there is nothing likable about him. There really isn't anything likable about any of the characters and their attitudes become overbearing after awhile. The thing that struck me the oddest is that for as hard and nasty of a story as "Kiss her Goodbye" was, the ending wraps everything up like a package with a big bow. It just didn't seem to fit the style of the book.

Like a bite from a dog with no teeth.......2005-10-23

You know you're supposed to feel something at some point but nothing really breaks the skin. The charecters are soulless and pretty boring even when compared solely to the other books in the series. The plot is by the numbers and predictable at every turn.

When one reads a mystery novel you want to have to pay attention for every clue, every charecter shading, and yet hope to be surprised at the end despite your efforts. No such energy need be expended with this novel. You'd have to be reading the book in a different language to be surprised by anything that happens here. The set-ups are childish and can be seen a mile away.

If you have to buy this to complete your set of Hard Case Crime, be my guest. I did. Everyone else, take a few steps back and try "Fade to Blonde" or "Marked Woman".

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Five Stars
Gripping
Interesting Concept
The Human Condition
A very good read!

The Last Goodbye
Reed Arvin
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060555513
Release Date: 2004-02-17

Book Description

From the hot new suspense writer critics predict will have Grisham fans "switching their allegiance in midstream" comes a thrilling tale of love and murder set on the mean streets and in the sleek society haunts of Atlanta. . . .

Sleeping with a client's gorgeous girlfriend may have been the gutsiest move in Jack Hammond's formerly booming law career, but it wasn't the smartest. Booted from his elite law firm, Jack now scrapes by as a court-appointed attorney, his client list a revolving door of small-time drug offenders and petty thieves.

When his friend -- a computer whiz and former addict who'd brought his life back from the brink -- is found dead in his apartment with a syringe stuck in his arm, Jack knows something is very wrong.

Where the cops see just another overdose, Jack sees a murder. Investigating the case, he learns that his friend was obsessed with a beautiful singer -- who also happens to be half of the most popular power couple in Atlanta.

Talented and privileged, the spellbinding Michele Sonnieris nevertheless a deeply troubled woman, plagued by secrets. Against his better judgment -- and in a disturbing echo of his earlier fall from grace -- Jack is pulled further and further into her world, where he discovers more suspicious deaths, all pointing toward a mysterious cover-up.

A volatile tale of love, betrayal, and murder shot through with tenderness and poignant humanity, The Last Goodbye is a riveting thriller with a thunderously beating heart, a masterful page-turner that probes the meaning of love and the burdens of the past.

Customer Reviews:

Five Stars.......2007-06-30

Very well written novel - about an attorney who has fallen from grace and his efforts to uncover plans by some bad people in Atlanta who intend to make a lot of money, taking innocent life in the process. Author is knowledgeable about the law, computers, Atlanta and its various social levels, and other things. Has a remarkable ability to describe locations and events graphically. Also injects some philosophy (reminiscent of the Travis McGee books by John D. MacDonald).

Gripping .......2006-07-20

This book caught me from the first paragraph and it was one heck of a read after that. Great plot, lots of twists and action. Jack Hammond is so likeable a character with his honesty that he would appeal to anyone's humanity. Loved it and think Arvin is a very talented writer.

Interesting Concept.......2006-06-04

Attorney Jack Hammond (white) sleeps with a client's girlfriend (Hispanic)who ends up dead. Jack is fired from his prestigious law fim and now scrapes by as a court-appointed attorney to petty thieves and small-time drug offenders. When his friend - a computer whiz ends up dead, Jack decides to do some investigating and ends up having an affair with a beautiful, married singer Michele. The plot thickens with the intrigues of Michele's husband and his connection to Jack's dead friend. THe novel was suspenseful and an interesting read, however I would hardly classify it as an interracuial romance.

The Human Condition.......2006-05-07

The authors insights, deprecating, honest and realistic, are delivered casually, almost as if from a swing on the front porch. It is this delivery that distinguishes his prose fromt the usual run-of-the-mill writer. His specialty is desperation and hope - two emotions that seem inextricably bound. This is yet another combination police procedural/mystery/drama with a dose of romance - just my cup of tea.

The hero commits a lawyer's fatal error by sleeping with a client who must then face the consequences of her actions. Years later he is a defender of the down and out whose hopeless squalid lives in the Atlanta inner city are wonderfully and bitterly portrayed. An old friend is found dead, a needle in his arm. Since he was once a drug addict the conclusion is suicide - something our hero refuses to accept. So begins the story.

Through a brilliant set of circumstances we are introduced into the world of opera and one diva in particular. Of course, the two fall for each other in a searing mixture of race (she is black), adultry (she is married) and secrets (she has lots). Along the way we meet one of his clients, Nighhawk, a bitter computer hacker who helps Hammond in discovering the truth of what really happened to his friend. The beauty of the book is the way it ties everything together even if the ending is a tad rushed. Reed Arvin is a splendid writer that I would encourage everyone to read.

A very good read!.......2005-12-12

I loved this book; just read what everybody else said for a more complete description. I'd like to point three things out, though:
(1) The opening chapter is delightful, for its combination of Mickey-Spillane-Plot with Wodehouse-Genteel-Language. The main character is down on his luck, but spins a beautifully sardonic line of high-flown thoughts about it all.
(2) The author has a fine touch when constructing plot twists. That is, he didn't give the game away with obvious choices, or go for cheap shock value with really unlikely angles. Instead, you think you're figuring things out, but then find out you were only half-right, and the other facts are still lurking somewhere. That is, someone has been murdered--but it wasn't exactly how you thought, though you're on the right track; there's more than one obvious murder method, and more than one reasonable suspect.
It kept me not just guessing but *thinking*--instead of distracting you with plot twists or red herrings, the author gives you a damn good puzzle to put together, and more than one of each piece will fit. I enjoyed trying to outguess the main character by putting things together faster than he did.
(3) The book has a bitter streak, and the ending, while not altogether unhappy, still punches you in the gut. I can't say more without giving it away. It's emotionally powerful but never gets sappy or melodramatic. Good stuff.
Anyway, I loved it and I'd love to see more of the author's work, with this set of characters or others. Five stars.

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The Long Goodbye
Raymond Chandler
Manufacturer: Phoenix Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 1597770574

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The Dark Goodbye Volume 1
Drew Rausch , and Frank Marraffino
Manufacturer: TokyoPop
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1598169726
Release Date: 2007-04-10

Book Description

Hired to locate a missing girl, Detective Max "Mutt" Mason discovers deeper malignant forces at work. Femmes fatale soon give way to strange creatures older than humanity, all bent on remaking our world as their own. Mason wants answers, but the solution to this mystery may go beyond mere greed and betrayal--leading the detective to the brink of horrifying realms which man was never meant to tresspass... From the creative team of Frank Marraffino and Drew Rausch comes a brilliant fusion of hard boiled noir and and weird horror, all taking place on the mean streets of one very sinful city.

$Boston, Anne Wave ME Goodbye. \Hard Only\$
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Boston, Anne Wave ME Goodbye. \Hard Only\

Manufacturer: Virago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0860688380

Forever Hellos, Hard Goodbyes: Inspiration, Wit, and Wisdom from Courageous Kids Facing Life Threatening Ilness

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Forever Hellos, Hard Goodbyes: Inspiration, Wit, and Wisdom from Courageous Kids Facing Life Threatening Ilness
Axel Dahlberg , and Janis Love
Manufacturer: Free Spirit Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Product Description

When facing a life-challenging or even terminal illness, it s all about being normal. That s what kids and teens want for themselves and from the people around them. With wit, wisdom, and amazing courage, young people ages 7-21 tell in their own words what it s like to be ill while trying to live each minute of their daily lives. Their stories are honest, heartfelt, and thought-provoking; their advice is of value to anyone who knows, loves, or treats young people with illnesses or disabilities. Recommended for families, friends, classmates, and teachers of affected children and teens; for colleges that offer classes in disability studies; and for doctors and hospitals who want to share hope with their patients.

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