Now, I see that you're not saying that you don't like the covers, but what are you trying to say? I mean, seriously, these are some wicked awesome covers.

The covers are fine, but I really only care about what's inside. I'll grant you that they're a great marketing tool, though.

I think there's more going on here than marketing. Hard Case is putting a ton of care into these things to bring back a sense of the period, a nostalgia for a certain time and mood. The marriage of the cover art (and it really is art) and, as you say, what's inside, makes this line something extra special. So I think the art, in this case, is a far bigger deal than with most books out there.

I love them. Read "Fade to Blonde" recently, and it delivers. I love the covers! Best I've seen...I have to pick up "Zero Cool". Is that one out yet?

I want to read some of these. I'm guessing they're pretty fast reads?

Well said, m'friend. Well said indeed.

But about the covers, the HC people would be absolutely foolish to not offer them as posters in some form.

Do they?

I asked Charles Ardai, the editor of HCC, your question and he replied:

"This is something we've thought about and may yet do; there's really no reason we haven't done it yet, except that it takes time (have to clear the rights with the artist, find a good poster printer, supervise the separation and production process, etc.) and we're swamped just putting out a book every month."

He also brought up some additional points which make the process more complicated than it would initially appear.

He concluded, however, that "given enough time, we'll probably do something of this sort -- maybe not by the end of the year, since somehow it's already June(!), but in 2008, maybe to celebrate the publication of our 50th title..."

Hope that helps!

That's cool. Thanks for the info, djmont.

You know, despite the perfect cover art, this one disappointed me a bit. I liked the setup--editor at a publishing house getting a lead on a rare manuscript (kinda echoing my own job and interests)--but I found myself kinda zoning out at the halfway mark. Feels unnecessarily convoluted and fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants through the final stretch.

http://www.hardcasecrime.com/books/bk32/cover_big.jpg

My two cents:
The Wounded and the Slain, by David Goodis
James Bevan drunkenly kills a man in self defense in the alleys of Kingston, then staggers back to his hotel unaware that someone has witnessed the incident and pocketed the murder weapon. Bevan is then blackmailed by the witness for his silence or the police will receive a broken beer bottle with Bevan's bloody fingerprints all over it.

I like this Bevan character. He's not a cop. He's not a shamus, con man, swindler, card sharp, crook. He's just an ordinary man who's a bit wrecked on the inside. A man who's been driven to alcoholism and near insanity by a cold, distant wife. I'd love to play him if they ever made a movie of this book.

It also features one of the funniest bar brawls I've ever read. Mind you, I haven't read too many bar brawl scenes...

I too was disappointed slightly. Like you said, it had potential and got off to a promising start. 100 or so pages in however, it hit a brick wall and didn't progress the way I was anticipating. Oh well, they can't all be winners.

I'm about 50 pages into . . .

http://www.hardcasecrime.com/books/bk33/cover_big.jpg

I was so psyched to start this, Ardai's last book has been one of my favorite HCC books so far, so a brand new John Blake mystery is very welcome. But I would highly recommend for anyone just randomly reading the HCC books, to make sure they read Little Girl Lost before picking up Songs of Innocence.

^ Little Girl Lost is one of my favorite HCC's as well...can't wait to read the follow-up.

I'm new to the Hard Case Crime series: I saw the books mentioned on this forum and was intrigued by everything said in this thread (and the covers of course...). I went to a local used book store and found a copy of "Fade to Blonde". I read it in two days and needless to say, I LOVED it! A couple of my favourite passages:

"Shade got up at once to shake hands with me. Just when I thought he was done standing up, he'd stand up some more. He shook my hand carefully, like he'd learned that hands break easily."

also:

"A slim brunette with a neck like a gazelle had appeared at my shoulder, wearing about as much cloth of gold as you'd need to keep the chill off a canary."

Anyway, I joined the Book of the Month Club and ordered 6 of the past books. Can't wait to read some more!

I was sitting at my desk, helping myself to the office bottle, when this dame walked in. Platinum blonde hair. Cherry red lipstick. And curves that did all sorts of wonderful things whenever she moved. I stood up and met her at the corner of my desk.
"Did you enjoy the book I lent you?" she purred.
The book in question had seemed to promise much. Not just from the "come hither" front cover, but from the back blurbs, which tossed around words like 'brothels', 'bodies' and 'broken dreams'. What I got instead read like a Grade Z gangster flick that had been transcribed to a ream of pulp. I told her as much. "I coulda been reading the new Palahniak instead of this doorstop. You let me down, baby."
Her laugh sounded like a champagne flute shattering into a thousand pieces. "Sucker!" she snarled and stomped out of the office. I was glad to see the back of her. In more reasons than one. I turned to my desk to continue my drinking.
But she'd taken the bottle of rye with her.

Are you saying you didn't like it? That was one of my favorites so far!

That book would make a terrible doorstop! It's less than an inch thick. :)

Yeah. It didn't float my boat.

I found The Colorado Kid for 99 cents at my local Borders :up:. I have about 10 books from the collection now, I really need to join the club again.

Everybody ready for Songs of Innocence, the sequel to the "Richard Aleas" book Little Girl Lost (the fourth book in the Hard Case line)? The new one is arriving at bookstores about now. I just reread Little Girl Lost to prepare. I'm wondering how much of a "sequel" this will be, or whether it will be just a "new case."

http://www.hardcasecrime.com/books/bk4/cover_big.jpghttp://www.hardcasecrime.com/books/bk33/cover_big.jpg

Little Girl Lost...I'm not even sure I have a copy of that one. I'm assuming I should read that one first. Maybe I'll run out today and find a copy. (The girl's shin on the cover is longer than my whole legs. I wonder if that helps her run fast.)

This title is a must-read, IMO. The opening chapter is arguably the best of all the HCC books thus far.
I noticed that McGinnis did not do the cover art for the sequel. I found his work to be overrated anyways...all his women look the same (elongated) -- look at the size of that foot!

In case you're curious, here's my review of <I>Little Girl Lost</I>, which ran in the <I>Chicago Sun-Times</I> on December 12, 2004:
It's one of the better originals that HCC has published. (Generally, I've preferred the reprints, with the originals being a mixed bag overall.)

I did a search for Hard Case Crime Book Reviews and found this link. It was cool to see DVD Talk listed since I've been coming here for a while (mainly only going to the DVD Reviews and Bargain threads). I didn't know there was a topic on Hard Case Crime. Pretty cool...

Anyway, I started reading Hard Case Crime a while back. I started with "Top of the Heap" then "Grifter's Game" then "Two For the Money" and then "361". I enjoyed them all ("Two For the Money" the least).

Recently I decided to get back into them and I just received five titles from Amazon today ("Blackmailer", "A Touch of Death", "Branded Woman", "The Wounded and the Slain" and "The Last Match").

I want to know which one to start with. Does anyone know where I can find any good reviews on the five titles I received today or does anyone here have any suggestions? I know the plots and the authors. That's why I chose these but was looking for more in depth information about these books to decide which one to begin with.

Also, if anyone is interested Amazon is doing a 4 for 3 deal on certain books and it seems that all of the Hard Case Crime novels are part of the promotion. That helped get me back into them again.