tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post6213796430506864115..comments2024-03-28T06:41:02.100-07:00Comments on The Rap Sheet: The Book You Have to Read: “The January Corpse,” by Neil AlbertJ. Kingston Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17073921191624535912noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-48657718474882893312017-11-24T07:44:31.044-08:002017-11-24T07:44:31.044-08:00I own all six Dave Garrett books, have read each o...I own all six Dave Garrett books, have read each one many times over. There are some authors I reread frequently: Jane Austen, Ross MacDonald, Agatha Christie, Wordsworth, and Neil Albert. It doesn't matter that I know how Albert's books end. What matters is how they get there, and how he paints each scene, each conversation, with a reality that bites and soothes at the same time. Dave Garrett moves through his world with a bitterness overlaid with compassion that was striking the first time, and gets more so with each reread. The plots are reality-based yet erudite enough to thrill a poet. The only flaw in this series is that there are no July, August, September, October, November and December books. This is a writer whose art surpasses his genre.Bonnie Montgomerynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-62180646887629247202011-03-12T07:18:41.795-08:002011-03-12T07:18:41.795-08:00As it happens, I have known the author of this del...As it happens, I have known the author of this delightfully fascinating book for a number of years. Unfortunately his personal life intruded on his ability to finish out the series (one for each month), but I still go back and re-read them all. "January" is still my favorite, though, for all the reasons mentioned above and more. <br />I used to live in the general vicinity of the area in which the books take place, and it was fun to drive around and look for landmarks, trying to spot the "Dave Garrett was here!" places!<br />Of course, Neil still gets royalties from the books - help a guy out and buy it! You won't be sorry!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-60043756013851571132008-05-19T13:01:00.000-07:002008-05-19T13:01:00.000-07:00Gee, what a nice way to call me a windbag, Dick......Gee, what a nice way to call me a windbag, Dick...<BR/><BR/>Anyway, I'm hoping someone, somewhere, has read THE JANUARY CORPSE so we can discuss it here. I figure the COMMENTS Section is safe enough for the spoileraphobic. <BR/><BR/>The ending completely sucker-punched me, and I'd love to hear from others who got taken in by this nifty little piece of hard-boiled literary sleight-of-hand.Kevin Burton Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08366595974389658683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-16321525154131415232008-05-17T11:57:00.000-07:002008-05-17T11:57:00.000-07:00Kevin -- thanks a bunch for the stick in the eye. ...Kevin -- thanks a bunch for the stick in the eye. Why me? Because I didn't pick up your breakfast check last week in Thousand Oaks? (Has anyone ever counted them?) Anyway. I'm on -- but don't expect me to match your underemployed talent for length.dick adlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04788072099853089070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-68999305507427754212008-05-16T22:18:00.000-07:002008-05-16T22:18:00.000-07:00If I could just get my prosecutor son to write too...If I could just get my prosecutor son to write too. He's got the best material. <BR/><BR/>Thanks againpattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-19785250133822530952008-05-16T20:41:00.000-07:002008-05-16T20:41:00.000-07:00Well, Randy, by all means finish the Leo Haggertys...Well, Randy, by all means finish the Leo Haggertys too, another great series. When you consider the quality of the series that -- for whatever reasons -- didn't quite make it in the late eighties and nineties, it's clear it may just have been one of the greatest times ever for the P.I. genre. Not bad, considering that by the early seventies, it was more or less dead on arrival.<BR/><BR/>And Patti? My pleasure, ma'am. What with you and Megan, are you guys intentionally trying to become the first family of H/B crime or what?Kevin Burton Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08366595974389658683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-22760102128175276202008-05-16T20:22:00.000-07:002008-05-16T20:22:00.000-07:00I'm not familiar with Dave Garrett or The January ...I'm not familiar with Dave Garrett or The January Corpse, but it sounds interesting. I'm currently working my way through one of the others you mentioned though, Schutz's Leo Haggerty series.Randy Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16627907086811387527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-66740438683003454782008-05-16T19:59:00.000-07:002008-05-16T19:59:00.000-07:00Kevin-What a wonderful piece this is. Thanks so mu...Kevin-What a wonderful piece this is. Thanks so much.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.com