The Grifters

By Jim Thompson,

Book cover of The Grifters

Book description

Roy Dillon is young, good-looking and devastatingly charming. He's also a completely amoral con man. Lily, his mother, works for the mob. Moira Langtry, Roy's mistress, is always looking for the main chance, and so is Carol Roberg, the nurse brought in to look after Roy when a bad choice…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked The Grifters as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Another Jim Thompson classic, The Grifters is about a trio of con artists trying to move up from being small-time crooks. They add love and a mother/son relationship into the mix which only makes things worse. The film directed by Stephen Frears is a master-class in acting from Anjelica Huston, Annette Bening, and John Cusak. The scene at the end couldn’t be more shocking as a way to wrap up a noir film. Money is paramount in the world of the grifters, everything else secondary. What could be more noir than that?

From Lee's list on noir that are great films.

Want books like The Grifters?

Our community of 10,000+ authors has personally recommended 92 books like The Grifters.

Browse books like The Grifters

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in confidence tricks, film, and JFK?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about confidence tricks, film, and JFK.

Confidence Tricks Explore 59 books about confidence tricks
Film Explore 229 books about film
JFK Explore 62 books about JFK