Adieu Gloria

Soft on a scumbag
being played and knowing it
smart, still a sucker.

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with noir. I love the feel and pacing of it, and the intrigue and characterization. Part of this is, no doubt, because I grew up reading comic books, and noir literature comes out of the same tradition of pulp fiction that the comics do.

At the same time, though, a lot of classic noir - Spillane, for example - is very much a product of its time, which is a polite way of saying that its full of troubling attitudes regarding sex, politics, and race, and which also means that it can be difficult to read at times.

Queenpin does a great job of encapsulating everything I like about noir, but with a modern sensibility that makes it a lot more enjoyable to read. There's murder, intrigue, double-crosses, and an ending that I didn't quite see coming.

Recommended if you're a fan of modern noir (Sin City, Veronica Mars, etc) or of the classic stuff (Spillane, Hammett, Chandler, etc)

why oh why did it end like that

Queenpin is my 1st award book read in Feb (2008 Edgar Award Best PB Original), I've been reading 2 award winning books and 2 classics each month! This is about a young girl learning all the tricks in the rackets business from an older “Moll” who knows all the tricks and angles. Great book, short read, about 225 pages! David N.

Original writing. Sharp character studies. Suspenseful plot. Nicely captures the argot of the time.