Friday, January 29, 2010

Friday's Forgotten Books, January 29, 2010



Femme Fatale: Ida Lupino Reminder: you can find all 20 months worth of forgotten books here.

Is it me or are too many people dying lately?











While you may know Kevin R. Tipple mainly by his book reviews, his short
fiction has appeared in such magazines as “Lynx Eye,” “Starblade,” “Show and
Tell,” and "The Writer's Post Journal" among others and online at such
places as "Mouth Full Of Bullets," "Crime And Suspense," "Mysterical-e" and
others. His story “By The Light Of The Moon” is available in “THE CARPATHIAN SHADOWS VOLUME TWO” anthology available from him, online and through bookstores. Examples of some of his published work can be found on his
website at http://kevinrtipple.com/

Milton T. Burton broke onto the crime scene a few years back with his
powerful debut novel, “The Rogues’ Game.” Set in an unnamed West Texas small
town, the book tells the tale of an unnamed narrator who arrives in town to
play cards and carry out an act of revenge. The con is the thing and the
heavily atmospheric and complex book twists and turns all the way to the
end. While I really enjoyed that book, I think his second novel, which came
out in 2006 is a bit better.

Titled “The Sweet And The Dead” the book is set in the fall of 1970 in
Mississippi where Manfred Eugene "Hog" Webern is deep undercover in Biloxi.
Hog is a retired Dallas County Deputy Sheriff, a good man, and a damn good
cop despite the word on the street. It is coincidence and nothing more that
he got into some money at approximately the same time his former partner was
gunned down and a couple of other nasty things happened. The word on the
street is that Hog is dirty which makes him a perfect candidate to
investigate from the inside the group dubbed the "Dixie Mafia."

Bob Wallace is a Texas Ranger and a man that Hog has worked with before more
than once and a man that Hog trusts without question. Wallace tells him that
Curtis Blanchard, one of the chief felony investigators for the Mississippi
Department of Public Safety wants Hog to come to Mississippi, hook up with
Jasper Sparks, head of the aforementioned Dixie Mafia, and gather enough
evidence to bring Jasper and as many others as possible down. Hog agrees for
several reasons and before long finds himself deep undercover in a twisting
case that seems to know no end.

In both of Milton’s books, the tales twist and turn on themselves and
features a main character full of internal demons and unresolved guilt who
is seeking his own form of justice. A dark hero who finds a brand of honor
in the criminal element and one isn’t sure about the character’s motivations
until the final word on the last page.


Books that I simply can’t say enough good things about or do justice to in
reviews. The author, like his characters, goes quietly about his business
and eschews the limelight and self promotion that so many routinely engage
in on every forum possible. Milton T. Burton deserves considerably more
acclaim than he is getting and his books deserve a place on your reading
list.

Patti Abbott: Books that meant a lot to me:

THE RECTOR OF JUSTIN,
by Louis Auchincloss, who died this week. Rather than try to jog my memory to speak about a book I read 45 years ago, let me refer you to a piece by Jonathan Yardly. Auchincloss may have written about and from a particular class, but he did it well.

Nine Stories-I bet you've read this one.








Ed Gorman is the author of A TICKET TO RIDE and editor of the anthology BETWEEN THE DARK AND DAYLIGHT. You can find him
here.

The Luck of Ginger Coffey, Brian Moore

When I was but a lad I read an interview with Graham Greene in which
the master said that “Brian Moore is my favorite living novelist.” Who?
I’m afraid that the “Who?” still pertains today. Despite accolades from
every conceivable quarter Brian Moore never came close to getting the
readership he deserved, this despite seeing at least three of his
novels turn into well-received feature films and TV movies.

He is a literary dazzler of the highest order. After I’ve
pistol-whipped somebody into agreeing to read one of his books, I
generally hand them a copy of The Luck of Ginger Coffey, a novel I’ve
read at least ten times in forty-some years.

The situation is this: as long as he was in the Army, Irisher James
Francis Coffey was all right. His life was laid out for him. But when
Coffey (much like Moore himself) takes his wife Veronica and their
daughter and moves to Montreal he fails at a series of jobs he
considers beneath him (John D. MacDonald did the same thing—he said
bosses resented him telling them how to run their businesses after he’d
been there two days). His various failures have taken their toll on his
marriage. Veronica can’t take any more of his daydreams. (He will be
Somebody by God.)

A man named Gerry Grosvenor befriends him and gets him a job as a
proofreader. Coffey promises Veronica that he’ll take this only until
his “break” comes along. In other words he’ll quit or get fired soon as
he usually does. She leaves him, taking her daughter and the little
money Coffey has, and flees to Gerry Grosvenor.

We then follow the disintegration of James Francis Coffey in a country
not his own wandering lost in the pipe dreams he’s had since childhood.
Hilarious, brutal, sad, loving, we watch Coffey try to face reality
while winning back his wife. We’ve all known Coffeys; a fair share of
us WERE Coffeys in our twenties. But, as F. Scott Fitzgerald said, if
you use a type then your burden is to turn him or her into a true
person. And what a person Coffey is, so vividly alive that half the
book you want to get your hands around his throat and squeeze real real
tight; and the other half buy him a beer and say for God’s sake, man,
and start talking to him as if you were his father. Now cut out the
bullshit, Coffey. For your sake and for your poor little daughter’s.

This book is so elegantly written, so perfectly conceived and rendered
that I hold it as a marvel of novel writing. If you’ll give it a
chance, I think you’ll agree with me.

By the way, this became a fine motion picture with Robert Shaw as
Coffey (a bit older than Coffey in the novel but excellent casting
nonetheless) and the wonderfully wistful Mary Ure.

By The Way #2 Brian Moore wrote two at least two Gold Medal novels and
one Dell in his hungriest days. Somewhere between them he published The
Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne which won a number of notable European
literary prizes. He got the awards but no money to speak of so he went
back to paperbacking.

Wreath for a Redhead (1951) (U.S. title: Sailor's Leave)
The Executioners (1951)
French for Murder (1954) (as Bernard Mara) GM
A Bullet for My Lady (1955) (as Bernard Mara) [3] GM
This Gun for Gloria (1957) (as Bernard Mara) GM
Intent to Kill (1957) (as Michael Bryan)

Paul Bishop
Bill Crider
Mike Dennis
Martin Edwards
Ray Foster
Randy Johnson
Chris Jones
George Kelley
B.V. Lawson
Leopard 13
Evan Lewis
Todd Mason
Terrie Moran
Scott Parker
Eric Peterson
James Reasoner
Rick Robinson
Kerrie Smith
Jeri Westerson









18 comments:

mybillcrider said...

Let me second Kevin's recommendation for Milton T. Burton. Good stuff!

Todd Mason said...

Too many are always dying, but for the no-comfort it's worth to anyone, at least Auchincloss and Salinger had long lives and were rewarded for their work, even if perhaps that wasn't enough.

Todd Mason said...

Some bad links at the mo'--Kerrie's link takes us to Evan's blog, and I think it was Mike Dennis's to Bill's. My as-usual tardy (compared to everyone else, it seems) contribution will be up shortly.

Todd Mason said...

Nope, it was Ray Foster who is revealed as Bill...Mike was simply one of two lured into the WEB OF MYSTERY...

Laurie Powers said...

Losing Zinn and Salinger within two days was enough to make my head spin a little.

Chris said...

Patti, I have an entry for today.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Crazy thing is I test them all when I first post it--some somehow they drift over time. Maybe finding their symbiotic half.

Evan Lewis said...

Patti - Yes, the dying should stop.

Kevin - Do I detect a little Dan Rhodes/Carl Burns influence in those Milton T. Burton books?

Ed - OK, I've been pistol-whipped. I'll try it.

Kevin R. Tipple said...

I see it that way a bit with regards to Bill Crider's work, Evan. I'd say Milton's books lean a little darker than the Dan Rhodes series. I am way behind reading the other works Mr. Crider has done.

I have to admit I don't think I have read Carl Burns.

Thank you everyone for reading my first effort here and a special big time thank you to Patti for inviting me as well as answering my many questions.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Kevin-Thank you! And let me know if you decide to post one any time. We're so happy to have you.

Milton T. Burton said...

Thanks to Kevin and Bill. High praise I will try to deserve. I have a third coming out in the fall---"Nights of The Red Moon," St. Martin's Press. Set in current time here in East Texas.

Milton T. Burton said...

Evan, I have never read a novel by either Bill or Carl Burns, though I absolutely love Bill's short stories. I plan to pick up one of the Dan Rhodes books this coming week. I suspect that any similarities between my and Bill's books is the result of us being the approximate same age with the same Texas/academic background. I have talked to Bill several times on the phone and I have found him to be a gentleman of the old school He will do to ride the river with, and that is about the highest complement one Texan pay another.

I don't read much any more now that I have started writing. I don't know why. At book signings I am always asked who influenced me, and I reply "Somerset Maugham and Willa Cather because both could work magic with simple language."

Kevin R. Tipple said...

Thank you for having me, Patti.

Kevin R. Tipple said...

By the way---I have seen an early version of "Nights of the Red Moon" and was incredibly good. Awesome stuff! I have told Miton before and say it here---I think it could be his best book so far.

Larry W. Chavis said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Larry W. Chavis said...

Kevin is right on the mark about Milton Burton's books. They deserve to be much better known.

Milton T. Burton said...

Thank you, Larry. I appreciate what you have said. And Bill and Kevin. I like the money, but knowing I have given folks a few hours respite from this old world is one of the major rewards of this business.

Milton T. Burton said...

If anyone is interested I have a few short stories posted on my blog:

http://obscuredestinies.blogspot.com/