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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book, January 12, 2007
This review is from: The Last Match (Hard Case Crime) (Mass Market Paperback)
I don't understand why people compare this book to other Hard Case Crime offerings. Yes, it's "different" but so are many of their other books. One of the teriffic things Hard Case has done has been to introduce me to some people I was unfamiliar with: Domenic Stansberry, Seymour Shubin, and one or two others. My absolute favorite is David Dodge. Where did this guy come from? I love his writing and how the narrative flows like water, the international flavors to the story, and even the glib but less than honest voice of the protagonist.
Again, a great book by an author deserving to be discovered and cherished. All Hard Case Crime books should be this enjoyable, and most are. There's one guy who they keep publishing that isn't up to snuff (of course not Lawrence Block) and I wish they'd realize it. Other than that, for those who rate the publisher as much as their books, this one makes them shine.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An entertaining and worthwhile read, November 22, 2006
This review is from: The Last Match (Hard Case Crime) (Mass Market Paperback)
Hard Case Crime aficionados should rejoice at this new offering --- an unpublished novel by David Dodge, bestselling author of IT TAKES A THIEF. Hard Case also published Dodge's lesser known but equally exciting PLUNDER OF THE SUN in 2005. THE LAST MATCH, written shortly before Dodge's death in 1974, is a bit different from his previous work and, for that matter, from most of the other Hard Case Crime entries. Nonetheless, it is an entertaining and worthwhile read.
THE LAST MATCH takes its title from a con game of the same name, and the novel concerns itself with a layabout con man who seems to have an aversion to honest work. Indeed, the nameless protagonist actually works harder being a crook than he would if he was doing something legitimate. It is doubtful, however, that a public occupation would result in exploits as interesting as those contained in THE LAST MATCH.
When we first encounter our protagonist, he is facing the wrong end of a firearm, being held by a jealous husband; the likable scoundrel is indeed busy, given that at the same time he is employed as the chaste gigolo of a wealthy dowager. It is during this time that he finds himself attracted to a young British noblewoman named Reggie, with resulting fireworks; think TAMING OF THE SHREW, with the issue of who the shrew is being debatable. Our man soon finds himself on the run from Reggie, the authorities and a gangster or two, as he hops from one continent to another, skimming and scamming as he goes.
At times the book has the feel of a series of loosely connected short stories. But just when you think Dodge is becoming predictable, he takes a sudden left turn and everything changes. There is an ending that you really won't see coming and a surprising homage to a scam that is the ancestor to the Bank of Nigeria email drop. Technology may change, but human nature does not.
THE LAST MATCH isn't quite as serious as other Hard Case Crime books, but it's an entertaining addition to the collection by an under-appreciated author who left us too early and with too little.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An entertaining tale of crooks and cons, October 3, 2006
This review is from: The Last Match (Hard Case Crime) (Mass Market Paperback)
From David Dodge, the author of "To Catch a Thief" (famously filmed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly) comes this previously unpublished work, written just before the writer's death in 1974.
"The Last Match" is the story of a con man on the French Riviera with the unlikely moniker of Curly. He didn't start out trying to be a con man; he just fell into it when it seemed easier than actually working for a living.
Curly gets involved with some rough characters, conning French noblemen and smuggling cigarettes from Morocco, and finds himself throw in the hoosegow a time or two. All the while, he keeps his raffish charm and determined outlook.
Somewhat surprisingly, "The Last Match" also takes a romantic and sentimental turn, with Curly getting caught up in the affairs of British heiress Regina Forbes-Jones. She despises Curly and is determined to ruin his life -- or so he believes -- but he can't help falling for her anyway.
The book is probably a little longer than it needs to be, and Curly pulls a few more cons than are strictly necessary, but overall it is an entertaining and fun read. This isn't the best we've seen from Hard Case Crime, but "The Last Match" is still a worthy find.
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