Wild to Possess / A Taste for Sin (Stark House Noir Classics) [Paperback]

Gil Brewer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 20, 2006 | Series: Stark House Noir Classics

Two brisk-paced noirs from the golden age of the paperback, originally published 1959 and 1961.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

These high-octane crime novels, originally published as pulps in 1959 and 1961 but long unavailable, have much in common: guys with cheating spouses, drinking problems, and nagging consciences launch long-shot money grabs with the wrong dames while being stalked by men with dark agendas. But like a practiced bluesman, the late Brewer improvised well within the basic structure. One of the most enjoyable aspects of both stories (but especially the superior A Taste for Sin) is how the protagonists doggedly work out every last detail of what remain utterly crazy schemes. For instance, they'll rob a bank without knowing if the tellers' vaults can be broken into by force, but meanwhile they will replace the scratched kitchen countertop upon which they've been fashioning keys. Watching these characters make their refreshingly oddball choices underscores how formulaic many noir tales are. Brewer also displayed a gift for hard-boiled descriptions: "Cars littered the sloped lawn like discards on green felt"; "She was beating his head in with a hammer. It was a ball and peen. She was using the peen." Deliriously delicious. Frank Sennett
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"For me, Gil Brewer is the premier architect of the Gold Medal noir." --Jack O'Connell

"He produced some of the most compelling noir softcover originals of the 1950's." --Bill Pronzini

"Sex-drunk men...scheming women, all in pursuit of the big payoff... noir with a vengeance." --Gregory Shepard, from his introduction

"For me, Gil Brewer is the premier architect of the Gold Medal noir." --Jack O'Connell

"Sex-drunk men...scheming women, all in pursuit of the big payoff... noir with a vengeance." --Gregory Shepard, from his introduction

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 283 pages
• Publisher: Stark House Press (October 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933586109
• ISBN-13: 978-1933586106
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,727,288 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Two books: One Hot, one warm., June 9, 2007

By 

Frank Loose (Lawrenceville, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wild to Possess / A Taste for Sin (Stark House Noir Classics) (Paperback)

If you haven't read any of Gil Brewer's Gold Medal paper back originals from the 1950s, here's a great place to start. If you are already familiar with him, from say, Hard Case Crime's re-release of The Vengeful Virgin, this double release by Stark House of Wild to Possess and A Taste for Sin, is a great follow up.

Of the two, A Taste for Sin is definitely the best. Five stars. You will inhale this one. It has a relentless pace similar to that of Vengeful Virgin. Taste for Sin is the story of Jim Phalen, who is on the run from a cheating wife and an act of vengeance that he committed in the heat of the moment against his wife's lover. Working in a new town, and trying to hack out a new life without his wife, Jim meets Felice and for the first time he thinks he can forget his wife and the past. The passion scenes between these two explode on the pages like nothing I've read before. This is hot passion, smoldering with a fire that you don't find in today's over blown and explicit fiction.

While the heat between the two is reason enough to read this book, the main plot is terrific: a bank robbery that Felice wants Jim to help her pull off. The road to this heist has enough twists and turns along the way to keep the pressure on Jim, and will keep you flipping the pages as fast as you can.

While the end is a bit over the top, it does set up a nice ring out.

Brewer is known for writing some of his books at break neck speed, and this one seems to have rushed forth out of him like it was screaming to get on the page. And once there, it screams to get back off of it. Not a word wasted.

Which segues to Wild to Possess, the other book in this double release, where words are wasted. A good editing job could have made this average tale much better. From what I've learned, Brewer's life, like many of his characters, was ruled at times by alcohol abuse. In Wild to Possess, both the writer and the main character seem to be overindulging in the gin. The result is too many paragraphs repeating the same thoughts and observations. The story boggs down. And this is a shame because the story itself is quite original, with the main character Lew Brookbank learning of a kidnapping plot, and deciding to kidnap from the kidnappers.

Like Jim Phalen in A Taste for Sin, Lew is running from a wife who betrayed him. Only she and her lover are both dead, and someone thinks Lew is responsible. So, we have two stories running head long into each other. This creates nice tension. There is also a love interest, which is hard for me to buy into, because there is nothing redeeming about Lew in his present condition. Maybe she sees the man beneath, but it didn't work for me. Also, the plot requires some pretty manipulative and creative actions on Jim's part, and as drunk as he was all the time, these actions seemed a stretch.

Not among Brewer's best, and I give Wild to Possess three stars. It's like a C plus read. If you are into Brewer, read it. But, what ever you do, read A Taste for Sin first. You won't be disappointed. And check out other Stark House releases. They are publishing some great books long out of print, by writers like Day Keene, Harry Whittington, A. S. Fleischman, and others. Framed in Guilt / My Flesh is Sweet