Revew: Killer’s Payoff by Ed McBain (87th Precinct #6)

A well-to-do man is shot in the face while walking in Isola. The weapon is, of all things, a hunting rifle. An informant tells Bert Kling at the 87th precinct’s detective desk that Seymour Kramer, the victim, was an extortionist, giving the detectives a likely motive. Was Kramer killed by one of his victims? […]

Review: Dead Girl Blues by Lawrence Block

Cover of Dead Girl Blues by Lawrence Block

We are mostly lucky to live in an era where self-publishing is easy. While I’ve read (or tried to read) some self-published titles that I wish I hadn’t, I’ve also read some that, while they certainly could have used an editor’s touch, were decent to quite good books that almost certainly wouldn’t have been […]

The Paperback Warrior website and podcast

 

Greetings!

Those of you who follow the VWOP Twitter account have probably heard of Paperback Warrior. Paperback Warrior, as you can tell by the above image, is a website devoted to reviewing hard-boiled crime, mystery, men’s adventure, espionage, and western novels. Like the pulp novelists of yore, Eric and Tom crank ’em out, […]

Book review: A Stab in the Dark by Lawrence Block (Matthew Scudder #4)

Nine years ago, the Icepick Prowler terrorized the boroughs of New York City. Eight murders were attributed to him, but when, in a lucky break, he is caught, he only confesses to seven of the killings, and has an unshakable alibi for the eighth.

The eighth victim was a young woman named Barbara Ettinger. […]

Book review (take two): In the Midst of Death by Lawrence Block (Matthew Scudder #3)

Note: I wrote a rather perfunctory review of this years back. One problem then was I that I listened to the audio book, so was unable to flip back and forth. I’m reading the Scudder series in order at the moment and revisited this one, so here is an updated review. It’s more negative. […]

Review: Time to Murder and Create by Lawrence Block (Matthew Scudder #2)

Small-time crook “Spinner” Jablon hits it big running a blackmail racket. He’s got dirt on three people, who become the three prime suspects when he’s found in the river. Matthew Scudder had been given the evidence by Spinner, just in case that happened.

Why Scudder?: “Why I think you’ll follow through,” says Spinner, “is […]

Book review: A Song to Die For by Mike Blakely

Creed Mason had come so close. He’d had a top ten country hit with his partner Dixie Houston and their band Dixie Creed, and their future looked bright. But then he’d been drafted and sent to Vietnam, where he saw some horrific things, killed a man, and ended up with a gruesome bullet wound […]

Book review: Perfidia by James Ellroy

Perfidia is the first volume of the Second L.A. Quartet. The L.A. Quartet–The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential, and White Jazz–covers the years 1946 to 1958 in Los Angeles. The Underworld U.S.A. Trilogy–American Tabloid, The Cold Six Thousand, and Blood’s a Rover–covers 1958 to 1972, on a national scale.

Hard Case Crime Review: Bust by Ken Bruen & Jason Starr (HCC-020)

5 IMPORTANT LESSONS YOU CAN LEARN BY READING BUST:

When you hire a hit man to kill your wife, don’t pick a psychopath. Drano is not the best tool for getting rid of a dead body. Those locks on hotel room doors? Not very secure. A curly blond wig isn’t much of a disguise. […]

Movie review: The Nice Guys

I knew I should have written this up right after I saw the movie, or at the very least, the next day.

But I didn’t, and now it’s been almost a week since I’ve seen it, and I really wish it were completely fresh in my head because I don’t think I’m going to […]