2 down and 25 (so far) to go!

I quickly finished The Last Match and Grave Descend, thoroughly enjoying both enjoying both. I've got three more, the Girl With the Long Green Heart, the Colorado Kid, and Grifter's Game. I'm looking forward to plowing through those three and signing up for the club. Thanks for pointing this series out, guys.

Cool! You've got two absolute winners (the Blocks) and a controversial one (King) in your future. I'm excited about the new Block coming out in a week or so.

I liked The Colorado Kid, but that's been a minority opinion. I love the way that book has infuriated some people. It's refreshing to see a little passion when it comes to books.

The new Block (Lucky at Cards) is quite good. The 3 of his that HCC has reprinted have all been gems.

So you've got some fine reading ahead of you!

Just got this update from Hard Case Crime...

****************************

Three pieces of exciting news for fans of Hard Case Crime:

1) Later this year we're going to be publishing the last crime novel the great Mickey Spillane ever wrote. It's called DEAD STREET, and it's about an ex-cop who discovers that his girlfriend's death 20 years earlier in a botched abduction may not have gone down quite the way he thought -- and that she might not be dead after all. Mickey was working on several books at the time of his death, including a couple of Mike Hammer detective novels and a sort of men's adventure novel, but DEAD STREET is the last pure crime novel he put his hand to, and we think Spillane's millions of readers will find it a special treat. If you go to our Web site -- www.hardcasecrime.com -- you'll see we've posted the cover art, a sample chapter, and some information about the book. Just a little taste to whet your appetite...

2) Those of you who read the New York Post may have seen a story in "Page Six" last week about Lawrence Block's new Hard Case Crime novel, LUCKY AT CARDS; those of you who watch Craig Ferguson's "Late, Late Show" this coming week will get to see Larry talk about it on television. It's a great story -- how Larry wrote this terrific crime novel back in 1964, how it was originally published under a fake name and a different title, and how the book hasn't seen the light of day in any form for four decades. Well, after months of anticipation, our new edition of LUCKY AT CARDS is finally out -- you can find it at your favorite local bookseller. I know you won't want to miss this one.

3) At the end of this month, Max Phillips -- the man who co-founded Hard Case Crime with me and won the Shamus Award for Best Paperback Novel for FADE TO BLONDE -- will be publishing a new novel called EYE OF THE ARCHANGEL, under his sometime pseudonym "Forrest DeVoe Jr." It's a spy novel set in the 1960s, and it tells the story of operatives Jack Mallory (the laconic Texan with a talent for gunplay) and Laura Morse (the beautiful and deadly martial arts expert) teaming up to save the world from an international arms dealer who has gotten his hands on some technology developed by a German scientist at the end of World War II. You'll visit Monte Carlo and the Swiss Alps, race in the Grand Prix, witness a fight to the death atop a swaying cable car, and meet a cast of colorful, sexy, and dangerous characters. If you enjoyed the recent Bond film "Casino Royale," you'll love EYE OF THE ARCHANGEL. We're not publishing this book -- it's coming from HarperCollins -- but I can't recommend it more strongly. Not because Max is a friend and I like to see his books do well (though that's true, of course) -- simply because the book's so damn good. If you like our books, you'll like this one.

We'll be back with more news in a few weeks, including our first free book drawing of the new year. In the meantime, do pick up a copy of LUCKY AT CARDS -- you won't regret it...

Hitting streets now. As David said, it's a winner!

I finally shelved a stack of new books last night and before I managed to put the new Block book with my HCC set, I decided to read the first paragraph...next thing I know, it's past my bed time and I'm half way through the book.

That's what I'm loving so much about these books, Block's in particular. They grab you and don't let go. I wouldn't even say they're incredibly hard to put down because it doesn't even cross your mind to put 'em down. From the first sentence, you're pulled into the character's world and you don't want to pop out until the story is over.

Holy crap! I think Block is my new favorite author. I mean, damn! I couldn't put Lucky at Cards down. And I thought for sure it wouldn't end in a satisfying way, but damn if Block didn't come up with the perfect ending.

1) Lucky at Cards
2) Grifter's Game
3) Grave Descend
4) Lemons Never Lie
5) Say it with Bullets
6) Home is the Sailor
7) 361

(I have no idea why I'm ranking these...)

Block's later books, primarily the Scudder series, are far superior to his early noir offerings (good though they were), so you've got a lot of good reading ahead of you.

I know I should probably just read through the thread, but I thought I could get a quick answer from those that signed up for the book club.

First off, I signed up and it said I would get a response with 48 hours that I was processed and I could start using my discount on the site. 48 hours went by and I didn't get anything. So, I called them up and was told that I had been processed and so I asked for my membership #. The lady gave me one, but when I entered it nothing happened. So, I just placed the order over the phone. Ordered 12 books, two of which were free.

Now, regarding the book club part. I noticed that there was no book listed for January. So, did members just not get a book in January? And how long did it take for people to start getting their monthly book? Should I expect Lucky At Cards to arrive at my house shortly, or will I not start getting a monthly book until March with Robbie's Room?

Also, when I placed an order for the 12 books, one of them was Vengeful Virgin. But this book shows as being the April 07 book. So, why was it available to order, and will I now get a duplicate book?

I'm not a member of the club and have no idea how it works, but I do know that VENGEFUL VIRGIN hasn't been released yet.

Mike Shayne! Damn. That's a blast from the past. I didn't know anyone even remembered who Brett Halliday was these days.

Welcome aboard!

I'm not a member either (well, not that kind of member anyway). But I do know that they don't put out books in January. Thus...no book this January.

So, I called them and was told that indeed Vengeful Virgin hasn't been released yet. I was also told that the other 11 books I ordered shipped. I was also told I was only charged for 9 books, and would still get the 2 for free. So, she cancelled the back order on Vengeful Virgin and I guess I'll get that in the book club.

Richard S. Prather, whose book THE PEDDLER was reissued by HCC in December, just passed away. He was probably best known for the Shell Scott PI series, the last of which was published in 1987. Prather was rather elderly, and I don't believe he was writing anymore.

I've never read his work, but we shared some friends in common and I always heard good things about him.

Looks like HCC is in negotiations to have some of their published books made into movies:

Awesome if this comes to fruition.

Also, two recent announcements for October and November...

Reading this one now. It's great so far! What a cool, edgy style Prather had. The main character, Tony Romero, is such a belligerent, misogynist punk. And the book doesn't shy away from the nasty, prurient stuff. One of the many things I love about Hard Case is that it's introducing me to these excellent noir writers that I might never have come across.

The March 2007 title is hitting stores now...

I missed it if it's been mentioned in this thread but I figured some other people might not know - I was surprised to find out today that John Lange, author of "Grave Descend," is none other than Michael Crichton!

He is indeed. He put himself through medical school writing the Lange books. He also wrote a book as Jeffery Hudson that won the Edgar Award. The last Lange novel (Binary) and the Hudson novel (A Case of Need) were bigger books and paved the way for Crichton to start writing high-concept thrillers under his own name.

Speaking of Crichton, HCC will be releasing another of his early Lange books -- Zero Cool -- sometime in '08 I believe.

As I recall, Zero Cool is pretty good. But Binary is the best of the Lange books. It's the least pulpy, most thriller-like of them.

I just finished Top of the Heap and now I want the rest of the Cool & Lamb series! Too bad this is the only one that HCC has published so far, and I was a little disappointed that they didn't start with the first book in the series but it really was top notch. I've quickly made my way through the Colorado Kid, the Girl with the Long Green Heart, Grifter's Game, and Fade to Blonde and will be starting Little Girl Lost on the commute home tonight. Thanks for pointing out the series it's been a blast. Now on to Amazon to order some more!

Has anyone here signed up for the Hard Case Crime club over at dorchesterpub.com? It says you get the newest book each month for only $3.99, but I'm worried that you may not get it as soon as it comes out, since it says the first order you place will be shipped to you within 4-6 weeks. I don't see why on earth it should take that long if you wanted to just order some books.

I think what probably happens is that when you join, your name gets added to the distribution list, so your books kick in with the next shipment. I would imagine that ordinarily you'd get the books within a week or two of them being released, but I doubt it's the first day or anything.

Of course, I'm not sure what advantage there would be to getting them all on the street day anyway. So if you're sure you want all of the books, this might be a good way of going about it.

I've been a member for a long time & usually get the new book earlier than the release date.