He downshifted and whipped into the oncoming traffic lane. Head to head with the Honda, he released the throttle and put pedal to medal. There would be no questioning if he got pulled over. Maybe a gentle scolding, but that would be that. He bisected the solid yellow line a good distance ahead of the […]
A long time ago, back in the 40s and the 50s, Jim Thompson eked out a living writing about psychopathic sheriffs, hit men, treacherous women and…more hit men. It was heady stuff. You ever see the movie The Grifters? (If you haven’t you should. Great movie.) It’s adapted from the Jim Thompson novel of […]
Some parents live vicariously through their children. They are enlivened by their accomplishments. They are invigorated by their potential. With some families, the children are encouraged to carry on the familial occupation passed down one generation to the next. Doctor. Lawyer. Teacher, perhaps. Police officer. Nurse. That’s what Annie’s mother was. A nurse. Annie […]
Okay, a heads up is in order. I’m not a big Stephen King fan. Oh, there’s some of his stuff I like–Cujo, Misery, Christine and, yes, The Green Mile and Different Seasons–but over all? No. Now before your eyes roll back in your head, I’m no pretend book snob. Hardly. I’ve read a lot more […]
There’s a lot of running in Richard Lange’s brash thriller, Angel Baby. A vengeful husband chases his liberated wife. A dead end drunk flees from his past. A stone cold killer tries to outrun his worst fear. And a crooked cop ducks out on his gambling debts. Then there’s Luz. She’s running the hardest. That’s […]
Part One Bowie is really just a kid, maybe twenty-one, twenty-two at the most. Even though he’s been in prison–for murder no less–and has recently escaped, he’s not streetwise. He’s actually pretty naive. Don’t get the wrong impression–he’s a murderer, straight up. And he’s dangerous. But not because he wants to be; because he has […]
Part Two The thing about Bowie, Keechie knows, is that he’s loyal–too loyal to T-Dub and Chickamaw. T-Dub’s an old lech. He throws money at bimbos. And he likes to drink. Chickamaw’s a flat out alcoholic and he’s a hot head deluxe. Plus–and this is the worst thing–he’s jealous. All of this attracts too much […]
Part Three “And then damn Bonnie and Clyde ran through there. Weren’t safe for no one. Bunch of mad dogs…” Pretty Boy Floyd Clyde could barely walk. Bonnie couldn’t at all. They’d been ambushed and shot through the legs while rendezvousing with family members on the side of a back road. Blood gushed from the […]
Conclusion My babysitter, Betty, God rest her soul, hardly ever got to eat chocolate when she was a child. There were several reasons for this, namely: (1) it was the Depression; (2) she was poor; and (3) she was Black. It was such a rare occurrence, in fact, that she’d tasted chocolate only once before–when […]
All Things Thriller 