Argument Against the Good-looking Corpse


Book Description

Charles Alcorn's debut collection is a ten-story road trip from ice-cold Oslo to the Philippine Sea, from Saint John the Baptist Parish to the sands of Sonora with lots and lots of South Texas, West Texas, rural Texas and urban Texas in the rear-view mirror. Morgan Wooten, the shape-shifting protagonist, weaves through 25 years of a peculiar American Dream before returning to his blood's country in search of peace with a dying father. "Charles Alcorn looks at the world through an oddly perceptive lens. Argument Against the Good-Looking Corpse is a collection to ponder created by a writer whose take on the American landscape calls to mind a young Larry McMurtry set loose in 21st century Texas."--Eric Miles Williamson "It's soothing to move through a collection with a narrator as beautifully-voiced as Morgan Wooten. Pero mios dio. What a strange world. This collection unpacks a time, place and people I know from points of view entirely new and revealing."--Macarena Hernandez




A Good-looking Corpse


Book Description

"The 1950s in South Africa was a time of optimism and hope that ended tragically with the massacre at Sharpeville. This book is about those years as seen through the microcosm of Drum, an illustrated magazine produced in Johannesburg for black readers".--BOOKJACKET.




Cold Case Confession


Book Description

A chilling confession, hidden for over a decade, reignites a harrowing cold case in this gripping true crime tale. The chance discovery of a letter on 31 March 2012 reawakens a case long considered to have run cold – the kidnapping and murder of Betty Ketani, a mother of three who vanished while working at one of Johannesburg's most popular restaurants. As the investigation spans five countries and enlists the help of a world-renowned DNA laboratory, shocking truths emerge about those implicated in the crime. Written by the reporter who broke the story, Alex Eliseev, Cold Case Confession delves deep into the murder mystery, sharing exclusive material gathered over four years of tireless investigation. With a narrative that reads like a Hollywood movie script, this true crime masterpiece unravels the perplexing question: who wanted Betty Ketani dead, and why? 'This case is like an Agatha Christie whodunit: abduction, murder and a confession.' – Carte Blanche 'Wonderful, evocative and vivid writing. Eliseev is a very exciting new talent.' – Peter James 'This book has become a South African classic.' – Jenny Crwys Williams




The Saga of Billy the Kid


Book Description

Originally published in 1926, this biography tells the rousing tale of Billy the Kid, once of the most well known outlaws in the Old West. The Saga of Billy the Kid focuses on a period of time where two dangerous gangs tore a bloody path across Lincoln, New Mexico. After being shot to death in 1881 by the intrepid Lincoln County sheriff Pat Garret, Billy the Kid became a romanticized symbol of the wildness that laced the American west. Interest in the outlaw’s wild life grew after Burn’s initial publication, setting Billy the Kid up as one of the finest examples of the loss of the Wild West. As the US grew more industrialized, the stories of saloons, train robberies, and lone cowboys became even more important, and still remain important today. In a rousing tale that is partly truth, partly fiction, read the story that started its own wild frontier in the most influential version out there.




The Detroit Lancet


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A Good-Looking Corpse


Book Description

Tom Tanner, the crime-scene-cleaning virtuoso of L.A. Rotten—hailed by Dianne Emley as “eloquent, profound, hilarious, and redemptive”—is going Hollywood. Because a psychopathic movie producer is planning a bloody blockbuster . . . with Tom in a starring role. Tom Tanner has a dark past but he’s no murderer. Unfortunately, Mikey Echo—the spoiled son of the most powerful man in Hollywood—seems to think otherwise. After a young actor suffers an untimely demise out a thirty-fourth-floor window, handsome ex-con Tom is summoned to scrub the splatter below. At the scene, he learns that producer Mikey has an indecent proposal to make—and for Tom, that means signing a deal with the devil. The rotten part is, things had finally been going Tom’s way. He’s got good steady work, a feisty woman to come home to, even a little notoriety for solving a string of grisly motel murders. Now Tom just wants this mad prince of Tinseltown to leave him alone. But the fatalist within braces for the inevitable: To get Mikey Echo off his back, someone must die. Praise for Jeff Klima’s L.A. Rotten “A really impressive debut . . . The book’s black humor reminded me a little of Donald E. Westlake, while the setting and dialogue could have come from Elmore Leonard. Those are two crime-writing legends whose names I don’t evoke lightly. Hopefully, L.A. Rotten is just the start for Jeff Klima.”—Crime Fiction Lover “Eloquent, profound, hilarious, and redemptive, L.A. Rotten has a heart of gold.”—Dianne Emley, bestselling author of the Nan Vining mysteries “A must-read novel for those who enjoy raw, ‘pulpy’ mysteries . . . Engrossing and satisfying, L.A. Rotten is a hard-boiled thriller that readers will be unable to put down.”—Gina Fava, author of The Sculptor




Hollywood Italians


Book Description

"This book is a celebration of nearly a century of images of Italians in American motion pictures and their contribution to popular culture." "Hollywood Italians covers the careers of dozens of stars including Rudolph Valentino, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, John Travolta, Sylvester Stallone, Marisa Tomei, James Gandolfini, and many others. In addition, the book reviews the work of such Italian American directors as Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese." "In all, Hollywood Italians discusses scores of films with a concentration on the most important, including their literary and European-cinematic roots. The book is capped by a comprehensive examination of The Godfather and its two sequels, as well as the international television phenomenon The Sopranos."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved




P.K. Pinkerton and the Petrified Man


Book Description

The second book in a rip-roaring adventure series set in the wild west! After escaping the ruthless desperados, P.K. finally feels safe in Virginia City and is ready to set up a new private eye business. But all the mysteries in town seem to be pranks—until the day P.K. meets a young maid named Martha. Martha’s employer has been found dead . . . and now the killer is after her. The mystery takes a grave turn when Martha disappears, so P.K. consults Poker Face Jace, an expert at people reading. With his help, P.K. inspects saloons and billiard rooms, and even tries sneaking into the coroner’s office. But time is quickly running out for P.K., and Martha’s life has never been in more danger.




Here's Looking at You


Book Description

Now in its third edition, Here's Looking at You: Hollywood, Film and Politics examines the tangled relationship between politics and Hollywood, which manifests itself in celebrity involvement in political campaigns and elections, and in the overt and covert political messages conveyed by Hollywood films. The book's findings contradict the film industry's assertion that it is simply in the entertainment business, and examines how, while the majority of Hollywood films are strictly commercial ventures, hundreds of movies - ranging from Birth of a Nation to Capitalism - do indeed contain political messages. This new edition has been updated with new photos and cartoons, and includes two new chapters, one on Afghan-Iraqi war films and the other on the treatment of race and gender in Hollywood films, that are sure to stimulate discussion. Here's Looking at You serves as a basic text for political film courses and as a supplement in American government and film studies courses, and will also appeal to film buffs and people in the film industry.




The Texas Review


Book Description