Jim Thompson: C/D S+D

Dunno. Wish I had held onto my copy of the bio, Savage Art, by Robert Polito.

So, in the last ten years or so, I think I've read most of the Thompson that's available.

Top five in no order:
-Savage Night
-The Getaway
-Pop. 1280
-After Dark, My Sweet
-The Grifters (I really came around on this one; i see upthread i thought it was disorganized or disjointed. i disagree with myself now.)

A lot of the rest bleed into each other in my mind.. A Hell Of A Woman, A Swell Looking Babe, The Kill Off... I should re-read.

Ken L, I think I have a copy of that bio still; I'll check and get back to you. I'll be back in Brooklyn tomorrow night.

I remember the end of A Hell Of A Woman being straight-up horrific. I read it something like 30 years ago, though.

Early in the pandemic, there was a big sale on epubs of Thompson's novels for $1.99 so I picked up a bunch. I hadn't read anything by him since the Black Lizard editions were new and re-reading them now, nearly 40 years later, I'm enjoyed them a heck of a lot more.

For me, Pop. 1280 is the standout by far. Funny, really funny, and the closest thing I've read that can be legit described as Texan Grand Guignol. Following that, big recommendations for The Killer Inside Me, The Nothing Man, The Getaway, Wild Town, and South Of Heaven. I'd love to own the Raymond Pettibone illustrated version of South Of Heaven, but I'm not paying $450 for it.