The Gutter And the Grave (Hard Case Crime) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Ed McBain (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
First published as by "Curt Cannon" under the title I'm Cannon—For Hire (1958), this revised reissue reminds readers that the late McBain had some serious noir chops. Betrayed by a dame, former PI Matt Cordell has fallen hard and become a bum in New York City's Bowery district. Cordell's decision to help old friend Johnny Bridges, a tailor, investigate petty larceny at his store soon leads to a series of murders and some steamy encounters with the "fair sex," including a femme fatale. A strong cast of characters—from rival private eye Dennis Knowles to tailor's assistant Dave Ryan—creates a tangled web of deceit, with lies piling up faster than tokens in a subway station. But the best thing about the novel is the hard-boiled Cordell as the archetypal noir antihero, fated to failure even in success. Of necessity, the story is dated, but the pleasure of following the exploits of a forefather of such later icons as Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder more than compensates. Fittingly, McBain has come full circle with the re-release of this revamped early novel at the end of his long and distinguished career.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Born Salvatore Lombino, his name legally changed to Evan Hunter, the writer best known as Ed McBain had just proofed the galleys of this reprint when he died on July 6. Originally published under another pseudonym (Curt Cannon) with a title he hated (I'm Cannon--for Hire), this edition, we're told, restores the book to the author's original vision. A plot summary begs for pulpy hyperbole: Matt Cordell was a private detective with a thriving practice and a beautiful wife--until he found his wife in another man's arms! Now he's a Bowery bum, haunted by her betrayal! When an old friend hires him to find a thief, Cordell is snared in a web of death and deceit--and the arms of a dame who just might snap him out of his funk! Under his half-dozen monikers, Hunter wrote more than 100 novels, as well as screenplays, short stories, teleplays, stage plays, and even children's books. Ironically, while he reserved his legal name for his more literary efforts, it's the McBain name and novels that will endure: the 87th Precinct series is considered a benchmark for police procedurals. But it's a testament to the depth of his talent that this little-known noir, practically forgotten since its 1958 publication, delivers intrigue, excitement, and humor that plenty of today's writers would kill for. Keir Graff
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 217 pages
• Publisher: Hard Case Crime (November 29, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0843955872
• ISBN-13: 978-0843955873
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #47,395 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This item is part of The Hard Case Crime Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great HCC reprint, December 8, 2005

By	Craig Clarke (New England) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Ever since he found his wife Toni with one of his operatives, all former private investigator Matt Cordell has wanted to do is crawl inside a bottle and stay there. He's been perfectly happy to wallow in his memories for the last five years, panhandling for change on the Bowery, and he doesn't want any trouble.

Enter trouble in the form of Johnny Bridges, a guy from Cordell's old neighborhood he hasn't seen in ten years. Johnny can't afford a real private detective -- and he doesn't want to get the police involved for personal reasons -- so he asks Matt for his help in figuring out whether his business partner, Dom Archese, is stealing from the till in their co-owned tailor shop.

Being that Cordell doesn't have a whole hell of a lot else filling his day, he says yes. This little piece of magnanimity (really just a way to get Johnny off his back) sweeps Matt into a full-fledged murder case where he encounters a shady cast of characters so full of lies that it is impossible to tell if anyone is ever telling the truth. (Not that it stops Cordell from climbing into the sack with as many of the potential femmes fatales as will let him.)

That's what you get for doing a guy a favor.

The Gutter and the Grave is a reprint of a novel originally published by Gold Medal under the title I'm Cannon -- For Hire and the byline of "Curt Cannon" (the name the Cordell's character was changed to). This edition is Ed McBain's preferred text, complete with edits made just prior to his death. It is therefore a fascinating combination of the enthusiasm of a young writer (it is a little heavy on the exposition) and the restraint exercised by a seasoned pro (the violence is tight and visceral and not drawn out unnecessarily).

The Gutter and the Grave is a prime example of the fiction called noir: it's dark and it's dirty, and Matt Cordell is one depressing son of a bitch of a hero. He's full of self-pity and the smallest things set him off on a flashback. McBain keeps his prose raw and fluid, his dialogue sizzling, and a happy ending never crosses his mind (though there is a fun Blackboard Jungle reference for those who can appreciate it). This is a novel about the other side of society: the side where every day is a struggle and every relationship is just one more opportunity to take advantage of. It's the kind of potent novel that, after you get over the grungy feeling it leaves behind, makes you feel happy that you're not one of the characters -- a perfect addition to the Hard Case Crime canon.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Flyweight But Entertaining, April 3, 2006

By	Gary F. Taylor "GFT" (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Originally published in 1958 as by Curt Cannon under the title I'M CANNON--FOR HIRE, THE GUTTER AND THE GRAVE is enjoyable but decidedly a flyweight in the Ed McBain bibliography. Matt Cordell has fallen on hard times: when he caught his blonde bombshell wife in the arms of another man he lost his P.I. license and embarked upon a decade-long drunk. When old friend Johnny Bridges turns up with a problem, Cordell reluctantly agrees to help him out.

Bridges owns a shop and money has come up missing from the cash register repeatedly over the past six months. It seems simple enough--so simple that Cordell is unprepared for a corpse, and before you can say "pulp fiction" we're up to our eyebrows in thug-like investigators, dangerous dames, and jazz musicians.

Even this early on his career McBain knows how to turn a memorable phrase and he keeps the pace going at a solid clip; the plot, however, is less effective, and it will be a very inexperienced reader who doesn't spot the killer within the first third of the novel. Even so, THE GUTTER AND THE GRAVE is enjoyably written, and fans of McBain and the genre in general will enjoy it.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A guilty pleasure, but a good one., October 11, 2007

By	OAKSHAMAN "oakshaman" (Algoma, WI United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

I had not read a real hard-boiled detective novel in years before I stumbled onto this book. This is the real deal in the old pulp tradition, but the absolute best pulp tradition. Originally written in 1958, I do not think that the vast majority of modern writers could come close to recreating the mindset or the backdrop.

This isn't an elegant, intricate sort of mystery- it is more in the spirit of Mickey Spillanes's classic toughguy yarns. There is a difference though. It is more like one of Spillane's heroes had finally gone too far and found out that he wasn't a superman afterall. That is the case with Matt Cordell- we meet him on the Bowery as a pan-handling drunk. He has lost his license, wis wife, his rep, and his self-respect. He is now resigned to life as a philosophical drunk living in flops and on park benches. It is a joy watching him prove to himself and the world that he can solve one more case like a true professional. It is quite believable too, since at one point or another it seems like every single one of the other characters are lying to him.

On a secondary level this book is also a time capsule of 50's Manhattan. Infact, the settings are as engrossing as the plot. If you are getting a few years on you, it is very easy to quickly identify with both Cordell and his world...