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Derek Raymond

He Died with His Eyes Open: A Novel Paperback – March 12, 1987

by Derek Raymond (Author)

139 ratings

3.7 on Goodreads

2,095 ratings

Book 1 of 5: Factory

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“A unique crime writer whose fictional world was brutal, realistic and harrowing in the extreme.”—Guardian

In the three police procedurals that comprise the Factory Series, Derek Raymond has created a narrator who threatens to become a cult figure while preserving his anonymity. A loner and cynic, undervalued and underpaid, our hero is a nameless detective sergeant in the Department of Unexplained Deaths, a catch-all unit that investigates low-life crimes and is shunned by the blokes in the Serious Crimes Division of the Metropolitan Police.

But our narrator, working out of the Factory, named by the villains because it has a bad reputation for doing suspects over in the interrogation rooms, is fired by a real feeling for justice. He believes that an alcoholic, found obscenely battered to death in a seedy, down-and-out part of London, deserves as much official attention as, say, a dead politician. This “nobody” becomes a somebody—a kindred spirit who left behind a strange legacy. Our cop becomes obsessed by the case. But even he could not have imagined how vicious, evil, and perversely attractive his opponent will turn out to be.

Book 1 of 5

Factory
Print length

240 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Ballantine Books
Publication date

March 12, 1987
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

0345342895
ISBN-13

978-0345342898
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ballantine Books (March 12, 1987)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0345342895
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0345342898
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 0.01 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #314,884 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #15,985 in Suspense Thrillers
- #25,777 in Mysteries (Books)
- #60,551 in Genre Literature & Fiction

Customer Reviews:
139 ratings

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Customer reviews

5 star		38%
4 star		33%
3 star		16%
2 star		9%
1 star		4%

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Bob Richey

Another South London Gritty Crime Book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 3, 2007

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Apparently, this book was the third in a series of publications by Mr. Raymond entitled "The Factory Series". I have not read the previous two books in the series and I doubt that my enjoyment of this book was unduly affected by this omission.

I have an unhealthy addiction to these gritty, South London Crime books. I have not read any previous books by Mr. Raymond (to my knowledge) but this is another of the genre. The crimes described are violent and explicitly described. The investigators are as amoral as the criminal that they are chasing.

The main investigator (unnamed) is the narator of the story. He is with the thankless group within the Metropolitan Police known as the Department of Unexplained Deaths. It rarely gets written up in the paper (except, perhaps in the News of the World or some other of the tabloids) and the members of the department rarely get promoted. They are the lowest of the low. That possibly is one of the reasons why the members of the department are so like the criminals that they pursue. As is usual with me, I enjoyed this book very much and feel that I need to claim to be embarrassed by my enjoyment, so I will say that to cast the illusion that I am somewhat civilised.

I think that one of the things that I like about this type of book is the street slang. This book, in that manner, befuddled me. I was not familiar with a lot of the vocabulary of the characters in the book and had to keep my copy of Puxley's (a dictionary of British Slang) by my side as I read it. I feel that perhaps that the street language that I am familiar with might be a bit more modern than this book, which was published In 1984. Even though this was a South London crime story, I did not find a single mention of "filth" or "pork-chop" in the book. In place of those words, the book normally used the word "copper". That is a word that is even old by American standards (I would guess around the 1940's).

It is a good book, by my measure and I invite you to read it unless you have a weak constitution.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

David S. Wellhauser

Excellent Crime Novel...but the Kindle is Overpriced

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 21, 2010

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Derek Raymond‘s He Died with His Eyes Open (go with the paperback — the Kindle version is over priced…that’s if you can find it at a bookstore, otherwise you are stuck with an overpriced ebook version…as of writing) is an excellent example of how a police procedural narrative may be married to both Noir and borderland literary fiction.

The blend of story, plot, action, style, character, and ideas [in the form of psychopathologies] is almost perfectly achieved in this first book in the Factory series.

The book is not overly violent, but like much crime fiction there is some and that some is quite graphic.

Set in Thatcherite Britain, the novel follows an unnamed detective working for the Dept. of Unexplained Deaths (they follow up on deaths of the marginalized and down and out) as he attempts to close a case involving one of the Londoners living on the fringes of society.

The detective is driven but articulate and thoughtful, and they offer the reader a depth of identity not normally achieved in the police procedural.

Recommended for fans of Noir; mystery; procedural, and Crime…especially those who enjoy a slightly more thoughtful take on their crime.

Rating 4 out of 5 stars

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Ed McGuigan

Way Overrated and Lacking Authenticity

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 23, 2013

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I decided to read this book having seen it featured as a book in the "You Must Read This" NPR series.
I am British and came of age in Thatcher's Britain and I was quite disposed to be entertained by this book. I found it to be unworthy of the praise that has been lavished on it. The dialogue is unconvincing to me, a sorry pastiche of cockney banter, quite unnatural and stilted. I suspect that those who aren't that familiar with how Londoner's and more generally, Brits, speak might think that it was accurate. There are many unconvincing references to rock song lyrics, television programs etc that smack of poor research, laziness and simply being out of touch.

Beyond that, the victim of the crime evokes very little sympathy from me. He is supposed to be "clever" and essentially looks down his nose and all and sundry. Once again, I found the attempts to critique elements of British society to be weak and poorly conceived. I see nothing original, ground breaking or indeed deeply truthful about the book. It got me thinking of Emile Zola's "La Bete Humaine", written a century prior, that dealt with many similar themes in a much more gripping and convincing manner.

Life is short - find a better book to read.

4 people found this helpful

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Christopher Junker

Worth the read for mystery lovers

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 16, 2013

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Not for everyone perhaps, it is the first book in the Factory series. Here is real noir writing. This is not the entertaining but carefully sanitized slumming of Raymond Chandler where an amusing line is never out of place. This is the world of inescapable poverty and ignorance, in which even a murder does not interest the authorities very much and viscous exploitation for trivial gain is the rule and nobody. least of all the detective, is having fun. The story drags a bit on occasion and the somewhat cumbersome premise of the victim speaking via taped autobiographical musings to the detective, a nameless Sergeant of the Department of Unexplained Deaths can be trying at times. Nevertheless, I think it worth the read for anyone who really likes mystery fiction.

2 people found this helpful

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Kirk Alex

James M. Cain...on octane

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 27, 2009

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I can't believe I never knew about this writer until recently...having
accidentally discovered him on the Net.

The only warning here is: once you start reading, you can't stop.

Also, I gave his I WAS DORA SUAREZ five stars. The book is so strong
it just might make a few people vomit.

Would love to get The Hidden Files, only it seems tough to locate here in the
U.S.

Lastly, you might be bummed out to know Raymond died back in l994. At
least we have the books.
Powerful stuff indeed.

3 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

W. Stephens

Good story, awful dialogue

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 2, 2022

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The story is really good. Apparent low-life meets grisly end, and only a determined copper is willing to find the culprit and reason. The copper digs into the history of the victim and illuminates that he was a human being with history and value.
Big however : the dialogue between the characters is dreadful, unbelievable. I really wondered if it was just due to (poor) translation from a foreign text….
In the end, the clunky dialogue just drove me to give up at half-way through.

One person found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Existential noir !

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 26, 2020

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I thought this was superb ! A masterpiece ! Existential noir ! The detective narrator having no name worked very well . The London setting with all it's squalor was well described . The ending was odd but I didn't mind . The authors fear of inevitable decay and death was very evident . This was the book Camus or Sartre would have written if they had decided to write a detective story !

One person found this helpful

Forest dweller

Can I give this 6 out of 5?

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 10, 2019

Verified Purchase

Wonderful. The malodorous whiffs of London in 1981 captured perfectly. Alcoholism and unemployment. Shabby tenements due for demolition. The big smoke before the 1980s swept the grime away.
And then a great crime tale as well.
Why is this author not better known?

One person found this helpful

Gman

Very sharp and very dark.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 6, 2017

Verified Purchase

Love Derek Raymond's books which I've just discovered. Very sharp and very dark.

One person found this helpful

P Ward

Dark

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 12, 2019