Customer Reviews

Nothing More Than Murder

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Thompson's tale of fraud, murder, and adultery is unremarkable (compared to Thompson's other works) except in it's presentation of the politics of a small town. Most of all, the presentation of Joe Wilmer's job as an owner of a first-run movie theater and his dealings with the union is fascinating. This is a novel that could have only been written by Jim Thompson.

This novel is Jim Thompson at his best. A tale of small town fraud, murder, lies and adultery. Joe Wilmot is a part-owner of a small movie house with a passion for conning his employees and talking down the unions. He is a man with it all sewn up, an arrogant man with a deadly fraud in mind. But the final twist in the form of his mistress and a tenacious insurance investigator called Appleton, brings this powerful tale of suspense to a shuddering, disturbing conclusion. Very similar in places to Double Indeminity, but still Thompson at his best.

I find that Jim Thompson's novels sometimes have confusing dialogue that throws the reader off trying to work out what was meant.

Originally I thought that this was just a case of the author not being clear enough but the more I read Thompson, the more I get the feeling that he intentionally sought to avoid clarity as this leads the reader to think about the dialogue themselves and with the elements of fear prevalent throughout his books, it is hoped that the reader adds to the fear by their opinions on what was said.

In this book (one of Thompson's earliest), he goes a little bit too indepth into the workings of the 1940's cinema houses but it is an interesting read. As with a lot of his work, the book boils down to the element of lack of trust between two people who (supposedly) love each other.

This is a scary novel and well worth reading.

Not my favorite Jim Thompson, but with a kind of standard mystery ending. Not his usual extreme noir self. Still good, with a rather improbable ending regarding Carol.

'Nothing More Than Murder' is nothing more than a short novel by Jim Thompson which chronicles the schenanigans of the small town cinema operator, a murder (no surprise here :-)) and its aftermath. The book is at its best when after the murder everyone seemingly knows who is guilty and tries to extort money from the murderer. And the book's ending is very good, creative (without being gross).

Unfortunately throughout the book the author gives us an exhaustively detailed lesson on the business aspects of operating a movie theater circa 1950. While certainly those interested in the film trade from a historical perspective (... the world has moved on with the advent of multiplex cinemas and high tech video equipment), I fear most folks will find it tiresome. I personally lost interest in it rather quickly.

Bottom line: lots of dull, overly detailed chatter almost spoils this story of murder and greed. But, as with any Jim Thompson novel, it is still a worthy read.

This was not the debut novel of its author Jim Thompson but it was a first in two respects-his debut as a crime novelist and the first time he scored a popular success and chalked up decent sales figures .It is a tale that evokes the James M Cain classic "Double Indemnity" as it tells the story of the conception and unravelling of an insurance scam ;there are also overtones of Cain's other great work "The Postman Always Rings Twice" in its depeiction of a marriage gone sour and the intrusion of an outsider into the relationship

Storeville is a small Midwest town -its population is 7,500 -where Joe Wilmot runs an independent movie theatre .His marriage to rhe blue blooded Elizabeth is a loveless one and he is drawn to the hired help ,a business college student named Carol Farmer
Elixabeth is aware of the relationship and uses it to engineer an insurance scam -she will appear to die in a fire in the theatre ,caused by faulty electrical equipment ,but another woman's body will be substituted ,The insurance money will then be sent to Elizabeth
Things do not however go according to plan

The plaot is okay but what lets the side down a bit is the characterization -Joe is a pale echo of the contolling figure of the similar Cain titles .like Frank Chambers from "Postman"or Walter ( Double Indemnity )A glib and facile thuggish man ,he remains controlled by his wife and never quite convinces

There is enough of the distinctive Thompson grit to sustain interest but he got better with experience and this does not touch the heights of late books

Histoeically important -but he did better