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in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file 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[ROOT]/includes/functions.php on line 4668: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at [ROOT]/includes/functions.php:3815) [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/functions.php on line 4670: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at [ROOT]/includes/functions.php:3815) [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/functions.php on line 4671: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at [ROOT]/includes/functions.php:3815) [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/functions.php on line 4672: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at [ROOT]/includes/functions.php:3815) Horror World • View topic - My Thoughts On "The Fever Kill"
(o.k. I'm a big Pic fan. Forgive me for posting these and sharing my enthusiasm for some of Tom's novels).
Noir. I knew the term, but in my mind it was always associated with films. I know it means dark, or black, but to be honest with you I seldom connected it to fiction. Looking it up in the dictionary I saw that it was originally used in the context of crime fiction, not films, so I guessed I learned something.
Tom’s work over the last few years has skewed towards dark crime tales with a touch of horror; Headstone City, and The Dead Letters being good examples. The Midnight Road came out last year and it was the first novel I’ve read from him without any supernatural underpinnings (I read his westerns after this). The Midnight Road was great and it was my first exposure to Noir.
Now comes a trade paperback from Tom called The Fever Kill with an introduction by one of the stars of the Noir genre, Ken Bruen. Ken says that The Fever Kill is an intense and astonishing crime novel that blasts off from the first page and never lets the reader take a breath. I agree with him.
This story is loaded with testosterone. Gangsters, muscle men, beautiful women, and some not so beautiful dames all converge in a small town Vermont setting that’s as sleazy as any Bronx neighborhood. And as with most of Tom’s novels, innocence is the true victim in the story, and redemption is the catalyst that moves along the plot.
Crease, the main character, is an undercover cop who has become way too cozy with his mark. After years of playing both sides of the law, Crease’s conscience becomes a burden, so he goes back home to Vermont to try to find the truth behind the horrible death by his father of a young girl. Only his mark, a ruthless mob boss named Tucco, never lets anyone leave his employ, so he follows Crease to Vermont to kill him. And oh yeah, Crease fell in love with Tucco's girl and got her pregnant. I should also mention that Crease has a wife and kid back in the big city. And while he’s back in his home town, he goes to bed with the town slut.
The story is greasy and brutal. Piccirilli treats almost every character cruelly, including the young girl his father shot all those years ago. The sun never shines in this town, the cars are all souped up or tricked out, everyone is fat or bone skinny, and everyone has an agenda. They all smoke cigarettes. Sometimes menthol.
This is some of the best writing Tom has ever put to paper and I think its his best novel since November Mourns. The prose is sharp, witty, and the tension is tighter than a closed switchblade. There are no boring parts, there’s nothing to skip over, and you can’t wait to turn the page to see what’s going to happen next. But you do wait… because the writing is so awesome you reread paragraphs because they are so true... and so profound.
If you’re a Tom Piccirilli fan, you gotta get this one. If you're not, pick this up and you will be.
Joined: Fri Jan 28, 2005 7:13 pm Posts: 469 Location: CO
_________________ Tom Piccirilli is the author of over 20 novels including SHADOW SEASON, THE COLD SPOT, and A CHOIR OF ILL CHILDREN. www.thecoldspot.blogspot.com
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