Hard Case Crime

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Hard Case Crime

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1quartzite
Bewerkt: jan 1, 2007, 5:18 pm

Has anyone started reading any books issued on the Hard Case Crime imprint? I understand they are putting a mix of reissues of older works with recent items, in some case specially commissioned. I read two recently. Grave Descend was a reissue of book originally from 1970. I was not too impressed, it felt like a bad imitation of a John D. MacDonald book. Little Girl Lost was more recent and a much better book. Though set in the here and now, it had nice old-fashioned feel about it.

2uvula_fr_b4
jan 1, 2007, 5:14 pm

Yes, I've read Stephen King's The Colorado Kid (which he wrote specifically for Hard Case), Ed McBain's The Gutter and the Grave (a re-issue, slightly rewritten, of I'm Cannon -- For Hire), Alan Guthrie's Kiss Her Goodbye (a new book; not bad, but to me the best part about it was the setting: Scotland and the Orkneys). I've got a few other Hard Cases on my shelf; the first one I picked up was an omnibus mass market paperback reprinting of Max Allan Collins's Bait Money and Blood Money, Two for the Money, but I've yet to read it.

I remember seeing insert ads in some of my Hard Cases for a subscription offer: you could sign up for the Hard Case book club for U.S. $8.99/mo. and receive two Hard Case paperbacks every month. I thought about signing up for it, but my family's change of domiciles last year really tapped me out, money-wise and space-wise.

3Eurydice
jan 2, 2007, 3:15 am

I'd be glad to hear more about them, as you do, or if anyone else does, read them. They appealed. I like the covers.

4atman Eerste Bericht
feb 19, 2007, 7:29 pm

I joined their book club last year and I think I have every book they've published so far. They mix it up with older books they've gotten the rights to, and new publications from modern writers.

A while back I emailed them about something and I got an email back from Charles Ardai, the publisher (look him up on wikipedia). We both agreed that Stephen King's book wasn't particularly hard boiled. But he liked the book so much that they were willing to stretch the genre a little bit.

Don't have any reviews to write at this point. Maybe down the road I'll review some of the books I've read.

5jeffsherratt Eerste Bericht
mrt 6, 2007, 11:41 pm

Oh, Hard Case publishes some great books, new as well as classics. I just read "Bust", a new issue, written by Ken Bruen and Jason Starr. Terrific!

6bookstothesky
Bewerkt: apr 14, 2007, 7:07 pm

I own all the HCC books but have only read four of the offerings, I believe, not from dislike but from the usual book collector's "free-time/varied reading interests/mood vs. ridiculous number of books purchased" dilemna. I've read Fade to Blonde, Little Girl Lost, Dutch Uncle by Peter Pavia and The Last Quarry by Max Allan Collins. I enjoyed all the books, especially Fade to Blonde and Little Girl Lost, with Fade to Blonde being my favorite (it also won the Shamus Award for best paperback novel of the year for '04, I believe, or maybe '05. Little Girl Lost was nominated for the Edgar and the Shamus). Dutch Uncle was an interesting study in drug-fueled paranoia and I enjoyed Quarry's quips, although the investigation (or, rather, non-investigation) of the death of a fairly major character at the end of the book was entirely unbelievable for me given the state of modern forensics; still, it was a good read with a couple of laugh-out-loud moments (for me, anyway).

Now to see if I'll have to edit this since The Last Quarry touchstone is "loading" and Dutch Uncle credits the wrong author.

*Well, the link is wrong and the touchstone's not working, but no real harm. I actually edited this to add the other reason to buy these books is to own the great pulp cover art.

7tros
Bewerkt: sep 22, 2007, 8:56 pm

I thought I saw a "new" title by Harry Whittington. Anyone read/seen it?

8yareader2
sep 24, 2007, 8:09 am

I couldn't find anything new, but I do own an original Man from UNCLE. I should put that here in my library.

9jju
Bewerkt: mrt 26, 2013, 6:57 pm

Dit bericht is door zijn auteur gewist.

10jju
Bewerkt: mei 21, 2014, 7:54 pm

Hard Case Crime still publishes around a half dozen books or so each year. Upcoming titles from the HCC website:

Borderline - Lawrence Block (May 2014)
Brainquake - Samuel Fuller (September 2014)
Easy Death - Daniel Boyd (November 2014)

11rudeboy99
sep 24, 2013, 1:37 am

It's a great publishing house, harking back to the times of the Pulps and 1st paperbacks. Whoever is doing the picking of material is doing a fantastic job of re releasing vintage titles and bringing out contemporary as well. Also the art OUTSIDE the covers is great, too.!!

12mysterymax
okt 21, 2013, 10:29 pm

My favorite, so far, is The Girl with the Long Green Heart by Lawrence Block.

13Dr_Flanders
aug 15, 2015, 10:53 am

I just started reading the Hard Case Crime series, recently. Is anyone else still reading it?

14Mike-L
jan 2, 2016, 8:58 pm

I've just started really getting into Hard Case Crime. I read a couple of them a few years ago, but just recently purchased a lot of 20 online. So far the only one I haven't much cared for is one by Lawrence Block entitled Getting Off: A Novel of Sex & Violence - reads too much like erotica for my tastes.

15Dr_Flanders
feb 4, 2016, 2:00 pm

Mike, I did the same thing. I have been bouncing back and forth, working my way through the Hard Case novels and reading other stuff in between. Which have you read so far, and how did you like them?

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