Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Crime Novels: Four Classic Thrillers 1964-1969 is a compelling anthology that encapsulates the essence of crime fiction in the transformative years of the 1960s. This collection, featuring works by Margaret Millar, Ed McBain, Chester Himes, and Patricia Highsmith, offers a panoramic view of the genre’s evolution, showcasing the daring themes and literary experimentation that defined the era.

The Fiend by Margaret Millar is a chilling narrative that delves into the psyche of a troubled individual, blurring the lines between protector and predator.

Doll by Ed McBain takes readers into the gritty streets of the 87th Precinct, where a murder investigation becomes a deep dive into the dark underbelly of city life. My personal favorite, Doll is a stand out in this collection.

Run Man Run by Chester Himes is a relentless pursuit of justice and survival.

The Tremor of Forgery by Patricia Highsmith transports readers to Tunisia, where an expatriate writer grapples with his own moral compass.

Together, these four novels not only entertain but also challenge readers to consider the complexities of crime and punishment, guilt and innocence, and the human capacity for both good and evil. This collection is a must-read for aficionados of the genre and a testament to the enduring power of well-crafted crime fiction.

Thanks to NetGalley for making this terrific collection available! I read this kind of fiction when I was younger and I am surprised at how well it holds up. Each of these authors delivers every time when it comes to excitement and suspense. Dialogue seems simpler but more realistic. These books are not ones I read in particular, so that was particularly great for me.

This mid-to-late 1960s collection features more familiar authors than its early ‘60s counterpart and delivers even more firepower in execution. Reading lesser known titles from McBain, Himes, and Highsmith was a treat. Highly recommended.

All of these books are written by writers of hard core fiction and are full of drama, suspense. I used to read them a lot in my younger days, unfortunately, my heart won"t stand up to the suspense these days (sic)
They are great stories, and will appeal to people who like stories that have a big and long suspenseful build up, before an ending that one does not see coming.. Enjoy.. Thanks you NetGalley and the publishers for the DR..

Crime Novels: Four Classic Thrillers 1964-1969 is a collection omnibus which includes 4 full-length novels. Released 12th Sept 2023 as part of the Library of America series, it's 950 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

The four novels included are true classics and will be familiar to most readers of crime fiction. Ed McBain's Doll is an early(ish) 87th Precinct novel and is an exemplary example of an early police procedural. The others range from single protagonist thrillers to psychological drama. All are well known capable writers writing at the top of their formidable forms.

The editor, Geoffrey O'Brien, has also included biographical and background notes and an essay on text selection. For lovers and students of classic form American mystery, these extras and introduction will undoubtedly prove valuable and interesting.

Four and a half stars. The actual novels included in this and its sister volumes will likely be familiar to most die-hard lovers of American crime fiction; much of the value of the series comes from having the library as a reference source and to revisit the classics over and over again. It would be a superlative choice for public library acquisition, for authors home reference, and for lovers of classic American fiction.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Really enjoyed these four novels. Ed McBain was my favorite of the four, but all were great.

The Fiend by Margaret Miller - This was an enjoyable read, and a great introduction to Margaret Millar. Lots of great characters, well developed, and a twist ending. Interesting plot, and great pacing. Will need to find my of Margaret Millar's books.

Doll by Ed McBain - I really enjoyed this novel by Ed McBain. I've always wanted to read his 87th Precinct novels, but haven't started. Now I'm not sure why. This novel was great, characters, story, and pacing. Will definitely start reading the series now.

Run Man Run by Chester Himes - First time reading Chester Himes, and really enjoyed it. The characters were interesting, and the plot/pacing was great. Couldn't put it down. Will definitely be reading more from Chester Himes.

The Tremor of Forgery by Patricia Highsmith - Also enjoyed this book by Patricia Highsmith. Characters that I liked and a good story. Will be reading more from her.

#CrimeNovelsFourClassicThrillers19641969LOA371 #NetGalley

First published in 1969; republished by the Library of America in Crime Novels of the 1960s, Volume 2 on September 12, 2023

The Tremor of Forgery is one of four novels collected in Crime Novels of the 1960s, Volume 2. The other three are The Fiend by Margaret Millar, Doll by Ed McBain, and Run Man Run by Chester Himes. I don’t know much about Millar. I read a fair amount of McBain when I was younger. I’m a big fan of Himes but a bigger fan of Patricia Highsmith, so I decided to read this novel first. Maybe I’ll get to the others at some point.

The Tremor of Forgery takes place in 1967. We know the year because the Six Day War begins and ends in the middle of the story.

Howard Ingham is a writer. He lives in New York and is engaged to Ina Palant, a writer who works for CBS. Ingham has traveled to Tunisia to work on a screenplay for John Castlewood. As he waits for Castlewood to arrive, he pokes around, trying to soak up atmosphere before he starts writing. I suspect that Highsmith did the same. She paints a vivid word picture of Tunis and surrounding villages.

While waiting for Castlewood, Ingham meets another American, Francis Adams, who professes to be an unofficial ambassador spreading “the American way of life.” Ingham refers to Adams as OWL, Our Way of Life. Adams manages to be both antisemitic and anti-Arab, which he regards as evidence that he, like God, is a true American. Adams supports the Vietnam War and hates Russia. Ingham thinks he might be a spy.

After a few days, Ingham learns that, for tragic reasons, Castlewood won’t be joining him. He decides to hang out and wait for a meaningful letter from Ina. Ingham eventually learns that Ina is the kind of woman who can’t go a few days without a man’s attention. If he is gone, some other man will do.

Ingham turns down a gay man’s pass but befriends him. He beds an American woman, rather unsuccessfully. All of this nonjudgmental sexual freedom is pretty daring for 1969, but Highsmith was a writer who wrote about the world that interested her, not the world guardians of morality wanted Americans to see.

Ingham begins to encounter ominous events. He stumbles upon the body of a man who has been stabbed to death. His jacket is stolen from his car and his cufflinks are stolen from his bungalow. Later, his violent response to a burglar adds to his worries. Adams intuits that Inghan did something harmful and makes relentless efforts to persuade Ingham to confess.

Deciding that a change of location might be best, Ingham abandons his bungalow for a cheap room with no amenities in the same building as his gay friend. The primitive nature of his lodging causes Adams to wonder whether Ingham is punishing himself. Ingham uses his time to begin writing a book about an embezzler who does good deeds with his stolen money.

The story moves forward at a steady pace, creating characters and atmosphere while introducing occasional dramatic moments — Castlewood's fate, Ingham’s confrontation with the burglar, the dead man in the street, the thefts of Ingham’s property, Adams’ belief that Ingham is keeping secrets — that might or might not become the plot’s focus. Whether various crimes to which Ingham is exposed have anything to do with the plot is a mystery for much of the story. Ingham’s violent act probably isn’t a crime, but it becomes the novel’s psychological focus.

In the meantime, the characters have interesting discussions (from a late 1960s perspective) about sexuality, religion, Israel, the Vietnam War, individuality, and morality. Whether moral values change with the place in which one lives becomes a key to the story. Ingham “had the awful feeling that in the months he had been here, his own character or principles had collapsed, or disappeared.” Ingham tries to work out his own views on morality through the protagonist in the book he’s writing, a man who might or might not be seen as morally innocent, or whose conduct might at least be forgivable.

He also vacillates about the kind of relationship he wants to have with Ina, if any at all. He is troubled by his other temptations. “Wasn’t sleeping with Ina a form of deception now?” He regrets breaking up with his previous lover, or he doesn’t, depending on his mood.

None of the characters are quite happy with their lives, although they are not overwhelmingly sad. None are particularly likable but none are bad people who deserve to be disliked. Yet Highsmith made me care about Ingham and his gay friend and Ina (Adams, not so much).

Highsmith generates a surprising amount of suspense in a book that doesn’t depend on an explosive ending to wow the reader. Highsmith eschews reliance on the traditional elements that produce thrills and chills in conventional crime novels yet holds the reader’s attention with a low-key anticipation of dread that never disappears. The story is ultimately about a few digressive weeks in the life of a man who dances around his fears without confronting or understanding them, never quite deciding who he wants to be or how he would ever change. He is nevertheless a man who has a life ahead of him. Whether it will be a better life, nobody knows, but that’s true of all lives.

RECOMMENDED

These are four books that bend the mystery and suspense genre and added a new layer to an already awesome group of books we have The Feindd about a nine year old girl Jessie who goes missing and 3 suspects the lonely wife next-door who husband loves her but is always out of town Aunt Virginia,, her best friend Mary Martha‘s mother Kate who is a little lonely and newly divorced and the newly released Charles who is soon to get married to timid Louise Louise proves she’s not as timid as soon to be brother-in-law been first thought. Then we have the book the doll by Ed McBain A model named Tinker is murdered and she died with a man’s name on her lips, but I see the killer and why did he do it in front of her daughter Hannah and her baby doll? This book is good it’s about drug addiction getting sober and the thing that kept coming to my mind is too little too late it is really a good book and a crime mystery with the great detective. In the third book a black man witnesses a murder and he is sought as a witness but there was a lot of racism in this book it is also good it’s like the 1960s version of the Democrats novel and the thing that kept coming to my mind was Maya Angelou‘s saying when you know better you do better The last book it’s called tremors and if the first three were great then trimmers is phenomenal it is one of the first psychological thrillers will you read about someone who is mentally coming apart and OMG there was a murder and it is so good I feel bad because I forgot who wrote it but OMG it’s in this book a book any mystery suspense and thriller fan should read. You get it all psychological thriller crime mystery a kidnapping in celebrity scandal this is so so good I loved the book and highly recommend it I want to thank the American library and Net Galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Great choice of books by a wide variety of authors. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this enjoyable anthology.

If the title of this book was as descriptive as it should be would read.....Four Classic Thrillers By Some of The Best Authors to Ever Grace Us With A Story. And it would be true. These stories are forerunners for today's crime novels. These authors had the abilities to take their readers into the story, you will refuse to acknowledge anyone trying to talk to you. If you have never read these stories, I envy you the experience. Enjoy.

A weaker outing than the previous Library of America "1960s crime novels" omnibus, unfortunately. I praised that collection for its variety of crime plots, and wondered at the time whether this second volume would continue having unique representatives of the crime genre; I was pleased to see that it did. To wit:

- The Fiend - a "missing child" plot coupled with a psychological portrait of a character who may or may not be the criminal
- Doll - a right-down-the-middle police procedural
- Run, Man, Run - sort of a cat and mouse game between a witness and a criminal (a dirty cop, no less)
- The Tremor of Forgery - Patricia Highsmith Patricia Highsmithing

That last one is a bit tongue in cheek, in part because frankly there is not much of a crime plot whatsoever in <i>The Tremor of Forgery</i>, which is without question my least favorite Highsmith novel of the thirteen I've read. It may be emblematic of Highsmith's late 1960s, for better or (mostly) worse, but there are many better candidates if you wanted to throw in a 1960s Highsmith novel. It drags down the whole collection, not least because it's the last inclusion and sends you off on a sour note.

I was looking forward to this because of the Highsmith -- you may notice that I'm the most familiar with her work out of all the authors included. But I enjoyed the other three books quite a bit, and Margaret Millar has entrenched herself on my TBR list through the quality of <i>The Fiend</i>. My late grandfather (a retired NYPD lieutenant, albeit with the Rescue Squad instead of a criminal beat) was devoted to Ed McBain novels, so I appreciated finally reading one here. Not high art, sure, but scratches the same itch as a good episode of Law and Order. I'll probably read more.

This book includes 4 excellent crime novels from the late 1960's. I really liked the first three stories. Although I liked the fourth story, which did have crime in it; it didn't have the same thriller aspect of the first three. I love the mid twentiest century mysteries and this is a great introduction if you've never read any of them.

The first story by Margaret Millar, includes Charlie, a young man who has been convicted of child molestation, but loves little girls, and three somewhat disfunctional families. Charlie usually eats his lunch across from the school playground, and he has picked a very active nine year old, Jessie, as his favorite. She is usually with her girlfriend, Mary Martha, and Charlie isn't sure which girl belongs in which house. Mary Martha's mother is divorced; Jessie's father is involved with the woman next door whose husband travels a lot. She has no children and dotes on Jessie. When Jessie disappears, their are a lot of possible scenarios, making the story very exciting.

The second story, Doll, by Ed McBain, features detective Carella of the 87th precinct. It begins with a woman being murdered in her bedroom while her daughter sits in the next room with her doll. The woman is a well known model named Tinka. When the dead woman is discovered the next morning, Carella goes to the crime site, and the young girl is still there. The girl tells him her mother was laughing when he first came but then he was hitting her and her mother was crying, but Anna was talking with her doll Chatterbox so she couldn't hear much from the next room. The supervisor describes the man who was there, and then Carella looks in Tinka's address book and suddenly grabs the doll and runs out. He goes to the address where he breaks into the apartment. Unfortunately, before he can do anything someone hits him with a gun and knocks him out. He awakes chained to the radiator. His wife thinks he dead, and his team is trying to solve the murderer and to find Carella.

The third story is Run Man Run by Chester Himes. Matt Walker, a white cop who is drunk and carrying both his service pistol and another with no ID can't find where he parked his car. When he sees a black porter working outside a luncheonette. The man outside tells the man to go inside and talk to his buddy Fat Sam. Walker shoots Fat Sam, and when the first one comes looking he is shot as well. When the third black Porter, Jimmy, comes inside, he sees Walker lift the gun and runs.
Walker continues to stalk Jimmy, who becomes more scared all the time as Walker figures out where he lives and where his girlfriend lives. The story is VERY exciting and full of suspense - a great read.

Lastly, is The tremor of forgery by Patricia Highsmith. Author Howard Ingham has gone to Tunisia to work on a movie. He is very frustrated when he doesn't hear from his girlfriend or the man who is supposed to be working with him. While waiting to hear from his New York colleagues, he is working on writing a book. He meets another man with whom he often has dinner and goes for outings. The man tells him that he is broadcasting messages to Russia. He keeps seeing an Arab around his car, and the man eventually steals some items out of the car. He also makes friends with a Danish man who has a dog. When he finally hears from his girlfriend she tells him she has been having an affair with the man he's supposed to be working with and the man has committed suicide. When the Arab tries to come into his bungalow in the middle of the night, Howard throws his typewriter at him. Then the Arab seems to disappear, and he thinks he may have killed him.

I thank Netgalley and Library of America for the ARC.

The 1960s was a time of change in culture and attitude, and mystery books evolved during that era. These four books are representative of the period. They often focus on the psychological content and impact of the crimes, the personality of the victims, survivors, and police officers, along with the mental state of the villains. My memory of crime thrillers during the 1950s usually categorized them as pulp fiction featuring hard-boiled private detectives and conniving dames with lurid cover illustrations. There were a few popular and widely read series about crime detection, such as the books by Agatha Christie and the older Sherlock Holmes stories.

This collection of four mystery novels serves as an example of books from the late 1960s, and an updated introduction to each author is included. Margaret Millar was a favourite of mine when her books were current. Her stories were classed as psychological thrillers and narrated from a woman's viewpoint. The Fiend is more of a domestic drama centring on two families with young daughters. An aura of menace prevails due to a creepy man who takes too much interest in the girls. I wish a book by the author's husband, Ross MacDonald, had been included, as I remember taking much pleasure in his crime novels.

Doll, by Ed McBain, is a police procedural and one of his 87th Precinct novels set in a location similar to NYC. It involves the kidnapping of one of their officers and the desperate search to save him.

I had never read anything by Chester Himes and was unfamiliar with his books set in Harlem. Some were made into movies. I found the narrative of Run, Man, Run to be shocking and with profane language. The attitude seemed to reflect a racist tone. It features a prejudiced and paranoid drunken police detective with a hatred towards Blacks. Violence, murder and deception ensue. After learning more about the author, I realized the story was written from the perspective of the victims, and this changed the mood, making it a powerful picture of prejudice, hatred and fear.

The Tremor of Forgery by Patricia Highsmith is a solid psychological thriller. A man in a deteriorating mental state has been stranded in a foreign country. He is writing about a man who is also becoming unstable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this volume of four collected books that brought back some enjoyable memories. Publication is set for September 12.

I was hesitant to get this ARC because of the length alone, but I opened it and it immediately grabbed my interest. These stories were written beautifully. Four authors from the 1960’s who excelled at crime writing all in one collection. These stories do not disappoint and each bring something different to the reader.
I highly recommend this collection for someone who wants to dive into an incredibly readable collection that will keep you reading.
Highly recommend!
#CrimeNovelsFourClassicThrillers19641969LOA371 #NetGalley #LibraryofAmerica

"In the 1960s the masters of crime fiction expanded the genre's literary and psychological possibilities with audacious new themes, forms, and subject matter - here are four of their finest works.

This is the second of two volumes gathering the best American crime fiction of the 1960s, nine novels of astonishing variety and inventiveness that pulse with the energies of that turbulent, transformative decade.

In Margaret Millar's The Fiend (1964) a nine-year-old girl disappears and a local sex offender comes under suspicion. So begins a suspenseful investigation of an apparently tranquil California suburb which will expose a hidden tangle of fear and animosity, jealousy and desperation.

Ed McBain (a pen name of Evan Hunter) pioneered the multi-protagonist police procedural in his long-running series of 87th Precinct novels, set in a parallel Manhattan called Isola. Doll (1965) opens at a pitch of extreme violence and careens with breakneck speed through a tale that mixes murder, drugs, the modeling business, and psychotherapy with the everyday professionalism of McBain's harried cops.

The racial paranoia of a drunken police detective in Run Man Run (1966) leads to a double murder and the relentless pursuit of the young Black college student who witnessed it. In Chester Himes's breathless narrative, New York City is a place with no safe havens for a fugitive whom no one wants to believe.

In Patricia Highsmith's The Tremor of Forgery (1969) a man whose personality is disintegrating is writing a book called The Tremor of Forgery about a man whose personality is disintegrating, "like a mountain collapsing from within." Stranded unexpectedly in Tunisia, Howard Ingham struggles to hold on to himself in a strange locale, while a slightly damaged typewriter may be the only trace of a killing committed almost by accident.

Volume features include an introduction by editor Geoffrey O'Brien (Hardboiled America), newly researched biographies of the writers and helpful notes, and an essay on textual selection."

Finally more Patrica Highsmith! I have been DEMANDING, OK, it's more like begging, Library of America to release all her books for years. Or just the Ripley ones... Please?

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Library of America for an advance copy of this collection of crime stories from the latter end of the 1960's that deal with many of the problems that people were dealing with, and how sometimes the stopper on the bottle that was full of turmoil would suddenly explode in different ways.

Crime fiction in the late 1960's reflected the oddness, the weariness of a country that was in the midst of many problems, problems that America's inability to deal with still trouble us today. Add to that the violence that seemed all around, from Presidents, to students, to moral leaders and people trying to make a difference. Violence seemed to be the go to solution for a lot of what ailed America. And violence was everywhere, on the news, the papers, outside the door, in entertainment. At the same time woman were demanding rights, black Americans were demanding acknowledgement and a war was building that would divide more people, mostly those who had to fight in it, and those who started it, but never feared the consequences. Literature of all types was showing this new vision of the American Dream. However crime novel understood it best. There was a sickness in America, but it had always been there, no one wanted to address it, or show it. Like a married couple having separate beds on I Love Lucy, or the movie Psycho showing a toilet, crime novels begin to probe at the darkness all around, and create stories that resound to this day. Crime Novels: Four Classic Thrillers 1964-1969 (LOA #371) edited and introduced by Geoffrey O'Brien features stories that seem as disturbing today as they must have been over 50 years ago, full of violence, drug use, crimes of passion, and crimes that make sense at the time to the person committing it.

This collection features four stories from the end of the century, introduced by Geoffrey O'Brien with a biographical sketch of the writers at the end along with a section on where the stories came from, and why certain things have been edited. The collection starts with The Fiend, a sticky icky story that would be familiar to many watchers of television today. Written by Margaret Millar the story features the disappearance of a nine-year old girl, the creepy man who has been accused of crimes before, and the ugliness that exists even in the finest of communities. Ed McBain's Doll is next a book from his 87th Precinct series about cops in a city that seems very reminiscent of New York City, and changed the idea of police procedurals. This is a grim violent story about a killer, the modeling industry, and the cops who are determined to figure out who killed a young woman in front of her daughter. Run Man Run by Chester Hines is a chase novel about a young black man who sees a murder, and being pursued by the racist, drunk cop who committed the crime, a story that still has the power to stun. Finally Patricia Highsmith's The Tremor of Forgery about a man whose life is falling apart writing a book in Tunisia about a man whose life is falling apart called the The Tremor of Forgery. A tale that is both psychological, weird, and yet very very compelling and page turning.

Besides being about crime, these books are about the darkness that lies deep in the human soul. The one that acts out, or the one that is so close to breaking down do to life, love, or lack of either of these. With few exceptions many of the characters are not people you want to know, or have to deal with. They are people who society is more of a burden than something that has to be followed or obeyed. They answer to an inner voice that tells them what to do, no matter how bad. There is also a level of violence that is starting to show in the companion book to this series, dealing with the early part of the 60's. Doll and The Fiend show the inner mind of the killers so well and so disturbingly that is must have been a shock for many readers, maybe just expecting a men's adventure tale of private eyes and gangsters. A lot of this has carried over to novels of today, but the early books seem more raw, and real.

Another outstanding collection. One can't go wrong in picking up book one or two. Both offer great stories, and stores that seem so of today, that still stun and disgust in a few ways. Perfect for fans of crime novels, or for people who want to get started.

The Library of America does it again with this second volume of 1960s crime novels.

While I’m familiar with all of the authors represented, I wasn’t aware of any of these novels outside of Ed McBain’s Doll. All the selections are great and I’m very happy that LOA is bringing these novels out of obscurity.

As is usual for these collections, the supplementary material, including the introduction, are worth the price of admission alone.

My profound thanks to The Library of America and to Netgalley for providing an ARC of this great collection.

Another sterling LOA collection. I still prefer my late-1960s crime fiction in paperbacks with lurid covers, but anything that preserves such first-rate examples of craft is a laudable effort.

Margaret Millar's THE FIEND is a chilling tale of SoCal domestic suspense, depicting two nine-year-old girls and the man with a troubled history who has taken an intense interest in their friendship. Their interactions implicate multiple parties, with more than one well-tended house of cards collapsing by the time this heartbreaking novel is over.

Any excuse to return to Ed McBain's 87th Precinct is worth taking, but DOLL is a white-knuckle trip. Detective Steve Carella asks a grieving, on-the-ropes Bert Kling to work with him on a case involving the murder of a fashion model, a decision with fateful consequences for both. Tough and harrowing, even by McBain's standards.

RUN MAN RUN was inspired, as editor Geoffrey O'Brien notes in his introduction, by author Chester Himes's encounter with a drunken police officer. Himes spins this event into a suspenseful Manhattan manhunt. Featuring some vivid, evocative scenes of men of different races and social stations at work in mid-century America.

Patricia Highsmith's THE TREMOR OF FORGERY is the darkest and most internal of the quartet, following a writer who travels to North Africa to work on a film project. When his collaborators never arrive, he begins to lose his bearings, with only his typewriter to anchor him. More literary fiction than crime novel, but still haunting.

This Library of America compendium of four crime novels written and set in the late 1960s comes at an interesting time. The era depicted has come to be regarded through music, films, and TV, as an age of (to pick up Paul Simon’s song title) feeling groovy. It was not. These four books provide varying perspectives on a period when fashions and social and moral codes were in transition, with influences and attractions felt from two opposite poles.

I was unfamiliar with the work of the first author, Margaret Millar, and didn’t immediately take to her style. That said, “The Fiend” (1964) proved well worth sticking with, and indeed is a book far ahead of its time, touching on themes of alienation, gender roles, and family politics. It’s like a perfect mashup of Joan Didion and Ross MacDonald, and it may not come as a surprise that author Millar was the spouse of MacDonald, a.k.a., Kenneth Millar.

“Doll” (1965) is middle-period Ed McBain, book number 20 in his series of crime procedurals, and it’s always a pleasure to revisit the cops of the 87th Precinct.

“Run Man Run” (1966) is Chester Himes’ semi-autobiographical comic thriller, and it’s simply a corker. The works of Patricia Highsmith enjoyed a resurgence following the popularity of the Ripley films. “The Tremor of Forgery” (1969) rounds out this collection perfectly, and encapsulates the mood of these times. Geoffrey O’Brien, who collected and edited this volume, gets high marks for selecting and juxtaposing four entirely diverse voices that blend quite wonderfully. They make the very opposite of a joyful choir, but they provide an unforgettable tour through the anxieties and uncertainties of changing times.

In this review I will talk about some of the books in the overall omnibus.

The Fiend
Margaret Millar

There are multiple perspectives, but the transitions are smooth, sometimes I didn't really realise the change, like changing gears by a good driver, there was nothing to notice.

This was more about the intricacies of life, marriage and divorce, the breakdown of relationships. The upkeep of them. How things can thrive in the pressure pot of life. I found myself enthralled with the local dramas between divorcees, marriages and children, feeling sorry for them but ultimately understanding them. This was more than a simple crime novel, it was a study of relationships, with a main focus on romantic relationships and all the tolls which are taken on them. Children. Work. Alcohol. But ultimately always coming back to children. Protecting them, caring for them, guarding them. Who gets to say what is good for a child? We see characters who are not parents get to give their opinions freely, one is viewed as nosy, the parents them them because they pity her. One is viewed as authoritative and they listen and respect, only because of the position and power, but do not hede their advice. The other is Charlie, someone on the outside looking in, who gets to say what? Does a stranger get to tell you what to do with your child? Why not? What about a stranger with training? Does that change anything? Does a qualification change things? It's an interesting take on modern life. I found myself looking at relationships in a new way, sometimes often cynically. I found the breakdowns and dramas depressing and was warped into a bleak world, not of knife crime, or robbery, murder of rape, but the constant tide of an ever flowing familial sea. Love. Marriage. Relationships. I saw the happy, and the sad I saw children growing up, learning things they shouldn't, but why shouldn't they? Protected and safe guarded because they're children. I saw something sinister beneath the water and due to the nature I was alert and ready for plot 'twists' I developed my theory.
But mainly the real crime in family pressure. Upkeep, maintenance , appearances. I was so fed up with modern society reading the page, it's enough to make you give up on society.

The Doll Ed McBain

Murder is to you, what? Harrowing yes, but when reading, when watching a film and a murder scene is happening, there is some excitement, isn't there? Some interest. Never should you become bored with murder. That's what I felt reading the opening scenes of this book. A murder was taking place, but due to expositional extracts within the scene and large metaphors, with too many long sentences which just didn't flow, I found myself bored. Instead of wondering who the killer was, or what was going to happen, I just wanted the flowery pretense to end. Then after the murder scene, I was plunged straight into more exposition, about life, about criminal proceding, about the person behind the investigation. The narrator took over and instead of showing me all these things, I was told about them. I was told about exhaustion of police officers and detectives, I was told how bad crime and its effects were, I was told so many things I put down the book because I was sick of the lecture. I just witnessed a murder, cold blooded, and then straight onto my next class, lecture about police exhaustion. I soon lost interest. Especially after such a good sociological study of mankind before it with The Fiend. Sure sometimes I was told things in character thoughts, but more often I was shown. Shown a world of normal people, who were hiding dark secrets. Normal people who could turn into criminals, if their child was withheld from them. Normal people who would do anything to protect themselves. The monster in the closet was not some cold blooded killer, but in fact your next door neighbour. Someone passing you on the street. Someone sitting next to you on the bus. After such a good story, I couldn't stomach The Dolls. Maybe that's a weakness of omnibuses, not only am I critiquing the story and writing, but also judging the next book to the last. If it doesn't live up to it, how can you stomach it? You'll be forever thinking the previous book was better, which it was.

Run man run Chester Himes

Chester deals with racial prejudice in this novel, one word against the other and he does it well. You see the murder and ultimately know who the murderer is throughout the book. But the premise of this story is, will they be caught? Although it was a decent book, I don't think it was as good as The Expendable Man by Dorothy Hughes.

Overall this omnibus is an okay collection, however I think it's predessecor was a better collection.