Night Squad [Paperback]

David Goodis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 3, 1992

When a cop goes bad, he can always become a crook.  When a crook goes bad--that's when the Night Squad wants him.

David Goodis's irresistibly readable study of corruption is a masterly portrait of a man clawing his way back from betrayal--and betraying countless others along the way.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Crooked ex-cop Corey Bradford turns out to be an ideal candidate for an underground police unit known as the Night Squad. This hard-boiled novel was first published by Fawcett in 1961.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"David Goodis has an originality of naturalism, a creatively compelling vividness of detail." --San Francisco Chronicle

"David Goodis is the mystery man of hard-boiled fiction." --Geoffrey O'Brien

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 276 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; First Edition edition (March 3, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679736980
• ISBN-13: 978-0679736981
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,745,896 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A decent pulp novel that never lives up to its promise, September 15, 2000

By 

Stone Junction "The Suburban Hobo" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night Squad (Paperback)

NIGHT SQUAD has all the elements of classic hard-boiled pulp. You've got the anti-hero, Corey, a disgraced cop who figures the only way to stay alive is to go criminal. You've got mobsters who fear nothing except betrayal. You've got a mysterious branch of the police you have an unhealthy interest in the anti-hero's business. And you've got the ex-wife who, somehow, still manages to be in love with the big lug.

But it doesn't fall together.

David Goodis writes tough dialogue with the best of them. His novel BLACK FRIDAY is a wonder of desperation and fear. But NIGHT SQUAD has too many avenues that don't engage the reader. The ex-wife is too mysterious, and her reason for being in the story is never clear. It relies too heavily on coincidence. Repressed memories suddenly surface, to unsatisfactory effect. Corey's final stab at redemption doesn't ring true.

It's as if Goodis had a good, tight story, but then realized he didn't include enough cliche's. It's a good night's read, but it doesn't stick with you.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A David Goodis classic., October 10, 1999

By 

MAthieu Rouault ([e-mail]) (Cape Town South Africa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night Squad (Paperback)

David Goodis could have been a Greek tragedy author two thousand years ago. In a riveting and limpid style David goodis classic hero is looking for redemption in a world where the goodies are bad and the baddies are good.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars night squad, April 26, 2010

By 

Bernard Haines "b. haines" (phila.,pa.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Night Squad (Paperback)

I enjoyed this book and others by David Goodis. I was in the process of researching philadelphia local history and his books were good resources. He writes stories about Grassroot people. From a victim's point of view. The Majoity of the stories of his that I read center in Fishtown,Kensington, skidrow,Delaware Avenue area,South Philly before the redevelpment tore down those areas described in the book during the 1950s and 1960s to provide for the expressway, I-95 and modern Philadelphia. David P. Goodis' story is well written and characters real.