The other day, one of the reviews, I forget where it was, but it used a term that I thought, "Wow, finally somebody came up with a term to describe what I do." It was "Pulp Faction." I thought, "Yeah, that's it: that's what I do. I do "Pulp Faction." Pulp Faction is as good a name as any for the genre that Max Allan Collins may have created and certainly made his own with his Nate Heller series. Nate is a former Chicago cop turned private eye who has any eerie way of ending up in the middle of famous murder cases and solving them too boot. It all started in 1933, with the assassination Chicago mayor Anton Cermak, True Detective, and here it is 1935 and Nate has been hired to deliver a bullet-proof vest to Huey Long, who's been getting death threats. Mr. Collins takes full advantage of Long and the colorful cast of real-life characters who surrounded him, as well as of the physical and moral miasma that was Long's Louisiana. Nate is a dogged investigator, equally quick with a quip, a gun, and a dame, but as the girlfriend who Long pretty much throws in his lap says: "You know what I like about you? You're shifty, but you have standards." Those standards are challenged when the Kingfish is killed, nearly dying in Nate's arms, and he's hired by mutual agreement of the insurance company and Long's widow to determine whether it was an assassination or an accidental shooting as bodyguards tussled with the purported killer, Dr. Carl Weiss -- who then became a convenient patsy. Mr. Collins offers a plausible contrarian solution to the mystery and provides a fascinating history in the process, while entertaining the heck out of us along the way. (Reviewed:) Grade: (A) Tweet Websites:-The Official FOMAC Website (Friends/Family/Fans Of Max Allan Collins) -Max Allan Collins (Wikipedia) -UIowa - Papers of Max Allan Collins -Authors and Creators: Max Allan Collins (Thrilling Detective) -Max Allan Collins (Stop You're Killing Me) -INTERVIEW: MOMMY'S DADDY: an interview with Max Allan Collins (Matthew Clemens) -PROFILE: KILLERS, COVER-UPS, AND MAX ALLAN COLLINS (J. KINGSTON PIERCE, January Magazine) -INTERVIEW: Max Allan Collins (Caillan Davenport, July 24, 2003, CSI Files) -INTERVIEW: MAX ALLAN COLLINS: An Exclusive Interview (Craig McDonald, Modesty Arbor) -PROFILE: Muscatine’s Max Allan Collins concludes ‘Perdition’ trilogy (David Burke, 11/27/05, QUAD-CITY TIMES) -INTERVIEW: Max Allan Collins on Perdition’s Sanctuary: SBC Q&A (Tim O'Shea, Silver Bullet Comics) -REVIEW: of True Detective by Max Allan Collins (JP, Mystery Guide) -REVIEW: of TRUE DETECTIVE. By Max Allen Collins (Meredith Tax, NY Times Book Review) -REVIEW: of NO CURE FOR DEATH by Max Allan Collins (NEWGATE CALENDAR, NY Times Book Review) -REVIEW: of A SHROUD FOR AQUARIUS by Max Allan Collins (NEWGATE CALENDAR, NY Times Book Review) -REVIEW: of TRUE CRIME. By Max Allan Collins (jack Sullivan, NY Times Book Review) -REVIEW: of Carnal Hours by Max Allan Collins (Marilyn Stasio, NY Times Book Review) -REVIEW: of -REVIEW: of KISSES OF DEATH by Max Allan Collins (Michael Carlson, Shots Mag) -REVIEW: of CHICAGO CONFIDENTIAL: A Nathan Heller Novelby Max Allan Collins (Joe Hartlaub, Bookreporter) FILM: -FILMOGRAPHY: Max Allan Collins (IMDB.com) -The New York Times > Movies > People > Max Allan Collins -REVIEW: of -REVIEW: of Road to Perdition (Neil McDonald, Quadrant) Book-related and General Links: |
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