Hm. Danger on the book pile horizon...

[viktor_haag]

I ran across this nostalgic imprint's home page the other day, and now my collector antennae are vibrating. My inner financier is making harumphing noises about my bank-balance, and my inner librarian is practically smirking about my available shelf-space. No doubt he feels convinced that he'll have a new shelf to play with soon. The bastard.

(Especially in light of this new series of handsome Simenon reprints from Penguin Canada which I feel certain my heart has already committed to.)

So, I prevail on my LJ friends (I'm lookin' at you, doc_mystery); is this series as good as it appears to be? Am I doomed, doomed, doomed? Will my Travis McGee collection finally have some shelf-mates?

Comments

[doc-mystery.livejournal.com]

I have about a dozen so called 'hard boiled' books published by Hard Case Crime (who've only been around since 2004), and I've read about half of them. They certainly have some evocative cover art!

The books/authors that I read are a little uneven in my opinion. King's notorious entry ("The Colorado Kid") was the weakest, while much stronger entries by this publisher included Ed McBain's "The Gutter and the Grave" and "Fade to Blonde" by Max Phillips. They are/also publish books written by excellent authors as Robert Block, Lawrence Block, Max Collins, Donald E. Westlake, Charles Williams, Richard Prather, etc.

I've seen a number of these books in KW bookstores; why not try a few and find out?

::B::

[viktor-haag.livejournal.com]

I think I'll start with the used bookstores, if I can find a few in good condition. My problem with series like this is that I naturally have the urge to collect the entire lot, regardless of individual quality (an urge I'm sure you're familiar with)... 8)