London Boulevard [Hardcover]

Ken Bruen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 24, 2009

When Mitchell is released from prison after serving three years for a vicious attack he doesn’t even remember, Billy Norton is there to pick him up. But Norton works for Tommy Logan, a ruthless loan shark lowlife with plans Mitchell wants nothing to do with. Attempting to stay out of Logan’s way, he finds work at the Holland Park mansion of faded movie actress, Lillian Palmer, where he has to deal with her mysterious butler, Jordan. It isn’t long before Mitchell’s violent past catches up with him and people start getting hurt. When his disturbed sister Briony is threatened, Mitchell is forced to act.

Academy Award-winning screenwriter William Monahan (The Departed) has teamed with Quentin Curtis to acquire rights to London Boulevard. Monahan plans to co-produce, write, and make his directorial debut with the movie.

This is a masterful work of double dealing and suspense from one of the great crime writers of our time.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

First published in the U.K. in 2001 and presently being adapted for the movies, Bruen's gritty reimagining of Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard transplants the action from glitzy Hollywood to the rough and tumble London streets. Fresh out of prison after serving three years for an assault he can't remember, Mitchell tries unsuccessfully to steer clear of his old life, even as friends pressure him to get back in the crime game. Looking for an honest job, Mitchell finds work as a handyman for a wealthy and reclusive former stage beauty, Lillian Palmer, who lives in a sprawling estate with her taciturn butler, Jordan. Soon, Mitchell's increasingly complicated relationship with Palmer becomes inextricably intertwined with his violent past. While Mitchell and Palmer obviously evoke Sunset's Joe Gillis and Norma Desmond, Bruen (Once Were Cops) adds his own cast of supporting characters, notably Mitchell's eccentric sister, Briony. Noir fans will enjoy this rapid-fire thrill ride. (Dec.)
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Review

"This is a strong solo effort from Irish noir master Bruen, whose prose floats like a butterfly and stings like bejesus." --Library Journal

 

"First published in the U.K. in 2001 and presently being adapted for the movies, Bruen's gritty reimagining of Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard transplants the action from glitzy Hollywood to the rough and tumble London streets...Noir fans will enjoy this rapid-fire thrill ride." --Publishers Weekly

 

 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (November 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312561687
• ISBN-13: 978-0312561680
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #820,333 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fast-paced Noir, November 29, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: London Boulevard (Hardcover)

Minutes before Mitchell is to be freed after spending three years in prison for an assault he did not remember committing due to a drunken haze, the warden tells the fortyish convict he will be back. Mitchell hides the terminator retort and steps outside knowing he looks like a shifty felon. Working for loan shark Tommy Logan, Billy Norton arrives to pick him up, but Mitchell wonders if this acquaintance can be considered a friend though he is there to take him home.

Logan has plans for Mitchell, but the ex con does not have a compulsive need for quick money and is obsessed with not being a recidivism statistic. Mitchell obtains a handyman position at the Holland Park estate of aging movie actress, Lillian Palmer. As he struggles with adjusting to her odd butler Jordan, those close to him begin to die from an unknown adversary who soon threatens his beloved but insane sister Briony and others like Aisling and even a dog. Mitchell's obsession about staying out of jail has turned compulsive but no one hurts Briony.

With plenty of dark humor throughout, Ken Bruen pays violent homage to Sunset Boulevard with this fast-paced Noir. Each of the key cast members contains differing personalities, but the story line belongs to the anti-hero who just wants to go straight yet finds himself swimming in a foggy sea of sordid sleaze as those good citizens are as nasty as the those he met behind bars and rival those muscles working for Logan. With more blood spilled than a downtown Emergency Room like Atlanta's Grady, fans who don't mind hearing the breaking of bones will want to read Mr. Bruen's gloomy view of London.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE..., April 10, 2010

By 

janebbooks (Jacksonville, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: London Boulevard (Hardcover)

Now wait a minute. This plot sounds familar.

A young, handsome man connects with a reclusive actress, whose only employee is a butler. He moves into the garage apartment of her large mansion and enjoys her other gifts and favors. He drives her to a major movie studio in a large and expensive car after the studio calls repeatedly not to schedule a comeback but to rent the car!

It's co-writer and director Billy Wilder's 1950 black and white film, "Sunset Boulevard."

No, it's LONDON BOULEVARD, the 200l novel by Ken Bruen, the fantastic Hiburnian noir writer.

As the dust jacket declares, Mitchell, Bruen's protagonist, has just been released from prison (three years for aggravated assault) and doesn't want to return to a life of crime. He finds employment as a handyman for stage actress, Lillian Palmer, whose sole other employee is an aging and devoted butler.

The dialogue is witty; the prose is sparse and succinct. Bruen uses a quirky three-line device to catch the reader's attention. Usually the lines are three adjectives but can be titles of books on a shelf or items on a cafe menu.

And the book is funny. Mitchell's sister Briony is slightly mad, a confirmed shoplifter, and forgets her husband is dead. She arrives at Mitch's Welcome Home party "looking like a radiant bag lady" and apologizes for Frank's absence. The lunch at Browns at Convent Gardens with the mob boss is funny, too. Mr. Gant wants Mitch to help him organize his debt collections and to steal Lillian's Silver Ghost Rolls-Royce. The funeral of Joe, Mitch's favorite newspaper seller, is out of control. Mitch throws a copy of "Big Issue" on the lowering coffin and Briony invites a street musician dressed in kilts to play the bagpipes.

Does Colin Ferrill (Mitchell) end up dead in the swimming pool as William Holden (Joe Gillis) does? Well, you'll have to read the book. But I can tell you if he's dead, the butler probably did it!

Noir? See Comment

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Violence, sex, and murder aplenty, January 19, 2010

By 

Keith Nichols (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: London Boulevard (Hardcover)

This is a well-written little novel about a thoroughly amoral ex-con who falls into various lucrative situations requiring only his virility and an ability and readiness to injure and kill. The characters are all stereotypes of no great depth or originality, and the book depends on fast action to keep the reader engaged. The major question for readers familiar with Billy Wilder's "Sunset Boulevard," after which the story is patterned, may be who will get killed in the last act.