Bust

It is true this one has so many twists and turns you feel washed, scrubbed, and tumble-dried when it’s over. At first it seemed like a clever ploy going down, but toward the middle, end-center it really took off as unique and brilliant with plot execution.

I didn’t latch on in the beginning…the writing style of the opening scene was well-arranged and kept me searching, but then it seemed to slow with Angela to things that, while I could keep reading, it just dragged too much. It didn’t help that none of the characters are likeable here. This is a trademark of Hard Case to have characters you don’t latch on to, but these are really all to be despised.

I didn’t realize it was a black comedy sort until some of the funnier stuff show more started happening later – the herpes was hilarious, then almost getting old, then funny again. When humor arose it was refreshing and took some of the pressure off the winding tale. Everyone deceives, double crosses, and fools everyone here.

While there are many players, it is certainly NOT a character-orientated novel. Purely plot-driver, and while the story was all over the place, it still almost manages to sustain believability. After the weaker pacing, build-up, the pacing took off and never let go of the rush afterword. Dark humor reared its head in a few places, making me doubt myself at times if it was intended or not. Once the book is through, though, it’s evident it was always there waiting to be discovered.

As for the ending? As is typical with these crime noir books, irony is rich but karma isn’t always dependable. show less

Bust is a modern noir crime novel by Ken Bruen and Jason Starr. Even though this book is a collaboration between two authors, it's impossible to tell who wrote which parts. All you need to do is read the
first page to know this book is beyond awesome. Max, who owns some computer networking company, meets a crazy Irish hit man in a NY pizzeria. Max pays Popeye ten grand to kill his wife. Meanwhile, Bobby Rosa sits in his wheelchair in Central Park snapping boob shots of
sunbathers. Bobby has the photos on all the walls of his apartment and a heavy box filled with guns and ammo. Bobby later comes up with the idea of photographing couples having affairs in a skanky hotel.

Speaking of which, the reason Max is so hot to have his wife killed show more is Angela Petrakos, his executive secretary. "Most of her money went on clothes. The most basic lesson she learned was that if you
wore a short skirt, killer heels, and a tight top, guys went ape." Funny, Angela finds Max his hit man. Who's playing who here.

This book rolls down the highway at breakneck speed. It's comedic without getting stupid. Great crime writing. Highly recommended. Gotta wonder if the
title is a reference to Max's preoccupation with certain feminine assets or what happens when a murder for hire goes sideways. show less

The genre term pulp comes from the cheap paper that these books were printed during their original heyday. Another way to define pulp is as just plain fun. The authors were clearly having fun as they teamed up on this and two more books in the series and the reader is not left behind. Lots of sex, double dealing and violence splash from every page. After a bit of a rough start, the plot settles into a nice pass the ball rhythm--each character taking turns being on top of things before falling under the thumb of someone else. While fun, it doesn't rise much above that. Each character seems to be given a James Cagney "Top o' the world Ma!" White Heat moment whether it makes sense or not and the little characterization that exists is show more betrayed in the last third of the book when characters do things inconsistent with who they are. So many balls are thrown in the air to keep you entertained but eventually you realize they are there to distract you from there being no one to catch them when they fall. Fun but not satisfying. show less

A very entertaining book with lots of unlikeable characters! A man and his mistress want his wife to be killed, another man will do it, and a third man wants to blackmail anyone and everyone! There livres and stories intertwine and cross each other up, until finally, only one of them makes a 'clean' getaway! Very fun to read!

And like it says on the back cover:

"When you hire a hit man to kill your wife, don't pick a psychopath." Words to live by!

Good old-fashioned pulp: nasty crimes, hardboiled language, a bunch of crooks trying to fool each other. Not a life-changing book, but a lot of fun. And the cover is a beauty.

3.5 stars because I didn't like a single character in the book, but they were all believable & fascinating at the same time. My attention was riveted to the hackneyed plot; man is tired of wife, hires wife killed & then winds up in trouble. Oh, but what trouble! It's fantastic. There weren't many characters, but I felt I'd met each of them at one time or another since they were so well drawn. They actually reminded me of various people I have known.

This was written with [a:Jason Starr|35697|Jason Starr|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-M-50x66.jpg]. It's a good read with a wonderful pulp cover from Hard Case Crime.

Fun and quirky, but rather forgetable.