Three to Kill [Import] [Paperback]

Jean-Patrick Manchette (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Serpent's Tail (February 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852424753
• ISBN-13: 978-1852424756
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,555,476 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

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still Fresh 25 Years Later, July 21, 2002

By 

A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Three To Kill (Paperback)

Originally published in 1976, this slim French crime novel has just now been translated into English. The story follows a typical noir theme: an average man thrown into an underworld intrigue entirely by chance. Georges is a mid-level manager in Paris with a wife, two young daughters, and a collection of West coast jazz records. His life has gotten a little humdrum, and so fate thrusts him in the path of two nasty and well-drawn hitmen. After he unwittingly witnesses a murder, the duo track him down in order to tie up loose ends. Although the plot trods a familiar path, Manchette's terse prose, filled with dark humor and ably translated, keeps it fresh and absorbing. And as in much noir, Manchette exhibits an underlying thread of anti-confomism. Manchette wrote nine other crime novels for Gallimard's legendary Série Noir imprint, another of which (The Prone Gunman) is also being published by City Lights.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good New Discovery, December 1, 2003

By 

Dash Manchette - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Three To Kill (Paperback)

Only two Manchette books have been translated into English and this is the first one I read. The book is tightly written and exciting, which, of course, is why one would read a crime noir book in the first place. The lean plot provides enough to explain the episodic spurts of violence contained within, but is not so detailed as to turn the book into a traditional mystery. My complaints, which prevent a five star rating, are that the main character takes a hiatus away from the action which I found a bit unrealistic (I don't want to provide more details and spoil anything) and the ending was a bit more loose and unresolved than the rest of the book. Nonetheless, I look forward to reading Manchette's other translated book, The Prone Gunman, and hope other translations will follow.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4 1/2 stars., April 30, 2007

By 

fluffy, the human being. (forest lake, mn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Three To Kill (Paperback)

a gloriously fun read this was. jean-patrick manchette is a gas. "3 to kill" is a fresh, startling crime novel, completely free of cliche. georges gerfaut, the main character, is quite unlike any other creation i have encountered in a thriller. i finished this book in one evening, and immediately purchased another manchette book, "the prone gunman." highly recommended to fans of noir fiction.