James Crumley Books

James Crumley first gained attention in crime fiction with his 1975 debut featuring hard-drinking private investigator Milo Milodragovitch. His 1978 novel became a seminal PI work of the late 20th century. Over the next 18 years, Crumley published only three more novels, becoming known for his meticulous craft, though none matched his early success. In this unexpected return, Milo Milodragovitch, now in a prosperous yet unfulfilling late middle age, owns a bar and motel in Texas but feels trapped in boredom. To escape, he resumes his private eye career, starting with the search for a runaway wife. During this, he encounters Enos Walker, an ex-con who has just killed a drug dealer, igniting Milo's sympathy and curiosity about Walker's past. As he investigates, Milo uncovers a web of lies and betrayals reaching back 20 years, involving a corrupt district attorney, a multimillionaire, and various associates. His journey spans from Texas to Las Vegas to Montana, filled with danger, substance abuse, and physical challenges. Ultimately, Milo emerges transformed, marking a significant evolution in his character. Crumley's skillful writing and rich characterizations elevate this tale of violence and greed, avoiding parody while maintaining a gripping narrative.

"'As sweetly profane a poet as American noir could have asked for' Ian Rankin 'A friggin' masterpiece' Dennis Lehane 'The stunner that reinvigorated the genre and jacked up a generation of future crime novelists' George Pelecanos Meet Private Detective C. W. Sughrue. Private detectives are supposed to find missing persons and solve crimes. But more often than not Sughrue is the one committing the crimes u everything from grand theft auto to criminal stupidity. All washed down with a hearty dose of whiskey and regret. At the end of a three-week hunt for a runaway bestselling author, Sughrue winds up in a ramshackle bar, with an alcoholic bulldog. The landlady's daughter vanished a decade ago and now she wants Sughrue to find her. His search will take him to the deepest, darkest depths of San Francisco's underbelly, a place as fascinating, frightening and flawed as he is. Welcome to James Crumley's America."

Milo once had a thriving divorce-case business in the small town of Meriwether, in the Pacific Northwest, but because of liberal new divorce laws has taken to drinking and staring out of the window. He's up to his third drink of the morning when an attractive young woman walks into his office and asks him to find her brother.

Ex-private eye C.W. Sughrue has been depressed, jobless and living in the basement of a morgue, but now a job has come up. He sets off on an odyssey of liquor, sex and gunplay to find a missing woman who has eluded the FBI and cocaine dealers.

C.W. Sughrue hasn't slept through the night for months and is having trouble with his bowel movements. A recovering gunshot victim, the last thing he wants is more work from Dr Will MacKinderick. Sughrue is soon cursing as he finds himself taking on yet another dangerous case for the desperate psychoanalyst.

16 nouvelles inédites par les maîtres du suspense américain.