High Priest of California/Wild Wives [Paperback]

Charles Willeford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1990

Two cult novellas from the 1950s which are among the earliest fiction by the author.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Nobody writes like Charles Willeford. . . . He is an original—funny, weird and wonderful." –James Crumley

"Elegant, tough, and rhythmic as a championship boxing match." –San Francisco Chronicle

“Willeford has a marvelously deadpan way with losers on both sides of the law.” –The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Wow! He gives you . . . the viewpoint of the most fascinating asocial trash." –Tony Hillerman --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Charles Willeford was a highly decorated (Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Luxembourg Croix de Guerre) tank commander with the Third Army in World War II. He was also a professional horse trainer, boxer, radio announcer, and painter. Willeford, the author of twenty novels, created the Miami detective series featuring Hoke Moseley, which includes Miami Blues, Sideswipe, The Way We Die Now, and New Hope for the Dead. He died in 1988. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Gollancz (August 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0575047267
• ISBN-13: 978-0575047266
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,005,634 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Willeford was one of the best at Noir, July 8, 2000

By 

Johnny Roulette - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wild Wives: RE/Search Classics (Paperback)

Originally entitled Until I Am Dead and published in 1956, Wild Wives' only blemish is its ending. I'm not saying that the ending is terrible, or even bad, but it did strike me as lazy. That being said, I can't find anything else wrong with this book and everything right. Willeford brings to the table a sophistication and class that most noir books are lacking. His knowledge of art, clothing and style strongly tempers his unforgiving toughness. I think Willeford was only rivaled in noir by Jim Thompson, but I must confess that Willeford's stories are tighter, more concise. This edition of Wild Wives weighs in at a light 102 pages. It's a fast, exciting read and Willeford packs a full, well-rounded story into what few pages he has given us here. This isn't as good as Pick Up, which was published in 1954, but not many crime books are. This book, as with most of Willeford's work, is very plausible. It's a quality that allows you to fall right into his stories. Jake Blake & Florence Weintraub are great characters. Despite their many quirks and abnormalities, Willeford manages to keep them consistant through the whole yarn. I highly recommend this one, Pick Up and Willeford's memoir- I Was Looking For A Street.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a Willeford novella deserving of more attention, September 16, 2003

By 

lazza (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wild Wives: RE/Search Classics (Paperback)

Charles Willeford certainly wrote an interesting mix of novels during his long career. His early works, such as 'Wild Wives', written in the 1950s is very much like the works of James Cain, David Goodis and Jim Thompson. Greed, desperation, and violence of the poor and forgotten (, alcoholics, druggies, psychotics) provide the backdrop of psychological dramas/crime stories.

In 'Wild Wives' we have a San Francisco rarely employed private eye who is hired by a rich socialite. Of course he finds this woman irresistable who, unsurprisingly, puts him on a course of "misadventure". The woman we discover possesses many secrets (..no spoilers here), and Willeford treats us with a terrific ending. The book is very enjoyable and wonderfully lean (packs a punch in only 100 pages).

Bottom line: an unjustly forgetten classic.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Willeford Classic, January 12, 2000

By 

"leper2000" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wild Wives: RE/Search Classics (Paperback)

Ok, you've got this guy Blake, a detective and a real piece of work. Blake gets involved with a real kook of a broad. He mixes business with pleasure and starts thinking with the wrong head. At the end Willeford delivers the kind of twist only he can. Blake is kind of a prototype for Hoke Mosely but he's not as nice. Great Book!