Wow! I loved this book. I also loved Pickup but it's hard to believe it's the same author, even if many years separate the two novels. Pickup
could have been written by William Kennedy. It barely feels like a
crime novel-it's about down on their heels drunks, stumbling through
life. It's heartbreaking, tragic.
Miami Blues could have
been written yesterday by any of a bunch of current writers, except
Willeford is better, making it impossible to put down. It's funny, scary
and quick. Hoke Moseley is an original
After reading this in 2007, I went on to read New Hope for the Dead, Sideswipe and The Way We Die Now and enjoyed them equally. Certainly one of the more humorous crime fiction writers.
8 comments:
I'm a big fan of Charles Willeford, too. Loved MIAMI BLUES! You're right about the humor in Willeford's books.
And mixing crime and humor is not always easy.
I agree. Loved the book, read the rest of the series. I liked the movie, with Fred Ward perfect as Hoke and Alec Baldwin as the psychopathic Junior Frenger. I have PICKUP but haven't read it yet.
You won't believe it is the same writer although the writing is great.
MIAMI BLUES is a favorite of mine, both book and movie. I read another Hoke story and didn't care for it at all (I forget the title), but MIAMI BLUES is the goods.
I didn't care for The Burnt Orange Heresy, if that is the one set in the art world. But that is not a Hoke book. The weakest Hoke book for me was The Way We Die Now.
Oh, this is one I hadn't heard of before, Patti. It sounds compelling, though!
I learned about Willeford in a piece Gravetapping's Ben Boulden posted on Facebook nearly a year ago, and was sold. I read both Miami Blues and New Hope for the Dead, back to back, and enjoyed them immensely. Now you've whetted my appetite for more Willeford, Patti!
Here's the link to the retrospective that introduced an exciting new crime writer to me: https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-train-hopping-nazi-fighting-literary-hero-youve-never-heard-of?fbclid=IwAR0KcSXDj_Dc9PbJIYH1I03ChidaBaH_S0nQIekl3wk7w7HECYKnYn7YPnQ
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