A truly intriguing writer, and by no means an easy read, Thompson is one of my favourites. He does not have the artistic style of Chandler or MacDonald, but his gritty, sociopathic characters are among the best in crime fiction.

Only matched by Hammett and Chandler as a crime novelist. Thompson had a much more stripped-down, psychological approach; his characters are the strangest, scariest people you will find in any novel. Most literary biographies are snoozers, but Thompson's life was as dark and fascinating as his fiction; his biography, 'Savage Art', is worth a read to see where he was coming from.

Savage Night is a great book, as well.

Roulette was right!!!!!

The best reasons for Thompson 5 stars are as follows: The Grifters, A Hell Of A Woman, The Killer Inside Me, The Getaway, the screenplay for Stanley Kuberick's The Killing/Paths Of Glory, The Nothing Man, Pop. 1280, After Dark My Sweet. Jim Thompson was the dark overlord of Noir.