The Ones That Got Away

I had no idea what to expect when, in anticipation of The Rap Sheet’s first birthday on May 22, I e-mailed invitations to more than 100 crime novelists, book critics, and bloggers from all over the English-speaking world, asking them to choose the one crime/mystery/thriller novel they thought had been “most unjustly overlooked, criminally forgotten, or underappreciated over the years.” When you survey people in this way, you generally expect a fairly low response rate; folks are busy, maybe they don’t open their e-mails in time to meet the deadline, they’re out of town, or they just don’t want to participate, for one reason or another. I figured I’d be fortunate to hear back from 20 percent of the men and women I contacted. Instead, about 98 percent of them responded! And after I started posting the nominations and write-ups I had received in The Rap Sheet last Monday, more people wrote to ask whether they could participate, as well.

This seemed to be a subject close to writers’ hearts. That was clear in many of the nominating comments, as authors expressed nostalgic or heartfelt feelings for the books under consideration, or else a bit of comradely jealousy that somebody else had been able to pull off a literary feat that they themselves would one day like to achieve. This endeavor also proved worthwhile, because it reminded us of how many excellent books this genre has produced over the decades. Too few publishers go searching through the out-of-print piles for works that ought to be rediscovered (exceptions being Hard Case Crime and Stark House Press). We need reminding, every so often, of what isn’t available any longer, but should still be found and read.

I was surprised by the breadth of suggestions made. They spanned the entire 20th century, with a few from the 21st. And many of the books were new to me, as well as others.

I had never so much as heard of One for Hell, by Jada M. Davis, a 1952 paperback suggested by Bill Crider; or Finding Maubee, by A.H.Z. Carr, a 1972 Edgar Award winner that that Robert J. Randisi pulled out of his memory; or 1987’s Any Cold Jordan, by David Bottoms, which Wallace Stroby nominated. Equally valuable, this project reminded me of books I’d once thought sounded interesting, but never got around to reading, such as Hard Rain Falling (1966), by Don Carpenter, which George Pelecanos suggested; or The Revenge of Kali-Ra (1999), by K.K. Beck, which was plugged by editor-author-interviewer Elizabeth Foxwell; or Night Dogs (1996), by Kent Anderson--and that one received not one, but three nominations in our survey. Of the 115 novels mentioned, only four others were selected twice by the people surveyed. And just five writers--Charles Willeford, P.M. Hubbard, Ross Macdonald, Colin Harrison, and Jess Walter--appear with more than a single title on this list.

One friend of mine, who shall remain nameless, sent me a note after the fourth installment of The Rap Sheet’s “overlooked books” nominations had been posted, saying that he was having fun reading about all of the crime novels authors thought worthy of resurrecting. But he added something along the lines of “could you please stop this project now? I’ve already ordered a few of the books people have suggested, and my to-be-read pile is already at a dangerous height. I fear my wife will divorce me, if I buy any more books this week!” Likely, all of us who enjoy crime fiction and looked closely through all 10 parts of The Rap Sheet’s “one book” project came away with suggestions of what to read next. I know I did--copies of both Night Dogs and Interface (1974), by Joe Gores, are currently winging their way to my mailbox.

Several people suggested that I compile a master list of all the “unjustly overlooked” books nominated during the last week, and that’s exactly what I have done below. The titles are arranged alphabetically, according to the book’s name. And I’ve boldfaced those five titles that received more than one vote. In addition, for anyone who didn’t catch The Rap Sheet’s “one book” series the first time through last week, and is hoping to read all 10 parts in the order they were posted, I have set up a separate archive blog site, containing all of the text and book covers. You can find that here.

Again, I appreciate the time and effort that everyone took in responding to The Rap Sheet’s first-birthday survey. I might be ready, by the time this blog’s second birthday rolls around next May, to take on another special project of similar scope. Though, remember, I said might.

* * *

Question: What one crime, mystery, or thriller novel do you think has been most unjustly overlooked, criminally forgotten, or underappreciated over the years?

• About the Author (2001), by John Colapinto
• Anatomy of a Murder (1958), by Robert Traver
• Any Cold Jordan (1987), by David Bottoms
• Before I Die (1954), by Lionel White
• Big City, Bad Blood (2007), by Sean Chercover
• Blackburn (1993), by Bradley Denton
• The Black Mass of Brother Springer (1958), by Charles Willeford
• Blood Marks (1991), by Bill Crider
• Bodies Are Dust (1931), by P.J. Wolfson
• Bodies Electric (1993), by Colin Harrison
• The Bridge of Sighs (2003), by Olen Steinhauer
• The Burnt Orange Heresy (1971), by Charles Willeford
• California Fire and Life (1999), by Don Winslow
• Castles Burning (1979), by Arthur Lyons
• The Caves of Steel (1954), by Isaac Asimov
• The Chill (1964), by Ross Macdonald
• Citizen Vince (2005), by Jess Walter
• A Clod of Wayward Marl (2001), by Rick DeMarinis
• Coffin’s Got the Dead Guy on the Inside (1998), by Keith Snyder
• Cotton Comes to Harlem (1965), by Chester Himes
• Crow In Stolen Colors (2000), by Marcia Simpson
• Daddy Cool (1974), by Donald Goines
• A Darker Place (1999), by Laurie R. King
• The Dark Fields (2002), by Alan Glynn
• The Dark Ride (1996), by Kent Harrington
• The Deadly Percheron (1946), by John Franklin Bardin
• The Depths of the Forest (2002), by Eugenio Fuentes
• The Distance (2002), by Eddie Muller
• Don’t Cry for Me (1952), by William Campbell Gault
• The Doorbell Rang (1965), by Rex Stout
• Dover Beach (1987), by Richard Bowker
• Drama City (2005), by George Pelecanos
• Early Autumn (1981), by Robert B. Parker
• Eight Million Ways to Die (1982), by Lawrence Block
• An Embarrassment of Corpses (1997), by Alan Beechey
• Every Dead Thing (1999), by John Connolly
• Fast One (1933), by Paul Cain
• The Fiend in Human (2002), by John MacLachlan Gray
• Finding Maubee (1972), by A.H.Z. Carr
• The Franchise Affair (1948), by Josephine Tey
• Fugitive Moon (1995), by Ron Faust
• Funeral in Berlin (1964), by Len Deighton
• Get Carter (1970, originally Jack’s Return Home), by Ted Lewis
• Gramercy Park (2002), by Paula Cohen
• The Guards (2001), by Ken Bruen
• Gun Before Butter (1982), by Nicholas Freeling
• Gun with Occasional Music (1994), by Jonathan Lethem
• Hard Rain Falling (1966), by Don Carpenter
• The Havana Room (2004), by Colin Harrison
• High Tide (1970), by P.M. Hubbard
• The Holm Oaks (1965), by P.M. Hubbard
• Home Sweet Homicide (1944), by Craig Rice
• How Like an Angel (1962), by Margaret Millar
• The Human Stain (2000), by Philip Roth
• Intent to Kill (1957), by Brian Moore
• Interface (1974), by Joe Gores
• Israel Rank (1907), by Roy Horniman
• The Janissary Tree (2006), by Jason Goodwin
• The Jugger (1965), by Richard Stark
• A Killing Smile (2004), by Christopher G. Moore
• Killing the Second Dog (1990), by Marek Hłasko
• Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1948), by Horace McCoy
• Land of the Blind (2003), by Jess Walter
• The Last Witness (2004), by K.J. Erickson
• The Late Man (1993), by James Preston Girard
• Legion (1983), by William Peter Blatty
• The Lime Pit (1980), by Jonathan Valin
• Lovely Mover (1998), by Bill James
• The Lowlife (2001), by Alexander Baron
• Madeline’s Ghost (1996), by Robert Girardi
• The Manchurian Candidate (1959), by Richard Condon
• Miami Blues (1984), by Charles Willeford
• Miami Purity (1995), by Vicki Hendricks
• The Misfortunes of Mr. Teal (1934), by Leslie Charteris
• Money to Burn (1999), by Katy Munger
• Murder Draws a Line (1940), by Willetta Ann Barber and R. F. Schabelitz
• Never Come Back (1941), by John Mair
• Night Dogs (1996), by Kent Anderson
• Night of the Jabberwock (1951), by Fredric Brown
• Night’s Black Agents (1933), by David Armstrong
• No Highway (1948), by Nevil Shute
• Obsession (1973), by Miles Tripp
• The Old Dick (1981), by L.A. Morse
• One for Hell (1952), by Jada M. Davis
• The Pew Group (1980), by Anthony Oliver
• The Red Right Hand (1978), by Joel Townsley Rogers
• The Revenge of Kali-Ra (1999), by K.K. Beck
• River of Darkness (1999), by Rennie Airth
• Roseanna (1965), by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö
• The Rose of Tibet (1962), by Lionel Davidson
• Run (2001), by Douglas E. Winter
• Senseless (2001), by Stona Fitch
• Seven Keys to Baldpate (1913), by Earl Derr Biggers
• The Singapore Wink (1969), by Ross Thomas
• Sleeping Dogs (1993), by Thomas Perry
• The Small Back Room (1943), by Nigel Balchin
• Sob Story (2007), by Carol Anne Davis
• Solomon’s Vineyard (1941), by Jonathan Latimer
• Spiral (1999), by Jeremiah Healy
• Stamboul Train (1932), by Graham Greene
• Still River (2005), by Harry Hunsicker
• Stone City (1990), by Mitchell Smith
• The Strangler (2007), by William Landay
• Suspects (1985), by David Thomson
• Swan Boats at Four (1995), by George V. Higgins
• Texas by the Tail (1965), by Jim Thompson
• The Thin Man (1934), by Dashiell Hammett
• To Catch a Forger (1988), by Robert Wallace
• Tomato Red (1998), by Daniel Woodrell
• A Town of Masks (1952), by Dorothy Salisbury Davis
• The Tropic of Night (2003), by Michael Gruber
• True Grit (1968), by Charles Portis
• The Underground Man (1971), by Ross Macdonald
• Wild Horses (1999), by Brian Hodge
• The Woman Who Married a Bear (1992), by John Straley