Westlake on Rabe: Murder Me for Nickels & Anatomy of a Killer

NB: A version of this post also appears at Existential Ennui.

In his 1989 essay on Peter Rabe for the critical anthology Murder off the Rack, Donald E. Westlake identified two distinct periods during which, Westlake reckoned, Rabe produced his best work. The first came at the start of Rabe’s career, encompassing […]

Westlake on Rabe: A Shroud for Jesso & Kill the Boss Goodbye

NB: A version of this post also appears at Existential Ennui.

Continuing the rolling—if intermittent—showcase of Peter Rabe books I’ve bought of late (well, over the last year or so, anyway)—with, of course, additional commentary on each by perhaps Rabe’s greatest admirer, Donald E. Westlake, taken from Westlake’s 1989 essay on Rabe—we […]

Peter Rabe, by Donald E. Westlake, in Murder off the Rack

NB: A version of this post also appears on Existential Ennui.

Chances are, if you become inordinately interested in the work of Donald E. Westlake—as I self-evidently have—at some point you’re going to encounter Peter Rabe. In interviews and articles Westlake would often cite Rabe as being a major influence (alongside Dashiell […]

The Nolan series by Max Allan Collins, part I–Not Quite Parker review and guest post

One thing I haven’t done a terribly good job of is covering the various Parker pastiches, homages, tributes, and rip-offs. (I’ll try to do better, I swear!) Fortunately, in the case of Max Allan Collins’ Nolan novels, someone has stepped up to the plate to provide the coverage that I haven’t. That person is […]

Guest slot: Parker, Westlake and Peter Rabe’s Anatomy of a Killer

Note: I apologize for the lack of content lately, but I’ve been too busy to read, much less write. In lieu of my own contributions, I’m hoping to host some guest posts. This piece about a key Donald Westlake influence was penned by our old friend Nick Jones, and originally appeared at his blog, Existential […]

The “Cold” Books by Tom Piccirilli

Author Tom Piccirilli writes that his “Cold” books (The Cold Spot and The Coldest Mile to date) are inspired by Gold Medal paperbacks, including those by our favorite:

The Cold books are heavily influenced by the 50s [sic, in Stark’s case at least] Gold Medal classic authors such as David […]