Prayers for Rain

I just finished Prayers for Rain by Dennis Lehane. I've read all of his Patrick and Angie detective novels. I started Farewell My Lovely by Raymond Chandler today. I love the whole 30's, 40's private eye books and films. I've been trying to find alot of books like it but cant. Any recommendations?

The Bernie Gunther series by Philip Kerr are set in WW2 Germany and, later on, in Argentina (where some are said to have Nazis fled) but has in many ways the same Chandler sensibility. Start with Berlin Noir which is a collection of the first 3 in the series.

Also the Easy Rawlins series by Walter Mosley. First one is Devil in a Blue Dress I think. Those span late 40's to late 60's I believe.

Thanks for the recommendations juv3nal. I saw the film Devil in a Blue Dress which was pretty good. I always liked the way people talk and act in noir books and films.

Any and all Ross MacDonald books are great. As are John D. MacDonald novels.

I like Dennis Lehane's Kenzie and Gennaro books very much. Wish there were more.

Thanks for the recommendations Broadwater43. I have alot to look into.

Can't miss with Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer private eye novels from the 40's and 50's. Good stuff. The literary snobs from the 40's and 50's tried to minimalize Spillane's writing as vulgar and poorly written, but he out sold them all. Try "The Big Kill" or "The Snake." There are many, and they all are great.

Thank you for the recommendation zenhobo2. I will definitely take a look at that.

Hi zanykm. I recently read some of the books you mention. I got to The Monkey's Raincoat after reading all of Michael Connelly's books and searching for something in the same vein. Connelly is much better than Crais. The best way to read Connelly is to begin at the beginning with The Black Echo because the character of his main character develops as the series progresses. Good reading.
IronMike

If you like the Raymond Chandler you should definitely go to the Dashiell Hammett books. Red Harvest is excellent and The Dain Curse, The Glass Key, The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man are all a lot of fun and use that wonderful noir language. If you like Dennis Lehane you might also look at James Lee Burke's Dave Robichoux series, his writing is quite lyrical and the style definitely hard boiled. Black Cherry Blues is an excellent book to start with.

Thanks you for the recommendations archangelbooks, I heard that James Lee Burke was pretty good and his style was different then alot of mystery writers. I saw The Maltese Falcon film which was pretty amazing but havent read the books by Hammett yet.

I read only Connelly's Concrete Blond which was very good. I will have to get The Black Echo real soon.

Hey zanykm, if you own a kindle I'd recommend Toe Popper by Jonny Tangerine. It only costs 79 cents, and it's quite good. Read the reviews on Amazon. The hero is a munitions expert plucked from Cambodia to assist the LAPD. He's also a heroin addict. First book I've read with an addict as the hero. The book is only available as an e-book for some strange reason. Good luck with the Michael Connelly books.

Thank you for the recommendation IronMike. I do not own a kindle. I never thought of ther kindle as something I would buy. I love buying books that are on paper but I will definitely take a look at this e- book.

#10: Dashiell Hammett, definitely. His short stories featuring the Continental Op are also superb, and set the standard for all hard-boiled fiction. They should not be missed.

BTW, I've always pictured the Op as looking and talking just like Broderick Crawford, based on childhood memories of Highway Patrol. It's a shame Crawford never got to portray him.

I used to have the Highway Patrol opening in an audio file on my computer somewhere. Can't find it now. Pity!

Great News! There is actually a brand new Kenzie and Gennaro novel - Moonlight Mile. I believe it just came out.

Dan

zanykm--
Try My Gun Is Quick by Mickey Spillane (1950). It's one of the best of the Mike Hammer novels. Spillane captured that era better than anyone. His in-your-face style will hit you in the gut, and Hammer was without question the toughest of the hardboiled tough guys, doling out his brand of justice with no mercy.

I reviewed this novel at length on my website. You might want to check it out yourself. http://mikedennisnoir.com/review-my-gun-is-quick/1632/

zankym

What you need to do is check out the Black Lizard imprint from Vintage Crime. They have a website and are likely the largest publisher of crime noir from 30s to the present. If you like Chandler, I agree that Ross McDonald is brillant and the closest to a direct successor to Chandler. John D. MacDonald has, in my opinion, a slightly different sensability but is also brilliant and well worth reading. Even Gregory McDonald (Fletch) has some good novels. Regardless, if you are interested in original noir works, Black Lizard is the best place to start, the earlier the title was published by Black Lizard the better chance its a quality book.

Thanks MikeDennis for the recommendation. I will surely check out this book. I always hear about Chandler and Hammett and recently found out that there are tons of authors from around that era that wrote phenomenal crime books.

Thanks RDHawk6886, I will check out that website. D you know if a lot of the stories are still in print?

Yes, many of the books are still in print. For instance, they have nearly the entire Ross McDonald catalogue in print. They have many by David Goodis, who is an early master. A number by James Cain. Some of the original 30 or so they printed, often single works by lesser known authors, have gone out of print; but can often be found used on Amazon or other online used retailers. I am fairly certain their online listing contains both books in print and out-of-print. The website itself isn't much and frustrating to navigate, but it is a good source for noir. It is hard to go wrong with most titles, particularly the earliest titles. The Vintage/Black Lizard imprint started in about 1987. There was an earlier Berkley/Black Lizard imprint which had many of the same titles and lost noir classics - that earlier imprint is long out of print but some titles are either available in newer prints or the used markets.

They have most all of D Hammett's works. Jim Thompson and Willeford are other guys you will want to check out. Outside of the Black Lizard catalogue, Elmore Leonard will give you about 30 tight reads.

Oh wow thanks for the information RDHawk6886. I have heard of Elmore Leonard but have not gotten around to reading any of his books.