Again, I'm reading Ken Bruen out of order. Which normally would really irk the obsessive order in which I must read an author's books. However, after having a taste of Jack Taylor in The Guards, I was ready for some more. And thus came The Killing of the Tinkers, which I read before Blitz, which was published a year earlier. Oh, well. In this book, Taylor reads voraciously and he actually talks about two of my favorite authors, Lawrence Block and George Pelecanos. Which makes sense, since similar to Block's Matt Scudder character, Taylor is a drunk former cop turned detective with some shady friends. And similar to Pelacanos, Bruen has a film noir writing style that perfectly captures the hip local underground in the place in which he lives, including the drugs that often exist but are rarely written about in mainstream fiction. As I mentioned before, Bruen is an acquired taste. Pelecanos, T. Jefferson Parker and Mark Billingham sing his praises so I know I am in good company as I enjoy the ride. Which, basically is a mystery which involves a social worker and some gypsies. And includes some vicious violence to go along with drunken debauchery. Enough said. (Ken Bruen books and reviews)
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Ken Bruen 5: The Killing of the Tinkers
Again, I'm reading Ken Bruen out of order. Which normally would really irk the obsessive order in which I must read an author's books. However, after having a taste of Jack Taylor in The Guards, I was ready for some more. And thus came The Killing of the Tinkers, which I read before Blitz, which was published a year earlier. Oh, well. In this book, Taylor reads voraciously and he actually talks about two of my favorite authors, Lawrence Block and George Pelecanos. Which makes sense, since similar to Block's Matt Scudder character, Taylor is a drunk former cop turned detective with some shady friends. And similar to Pelacanos, Bruen has a film noir writing style that perfectly captures the hip local underground in the place in which he lives, including the drugs that often exist but are rarely written about in mainstream fiction. As I mentioned before, Bruen is an acquired taste. Pelecanos, T. Jefferson Parker and Mark Billingham sing his praises so I know I am in good company as I enjoy the ride. Which, basically is a mystery which involves a social worker and some gypsies. And includes some vicious violence to go along with drunken debauchery. Enough said. (Ken Bruen books and reviews)
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Tim, Isn't Bruen wonderful?? And it's great you're tackling the series in order... so much happens to Jack Taylor from book to book, especially when you get to #4, THE DRAMATIST (my personal favorite). But never fear... you're reading them in order: #1 is THE GUARDS, #2 is KILLING OF THE TINKERS, #3 is THE MAGDALEN MARTYRS. You were worried about BLITZ being out earlier, but that one's #4 in the Brant series. I made up some snazzy full-color Ken Bruen bibliography checklist bookmarks (see what it looks like here: http://www.kenbruen.com/ ). They're free for anyone who wants 'em. Just e-mail me your mailing address, and I'll send as many as you want. It lists ALL of his full-length works, including the Taylors, Brants, Max & Angie books (written with Jason Starr), and all of his stand-alone novels, including his forthcoming masterpiece, ONCE WERE COPS. Simply e-mail me at bustedflushpress@yahoo.com . Have fun moving forward with Bruen! He's one of the finest crime writes of our time. :-)
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