The Last Good Kiss

By James Crumley,

Book cover of The Last Good Kiss

Book description

'As sweetly profane a poet as American noir could have asked for' Ian Rankin

'A friggin' masterpiece' Dennis Lehane

'The stunner that reinvigorated the genre and jacked up a generation of future crime novelists' George Pelecanos

Meet Private Detective C. W. Sughrue.

Private detectives are supposed to find missing persons…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked The Last Good Kiss as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Detective CW Sughrue was working the topless bar scene well before Jack Reacher wandered across the literary landscape. But unlike Reacher, Sughrue carries the sins of mankind on his own shoulders, just as likely to solve a crime as to curl up in a cheap motel with a bottle of whisky. 

He begins the book looking for a trouble author (is there any other kind?), but once he finds him, things get really messy…

The first time I saw a Coen Brothers’ movie I felt like I was already familiar with their style. It’s probably because I had already read…

Crumley, is vastly underrated as a writer, perhaps because he can tend to ramble a bit, actually a lot, and for people looking for plots and events, sometimes they’re nowhere to be found, just a whole lot of ramblingbut that’s what I love about Crumley. He’s not in a hurry and the rambling has gems in plain sight lying there just ready to be picked up. So, don’t try to hurry, just ramble along with it and before you know it, you’ll have been for a hell of a ride.

From Simon's list on noir crime from old to new.

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