Edward Bunker - No Beast So Fierce

Many years ago I watched Straight Time (1978), starring Dustin Hoffman, but until recently I had no idea that the film was based on Edward Bunker’s novel No Beast So Fierce.

The novel is quite different from the film. For example, the relationship between Max and the woman who interviews him for a job develops into a romance in the film, while nothing similar happens in the novel. The film also feels much more concentrated, while the novel spends considerably more time on Max’s life and his criminal milieu.

One of the few moments that immediately reminded me of the film is when Max, overwhelmed by anger, attacks his parole officer. This becomes an important turning point, as Max returns to his old criminal life.

I found the novel somewhat too long. At around 300 pages, I think the story could easily have been shortened by about 100 pages. Bunker is clearly interested in the everyday life of a former convict and the criminal world around him, but for me this sometimes makes the novel feel more episodic than a conventional crime novel.

Having seen Straight Time first, I was probably expecting something closer to the film’s more concentrated dramatic structure. No Beast So Fierce is a much more expansive portrait of a man who cannot escape his criminal past.

Jonathan Latimer - Headed For A Hearse

I first discovered Jonathan Latimer in Julian Symons's Bloody Murder, where one of his novels was described as unusually explicit for its time. I believe the book in question was Lady in the Morgue. This sparked my interest, and I began looking into Latimer's life and work.

Before becoming a well-known novelist, Latimer worked as a crime reporter and became acquainted with gangsters such as Al Capone and Bugs Moran. He later went on to write screenplays for classic noir films including The Glass Key, The Big Clock, and Night Has a Thousand Eyes.

For that reason, I decided to buy Headed for a Hearse. It turned out to be a solid crime novel that successfully combines elements of the hard-boiled tradition, the English detective story, the locked-room mystery, and screwball comedy. It may not be a forgotten classic, but it is certainly a book worth reading.

Bill Crane is an engaging and witty detective, and the plot unfolds like a ticking time bomb. A wealthy man has been convicted of murdering his wife and has only seven days left before his execution. In a desperate attempt to save his life, he hires the expensive attorney Fickenstein, setting in motion an investigation filled with twists, humor, and unusual situations.

Fredric Brown - Knock Three-One-Two

Fredric Brown (1906–1972) was an American writer known for his mastery of both science fiction and crime fiction, often blending the two genres with a sharp wit and surprising twists. His stories are typically concise, packed with suspense, dark humor, and clever plot turns that keep readers guessing until the last page.

Brown excelled in crafting short stories and novels that explore human psychology, moral ambiguity, and the unexpected consequences of seemingly simple actions. His work influenced many later writers in the thriller and mystery genres, and he is celebrated for his ability to combine entertainment with thoughtful reflection.

Whether in the realm of a chilling mystery or speculative science fiction, Fredric Brown’s storytelling remains engaging, unpredictable, and uniquely memorable.

Fredric Brown’s Knock Three-One-Two is a masterclass in noir storytelling — short, sharp, and deeply unsettling. With its grim moral landscape and ironic twists of fate, it offers not just suspense, but a disturbing psychological portrait of broken lives and failed ambitions.

The novel centers on Ray Fleck, a man in deep financial ruin, whose mounting gambling debts push him toward a horrifying plan: to manipulate an active serial killer into murdering his wife, Ruth, and collect her life insurance. To cover his tracks, Ray engineers a drunken arrest — getting himself locked up overnight so he’ll have an airtight alibi.

But the brilliance of Brown’s storytelling lies in how fate, madness, and irony collide.

Ray’s cellmate that night is a delusional racetrack tout, a man who has long insisted (falsely) that he is the one killing women around the city. He is unstable, obsessed with the idea of being taken seriously, but has never actually committed murder — until now. After waking from a vivid nightmare in which a demon taunts him, the man becomes fixated on Ray Fleck, recognizing him as the figure from the dream. This isn’t rational — it’s raw psychosis. To him, killing Ray becomes proof of his power, a way to make the demon go away, and to finally be seen as dangerous.

And so, Fleck — who thought he had planned the perfect crime — ends up the victim of a mind even more unhinged than his own schemes.

Meanwhile, Ruth, unaware of her husband's betrayal, is working her shift at a Greek restaurant. Her boss, Mikos, harbors quiet affection for her and becomes suspicious when a strange, unsettling phone call comes in asking for her. Trusting his gut, Mikos walks Ruth home, checks her apartment for danger, and leaves — but remains uneasy. When he sees a man lurking nearby who vaguely resembles Ray, he rushes back just in time to confront the real serial killer. After a violent struggle, he subdues the man and saves Ruth, who survives the attack with minor injuries.

The novel ends on a surprisingly tender note: Mikos writes a letter to a police inspector friend, recounting the strange chain of events, and expressing his hope to marry Ruth now that her treacherous husband is dead.

Brown wraps it all in his trademark style: compact prose, moral ambiguity, and a deep, noir-tinged sense of irony. Knock Three-One-Two isn’t just about crime — it’s about how delusion, desperation, and fate entangle until no one gets out clean. Even the "rescue" feels like chance, not justice.

Dorothy Salisbury Davis - A Death In The Life

Idle wife of absent newspaperman decide to roam free around the city and experience real life meeting prostitutes, pimps, and other scum, but when murder of famous actor shows up she takes a role of detective along with the police. Good crime novel, now a bit overlooked.

John Wainwright - All On A Summer's Day

Good police procedural, very realistic given that author was policeman before turning into crime fiction, very alike Ed McBain's novels. Plot revolves about different crimes occuring on a day's police work.

A Pin To See A Peepshow - F. Tennyson Jesse

A Pin to See a Peepshow by F. Tennyson Jesse is a chilling and thought-provoking novel based on true crime, weaving together a tragic tale of love, betrayal, and the dark consequences of desperation. Set against the backdrop of early 20th-century England, the story follows Julia, a woman trapped in a loveless marriage to Herbert. Her life takes a dramatic turn when she falls in love with Leo, leading to a passionate affair that ultimately results in Herbert's death after a confrontation between Leo and Herbert. The aftermath sets in motion a harrowing journey that culminates in Julia and Leo being arrested, tried, and eventually hanged.

The novel delves deep into Julia’s emotional turmoil as she grapples with the complexities of love, loyalty, and guilt. Her marriage to Herbert is strained from the start, with no affection between them, and her bond with Leo represents a desperate escape. However, the novel’s real tension builds as the relationship between Julia and Leo spirals into something far more dangerous when Herbert discovers their affair. The subsequent confrontation leads to Herbert’s death at Leo’s hands, setting in motion a series of events that ultimately end in their arrest and execution.

One of the most striking aspects of the novel is the portrayal of Julia’s feelings in the period leading up to her execution. As she faces the inevitable end of her life, there is a profound sense of internal conflict—her love for Leo, her guilt over Herbert’s death, and the overwhelming weight of her fate. Julia’s reflections are especially poignant as she contrasts her situation with the lives of "normal" people going about their everyday routines—people heading to jobs, living mundane lives. This thought brings a sense of surreal isolation and helplessness, as she contemplates how life simply moves on for others while hers is tragically coming to an end. Jesse captures Julia’s quiet desperation, fear, and reflection on her life choices in a way that is both heartbreaking and haunting.

While the novel is gripping, it is worth noting that at 400 pages, it may feel a bit long for some readers. There are sections that linger on Julia’s inner thoughts and emotions, which, while providing depth, may seem drawn-out at times. However, these moments contribute to the overall tone of the story, adding to the sense of suffocating inevitability that hangs over the characters.

The novel’s structure also reflects the societal attitudes of the time, making it a fascinating study of both the characters and the culture they inhabit. The ending, while tragic, feels inevitable, making it all the more impactful. It’s a story that lingers in your mind long after the final page, forcing you to reflect on love, consequences, and the fragility of life.

Overall, A Pin to See a Peepshow is a dark and captivating exploration of the human condition, set against the grim backdrop of a true crime. F. Tennyson Jesse’s writing captures the complexities of the heart and the destructive power of love in a way that resonates with readers who enjoy literary thrillers and psychological dramas. Though the novel’s tragic conclusion and its somewhat lengthy nature may leave you feeling conflicted, it is undoubtedly a story worth reading.

Cameron McCabe - The Face On The Cutting Room Floor

This novel was quite a mystery back in the day, with uncertainty about its author. Julian Symons called it a detective story to end all detective stories. It revolves around film studio where girl has been killed in the cutting room floor. Cameron McCabe, narrator of the story, tells about possible suspects but when the film is showed there  is depiction of man and woman struggling and maybe in accident he kills herself with a knife. Jensen, the possible culprit is later found dead, poisoned and shot from revolver. Now Jensen was lover of the girl, but also was McCabe so inspector Smith puts the blame on Cameron and sends him to trial. After Cameron is aquitted, he returns home only to face Smith who murders him. Very unusual crime story, and final touch is imagined review of his work as afterword. But after 30 years real name of the writer is revealed : Ernest Borneman, german who worked in the film industry. He wrote couple of other novels and died from suicide at 79 year old. 

One of the standout aspects of Face on the Cutting Room Floor is its unconventional narrative structure. The novel opens with what seems like a straightforward story of a man working behind the scenes in the movie industry. However, as the story progresses, it becomes clear that the world McCabe is constructing is anything but simple. The blending of fact and fiction within the narrative is brilliantly executed, with a fictional "review" of the book included by an imaginary critic. This metatextual element adds an intriguing layer of complexity to the story.

The plot is full of twists and turns, with the protagonist being drawn into a murder mystery that seems to have connections to both his professional life and personal history. The slow unveiling of secrets keeps readers on their toes, making it a difficult book to put down.

The novel explores the nature of film, identity, and the construction of truth. The editor at the center of the story deals with film reels—cutting, splicing, and rearranging footage. In a similar way, the novel itself feels like it's being cut and reassembled, with reality constantly shifting under the reader's feet. McCabe also plays with themes of voyeurism, illusion, and the idea of perception versus reality.

The writing is sharp and clever, with a noir-ish tone that complements the dark, mysterious atmosphere. McCabe’s ability to create a sense of unease and uncertainty is one of the novel's strengths.

The characters are well-developed, especially the protagonist. His character is driven by a desire to uncover the truth, yet he is constantly forced to question what’s real and what’s been fabricated—both in the case he’s investigating and in his own life. The supporting characters, though not as fleshed out, still contribute to the overall sense of mystery.

In conclusion, Face on the Cutting Room Floor is a fascinating and thought-provoking read that plays with narrative structure, genre conventions, and the idea of truth in a world filled with illusion. The novel feels ahead of its time, foreshadowing many modern techniques used in contemporary storytelling. If you're a fan of mystery, film noir, and books that defy traditional narrative forms, McCabe's work is certainly worth exploring.

Picador Classics also include afterword where they put interview with Borneman, and some other info about him.

George Sims - The Last Best Friend

Unusual crime novel about antiquarian Ned Balfour who finds out that his friend was murdered, and in unravelling of mystery gets skin deep into shady, decadent and snobbish world of art dealing. George Sims was himself antiquarian and book is full of interesting observations, funny character and peculiar atmosphere of menace.

Stanley Ellin - House Of Cards

Ex-boxer is hired to babysit child of unstable woman in strange house and strange family, and previous guardian apparently killed himself.  After some time, poor man realizes that it is a hideout for terrorist organization and must save his life and life of the child and his mother. First part is rather good, but second become little tedious with all that political shenanigans.

Tony Hillerman - Skinwalkers

Detective of the Navajo Tribal Police Chee and FBI agent Leaphorn investigate series of seemingly unconnected crimes on Indian reservation. Indians believe that skinwalker is killing people, malevolent spirit that can take form of any being and control it, which Leaphorn doesn't believe it since he hates superstition, but Chee, being an Indian, believes. Unfortunately, things turn out rather banal, since the killer is director of the hospital who was responsible for the death of some people, so Indians assumed there was some witch in it. In either case, good crime novel, somewhat exotic.

Arthur W. Upfield - Sands Of Windee

Napoleon Bonaparte, called Bony, greatest detective in the world, is sent by the police to town in Australia to investigate strange dissapearance of man and possibly his murder. Bony is half-caste, neither Aboriginal nor Australian, but his methods are unusual and effective in solving crimes. By deceiving people who he is, he delves into strange aboriginal magic and drunken Australians. Good crime novel and very strange.

Nicolas Freeling - Gun Before Butter

Dutch detective Van Der Valk after brief encounter with young girl whose father had died in a car crash stumbles upon deserted white Mercedes with open door and a key in lock. Curious about that, he crosses the street and enters into house where he finds dead body. Nothing whatsoever points to dead man's identity, nor there are any clues in the house. After some investigation he finds that house was rented from some baron. Then he find dead man's name and also that he was spending time in some cottage up the hills. But again no clue comes to what this man was or who killed him. So he decides to cross the border to Germany where he find that he was a smuggler. He was smuggling butter. And he was living in Belgium under another name. So, Van Der Valk thinks, this man had two identities, one in Holland and another in Belgium. He finds his wife who runs a hotel in Brussels but she proves too hard nut to crack. Eventually it comes to light that this man assumed identity of a dead man, who died in Germany during the war, and therefore he was free of his Belgium identity, free to smuggle butter in Holland. He was a criminal. But his mistake was falling in love with a silly girl, girl who worked as a mechanic in an automobile repair shop. The same girl Van Der Valk encountered when her father died in a car crash. She found about his wife, and madly jealous, went to the house in Mercedes and knifed him, as she later told to Van Der Valk. He tried to confort her, telling her he was a criminal, and let her go free. Very good crime novel, and somewhat exotic, being set in Holland and Belgium.

Colin Watson - Bump In The Night

Some may argue if women or men are better crime writers, but it sure is true that England had made killing a sport of their own. Which is certainly true in this off-beat, humoresque and almost parodic crime novel set in some village full of creeps and freaks, in which explosion after explosion happens, often on some public monument and nobody knows who done it or why. But however misanthropic and funny this novel seems to be, in the end, where criminal is found, true tragedy uncovers.

John Creasey - Gideon's March

In London, that criminal hell hole, a Visit is expected by presidents of United States, France and Germany. So Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard, Gideon, has many problems on his hands to deal with in forthcoming weeks. From keeping local criminals from Manchester, Liverpool and other towns in control, and at the same time solving the death of troublesome young girl. But in meantime curious character prepares attack on the president of France for his own personal reasons which would prove fatal in the end. All in all, interesting police procedural with funny characters.

Hillary Waugh - Pure Poison

 

Who put strychnine in a bottle of milk that morning when Mr. Chapman and his wife were setting for dinner? At that point no one knows, but as fate would have it. poor Mr. Chapman died of accute poisoning. Investigation takes place by the police and after some inquiry they find out that poor Mr. Chapman was not as exemplary specimen of his own society, even as he was respectable among his colleagues at high school staff. He often went around on field trips to interview possible candidates for jobs and applications that would drive out competition from other cities. After some time it turns out that he was quite a womanizer on those field trips and got some wretched girl pregnant. But as usual with these kind of novels, there is some other person who is even more guilty of the crime and that is brother of pregnant girl. Although these kind of crime novels can be discarded as anything but a fantasy, there is striking resemblance of actual police investigation. Hillary Waugh was pioneer of police procedurals and even as his novels are out of print and forgotten, there is everlasting immortality to his work.

Joan Fleming - Kill Or Cure

British crime fiction is the best, which this particular novel proves. It begins when young girl comes half dead to some guy flat, he calls general practitioner, but he can do very little about it. Soon there comes blackmail letters to all involved, and in the meanwhile G.P. decides to kill his adulterous wife under the influence of LSD. After that some unknown boy turns up in his office with no identity papers, apparently dumb and mute. Not knowing what to do, doctor invites him to his home to serve him until he recovers. Lord Tralee, writer of detective novels have some suspicion about it, and it soon is revealed that dumb boy was impersonating his true dumb brother and is actually very clever young thug who is responsible for death of poor young girl, poisoning general practitioner drink with LSD and sending blackmailing letters to everyone involved. However, in all good detective novels, moral relativism is the key to all answers. Young thug really liked the girl, and got her pregnant, and in the end he stumbles upon doctors house with a pistol. Doctor accidentally kills him, while Lord Tralee in the last few chapters exposes what really happened. You may think that crime novels are rubbish, but they are literature in its purest form, which this one proves. 

Helen McCloy - The Long Body

Unusual crime novel featuring investigator Dr Basil Willing, about a woman who suspects her husband's death from falling over a cliff was not an accident as she uncovers empty envelope with a foreign woman's name on it. After some investigation she finds old man suffering from stroke and is unable to tell her anything about it, before long she is struck by an automobile and is sent to hospital. Under heavy drugs she contemplates about killing that woman, and as she often suffers from sleepwalking, decides to murder that mexican woman. But she realizes that all the time she was in a hospital some other person killed the woman. After meeting with Dr Basil Willing, psychiatrist and some investigation she finds out that her husband and his friend while they were in the army fighting against mexicans, encountered mexican whore. They wanted to play with her but suddenly her husband came with a gun and mexican whore shot him with american friend's pistol. During military investigation mexican woman didn't want to accuse both of them, but instead asked them to take away their then 4 year old daughter to America where she eventually found work caring after sick person who was suffering from stroke. They found out that she was blackmailing her husband and after some argue she pushed him over the cliff, and then turned to his friend from army and began blackmailing her too, who eventually had to kill her, convincing poor woman that she was only sleepwalking. Novel itself is somewhat influenced by the works of Ouspensky.

Goran Tribuson - Siva zona

This is great crime novel by one of the better Croatian writers, Goran Tribuson. Police inspector while having trouble with his divorced wife and their ill daughter stumbles upon dead man near the railway. Soon after misleading evidences and red herrings he finds that dead man was trying to uncover secret about mysterious multinational corporation with partnership in Croatia. Socially conscious and foreboding, novel is very well written and resemble some of Chandler's work.

Pavao Pavličić - Večernji akt

Pavao Pavličić is one of the best Croatian crime writers, and he also wrote theoretical book about the genre. In this novel we follow talented painter who manages to forge all kinds of artwork, paintings, documents and so on, which soon involves him into trouble with authorities. There is underlying theme here whether falsificates can be viewed as legitimate art, and whether all things in world are falsified.

Joseph Wambaugh - The Choirboys

Joseph Wambaugh served in LAPD for fourteen years after he resigned and started writing crime novels drawing inspiration from his experience as detective. His most famous novel, The Choirboys, revolves around beat cops in night shift and their hardships on assignment in night shifts, until they go on break at the end of the shift in some bar drinking with prostitutes. Each chapter introduces us with different partners. Unlike other crime novels, this one portrays policemen as ordinary human beings with troubles and vices like everybody else, and works like parody and criticism of police hierarchy, stuffed with tremendously black humor, outrageous situations, insights into police work and deep sadness.