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Loading... Whip Hand (1961)by Charles Willeford
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Brutal but enjoyable tale of three ne'er do wells down from Oklahoma who kidnap a litte girl at the State Fair in Dallas. After that, things spiral way out of control. In the meantime, a cop who was run out of LA is on their trail. Of the three bad guys, it's the murderous one who has a few brains, naturally. This contains most of the hardboiled noir cliches, but is very well written and packs a very dry sense of humor underneath all the pain and suffering. Turns out this books was solely or almost solely written by the great Charles Willeford. It has a lot more of a conventional plot than most of his other early novels, however. Almost too much plot at times - this book is quite a bit longer than the usual pulp fiction novel. no reviews | add a review
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He stumbles onto a kidnapping/murder plot of a young girl in Dallas and offers his services to the victim’s wealthy family as they seek revenge on the bumbling kidnappers. He’s most effective in this scheme as he circumvents the Dallas Police and outsmarts the gang.
Best known for his later novels (Miami Blues, Cockfighter), Willeford describes brutality and violence in a neutral, unembellished style that makes it even more effective in this vintage crime novel. ( )