Customer Reviews

Grifter's Game (Hard Case Crime)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Joe Marlin spends his days skipping out on hotel bills and double-crossing gold-diggers; not the best of lives, but it works for him. One day, after lifting some luggage to check in to his next hotel with (if you go without, they pay closer attention), he discovers a large cache of heroin. Later that night, he meets the married Mona Brassard, and they get to know each other better.

Now, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that the heroin and the heroine are somehow connected, but Block keeps the pace of Grifter's Game moving so fast that it doesn't matter. Joe is quickly in love -- and in over his head -- and this portrait of love between the hardest of hearts can only end in disaster. We just don't know what form it will take -- other than that mentioned in the tagline, of course. (I love those floating eyes in the cover illustration by Chuck Pyle, by the way.)

Grifter's Game was an excellent choice to inaugurate the new Hard Case Crime line. Since it comes from very near that period, the details are fresh and natural: phone exchanges that begin with words, Joe's lunch in an Automat, even the mention that "the elevator was self-service" plants us right in the middle of the time -- and this was at the beginning of Block's career. (Marlin's skill with locks predicts Block's later Burglar series, and his Matthew Scudder is an example of what happens when genre-dictated drinking gets out-of-hand.)

Lawrence Block is one of my favorite authors for that skill with detail. His insertion of humor in the story as a necessary means to break the tension is another reason (Marlin's response to a juicer pitchman is priceless). But, in the end, what I like best about the author is his creativity. A book like this could have ended in any of a dozen ways, all of them somewhat predictable, but Block comes up with one that absolutely knocks you to the floor, turning Grifter's Game from a really good story into a surprising and terrific one.

This book was first published in 1961 under the title "Mona" and has now been republished some 23 years later, renamed to GRIFTER'S GAME and is the first title published by Hard Case Crime, an exciting new small publisher.

GRIFTER'S GAME is a story of lust, greed and deceit told in the gritty voice of Joe Marlin, a self-confessed con-man hustler. Joe tells us he is always on the lookout for a possible score and is just as happy to have felt victory over someone as he is to have actually earned something from his scam. We meet Marlin just as he skips out on a $600+ hotel bill in Philadelphia where a possible scam he was setting up feel through with nothing to show for it. He's philosophical about the experience, happy to move on to the next city which in this case happens to be Atlantic City.

His hotel trick depends on an important prop to work successfully: luggage, something that Joe no longer had after his disappearing act in Philly. This is really no problem for the resourceful criminal and a quick visit to a train station where he picks up a couple of unattended bags soon remedies the situation and he's soon checking into an up-scale hotel room.

Imagine his surprise when he later discovers a sizable brick of heroin secreted among the socks and undies in one of the suitcases. The finger of coincidence points squarely at him not long after when he meets and falls for Mona, the wife of the out of luck (but very rich) luggage owner. The ensuing affair is torrid with both Joe and Mona desperate for the relationship to carry on further after Mona's stay in Atlantic City is over. It's almost inevitable that the solution to their problem is for Mona's husband to die. What follows is a series of events that get progressively more tragic as it goes along.

A particularly strong point of the book is the speed in which everything takes place. It's a plot-driven story with the focus remaining squarely on the unfolding of events with a minimum of time devoted to building up suspense or developing the characters involved. In fact, by the story's end, although she's one of the two main characters, we really don't know much more about Mona than we did when we first met her. This isn't a criticism, more a comment on the strength of the plot which was able to effortlessly take us to a moving ending. I'll just make a special mention of the ending here and the sense of despair that it evinces which I think typifies a well-constructed noir novel.

I think the choice of GRIFTER'S GAME by Lawrence Block as the maiden publication of Hard Case Crime is an inspired one. Its hardboiled nature mixed with the dark ending is exactly the kind of book that fans of the genre seek out. It also showcases Lawrence Block's talent for writing compelling fiction.

So, I picked up the first set of Hard Case Crime novels with the expectation of a good time. As anyone who has read my livejournal knows, I dig a good crime fiction novel, and I've recently started reading Block's Matthew Scudders, so I thought I knew what to expect.

Starting the novel, we had a bit of a typical setup. The con man snags some bags because he's shy on a change of clothes, discovers a box of H inside, what to do? Then he runs into a classy girl on the beach who just happens to be the wife of the fellow who had that box of heroin, and before you know it, they wife and the con man are involved. I started to wonder about the level of coincidence in this novel. Still, it was a good read, a real page turner. Then, the character begins to wonder about the coincidence. Just when I thought I had everything figured out and knew the ending of the book, well... That's when the book bit me in the brain.

There are parts of this novel, particularly in the ending, which evoked gooseflesh. Ellroy commented that Jim Thompson was a writer of good HORROR, and there's more than a good deal of HORROR in this novel.

So, if you like a good crime tale, ala the classic Fawcett Gold Medal paperbacks, pick up this killer story!

Grifter's Game was originally published in 1961 as "Mona", a better title. It's the first in the Hard Case crime series, and the first of the series' period reissues, as opposed to its original publications. It's also the first of the reissues which I've read, after four excellent originals (Little Girl Lost, Songs of Innocence, Confession, and Fade to Blonde). And since, I've started on 2008's Money Shot, and I'm hooked.

While any work needs to be evaluated in the context in which it was written, certain universal standards must be applied. Human nature never changes, and therefore we see ourselves in the pages of even Chauser or Shakespeare. But Grifter's Game fails to connect, never rising above its genre. In the book, the protagonist Joe buys a stack of dime store fiction to pass the time. I imagine Mona might have been among them. A quick read, a distraction from other matters, in a time where reading a novel was an ordinary day-to-day activity, before the ubiquity of television, or later, the internet.

Aspects of the book I found interesting weren't in the plot, but rather in the window the book provided into the time. Joe is almost constantly partaking of one drug or another: nicotine, caffeine, or alcohol. It's never asked if a character smokes, it's assumed, and correctly so. A striking contrast to today, and even compared with Fade to Blonde, written in 2004 but taking place in the early '50's. And the level of sex seems exceptional by what I imagine to be 1961 standards. A striking difference to today is the depiction of illegal drugs: their taboo and mystery. Then there's the view of tranportation: a time where train and bus were normal inter-city modes, a time before the monopolized supremacy of the car and plane.

But overall, this book failed to spur my interest in reading more of Block's work. It simply fails to engage to the depths of the other Hard Case books I've read so far, each of which I strongly recommend. I hope some of the other reissues offer more.

Having read around thirty of Blocks books, I would be the last person to say that this is an author who allways hits it out of the park. On one hand, Block is responsible for what could be the best crime/mystery series ever to grace a bookstores shelves with his Matt Scudder work. On the other, Block is a writer who must have churned out three or four books a year during his peak and quite a few of them feel like second rate efforts. If you work your way back to his earlier works, most of them feel very dated and contrived, so it was very shocking for me to pick up Grifters Game and find that it was first rate all of the way through.

Grifters Game is about Joe Marlin, a grifter who lives off of others through petty schemes and back handed manuvers. He travels around from one town to another, living high at hotels he has no intention of paying the bills for. Suddenly he finds that his situation has changed when he swipes the luggage of a respectable looking business man and things start to happen.

The over all mood of this book is classic. I cant think of another book that sets itself in the noir genre which so utterly typifies the feel of 'noir' generated here. The characters all have layers of societal dirt, they're ruthless and calculating. Marlin comes off as both sympathetic and hard boiled to the bone, making him a perfect mass of contradictions. The protagonists are smart, not dumbed down, and the prose is tight.

Block really pulls in a mood here that is worth checking out. I think I read that this book was first published in 1961. If so, it has stood up admirably over the test of time. I would not hesitate to buy this book. If you have read it, and want a suggestion for another read, I would suggest Charles Willeford's Hoke Moseley series.

Grifter's Game is so short, so intense, so spot-on that I'd venture to call it perfect. You think you've heard the story a hundred times before, but Block's writing is full of wonderful touches and makes it all seem completely new and fresh. I'm interested that folks (other reviewers) especially liked the ending. I'd say though the ending was "interesting" and quite shocking it was the one part of the book that might have been a touch off. Didn't detract from the overall enjoyment one bit, however.

A note: This is part of the Hard Case Crime series. Though we (spouse and I) never do this kinds of thing, we joined the club. It's terrific! Out of about 6 books at least 3 were outstanding, especially Dutch Uncle by Peter Pavia (?)

Question: Who is the editor for this Hard Case series? He/She clearly has a splendid sense of what's good. Again, these books aren't just very good, they're among the best mysteries I've ever read!

I read "The Grifter's Game" on my kindle as part of my journey through the Hard Case collection, which I have just discovered. Despite the fact that this story is set some time ago, it is still a fantastic read.

Joe, the main character and a "grifter", is not someone you completely like necessarily, but he is an interesting guy. I'm sure these days the surgeon general would slap a warning on this, the amount of cigarette smoking that goes on is mind-blowing.

I loved the twists, both expected and unexpected. It was a quick read, definitely a page-turner, and although not what I imagined the ending was perfect.

"We forgot her husband. She did, anyway. I didn't, because he was an important part of the picture. The fat, ugly, old husband, who was also rich. The pretty wife, who wanted more than the old husband was giving her. It was almost standard." (p 25)

These are the ingredients that make up Lawrence Block's excellent noir thriller Grifter's Game. A book that does sound like it is going to be a pretty bog-standard crime novel. The synopsis didn't give me high hopes, yet the book succeeds thanks to Mr. Block's writing and his ability to make you care about the fate of some loathsome characters.

A con man who steals fancy luggage to use as a prop to scam hotels swipes the wrong suitcase. He winds up with a large quantity of heroin and a femme fatale who loves her husband's fortune, but is ambivalent about the man. Plans are made and you know it will all wind up bad, but the fun in this one is watching it go to pot.

Mr. Block managed to write a book without a single likable character that still kept me glued to the pages. The book is a near-perfect example of crime writing. It's hard to believe that this is his third published novel (well, at least the third novel he was willing to accept credit for). The pacing is perfect. All the characters except the first person narrator are two dimensional, but believable anyway and the writing is cynical, dark and lovely.

Our 'hero', Joe Marlin is a completely amoral sociopath. He is never concerned about the harm his actions cause others. He never considers whether his actions are moral. Only about whether it will complicate his life or not.

You will never warm up to Joe (you may even hate him), but you will not be able to give up on finding out if he succeeds in ridding Mona of her unneeded husband. The book rockets along, always managing to stay one step ahead of you with its twists.

The only reason I didn't rate this one a perfect five stars is that the ending is incredibly repulsive, even by the standards of our amoral narrator. To be fair, the ending is in keeping with the black tone of the rest of the book. A softened ending would have felt like a cop-out. Nonetheless, it is incredibly nasty.

I also questioned how such a hardened character could fall for a woman, any woman, so quickly and completely. Though without that angle there wouldn't have been much of a story.

These two minor quibbles do nothing to keep Grifter's Game from being the best crime novel I have yet read.

I enjoyed about ninety percent of this book. The author has a terrific eye for detail and it was like opening a time capsule from the late fifties/early sixties to read this novel (who knew people hated power steering when it first came out, for instance). The characters were believable and the hero sufficiently hard-boiled for the noir label, and I was absorbed in the story from the first paragraph. But it's the last ten percent of the book that will stay with me. The ending of this book is so appalling, so horrifying, so inhumane, that I'm not sure I will ever forget it. It was almost more than I could stand to finish reading the book. An over-reaction? Maybe. And I can't give the book a bad rating because it is so well-written and the story was very good. But that ending...yeesh!

This is my second Lawrence Block novel, and I am falling in love with the guy. He's a great writer--spare, terse, and tough.

The characters in this one are strong, and the plot is compelling. He's one of the great stylists of his generation, and other writers could learn a lot by reading him.