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Hugh Dancy recommended The Big Sleep in Books (curated)

 
The Big Sleep
The Big Sleep
Raymond Chandler, Ian Rankin | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry
5.3 (4 Ratings)
Book Favorite

"Raymond Chandler is one of life’s great pleasures, ideally in a bath with a drink in hand."

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Devil in a Blue Dress
Devil in a Blue Dress
Walter Mosley | 2017 | Mystery
(0 Ratings)
Book Favorite

"Walter Mosley reminds me of Raymond Chandler, [except] writing from the black side of town…He has the ability to describe the negative effects of racism while writing an entertaining novel."

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The Big Sleep
The Big Sleep
Raymond Chandler, Ian Rankin | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry
7
5.3 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Complex classic film noir style
This is a classic. Most people will probably know the Humphrey Bogart big screen version but Raymond Chandler was clearly the original. Gritty, dark and twisted - unusual for its time - he broke boundaries with some of the themes described. As brilliant as it is written, the plot at times gets too complicated and if you're not concentrating, you'll end up missing important clues.
  
The Royalist (William Falkland #1)
The Royalist (William Falkland #1)
S.J. Deas | 2014
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Set during the period of the English Civil Wars, I have to say that I found this to be rather unusual in that it is not about (per se) the wars themselves: rather, it is set in the New Model Army camp over a winter period, between hostilities, with William Falkland (the Royalist of the title) plucked from his prison cell by none other than Oliver Cromwell himself and sent to investigate reports of suicides/disturbances in the camp.

Reading very much like a ECW version of a whodunnit, with the author - in the afterword - not at all shy to point out the influences of the hard-boiled detective hero/film noir of the 40s (think Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler) on this work.
  
40x40

FilmIntuition (33 KP) rated Gate 76 in Books

Jun 1, 2018  
Gate 76
Gate 76
Andrew Diamond | 2018 | Mystery, Thriller
7
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Oozing With Tension
In the right place at the right time, boxer turned private eye Freddy Ferguson catches sight of some very wrong people in an airport security line just before a flight explodes at the San Francisco International Airport.

And even though he's been contracted to go through passenger lists as part of the B team hired by the airline, Freddy can't help but follow up on what he'd witnessed on that deadly night when an enigmatic blonde woman escaped certain death by checking in only to change her appearance in an airport bathroom rather than get on that flight. Is she a part of a bigger conspiracy or merely the last living witness of a horrific crime?

Stylistically reminiscent of Raymond Chandler and Elmore Leonard with its no-nonsense first person point-of-view, indie author Andrew Diamond's Noir flavored page turner is terse, strong, and oozing with tension.

But while Freddy's redemptive plight is fascinating indeed, the otherwise terrific Gate 76 makes a few missteps in its final third as – instead of zeroing in on its increasingly complicated Grisham level mystery – one of its female leads begins to preach at Freddy, and therefore the reader. And even though I appreciate the book's bold characterization and vivid description, moments like this are not only the opposite of subtle but they also pull focus away from the main storyline.

Juggling a large number of characters to the point that in the end, Freddy has to phone a few to literally tell them and the reader what is going on, Gate 76 might've worked even better if it had cut down on some of the middle-men to avoid the repetition of needing to explain something we've already figured out alongside our lead.

From its dynamic opening that plays just like an action movie, Gate 76 is a largely effective and entertaining thriller. With his keen sense of humor, eye for details, and ability to weave together an intricate number of subplots with style, this was a great introduction for me to Andrew Diamond and makes me eager to pick up some of his other reads.

Note: I received an ARC of this title via Bookish First in exchange for my honest opinion.