James Crumley – författare

När privatspanaren C.W. Sughrue äntligen hittar författaren Abraham Trahearne är det på en sunkig bar i Kalifornien, där han sitter och dricker med en alkoholiserad bulldog. I baren arbetar Rosie, vars tonåriga dotter tio år tidigare försvunnit i hippie-erans lyckligt nerknarkade San Francisco.I stället för att köra hem Trahearne tar Sughrue med honom på en resa kantad av urspårade fester och brutala utpressningsförsök allt för att hitta Rosies dotter Betty Sue.JAMES CRUMLEYS [1939-2008] klassiska kriminalroman En sista riktig kyss [1978] är en våldsam och poetisk berättelse om borttappade själar och överlevande blomsterbarn under ett kallt amerikanskt sjuttiotal.Såväl George Pelecanos som Dennis Lehane har framhållit den som sin generations mest inflytelserika kriminalroman.»Den största detektivroman som skrivits under min livstid.« GEORGE PELECANOS»Mellan Raymond Chandlers The Big Sleep och James Ellroys The Big Nowhere finns egentligen bara ett riktigt stort hårdkokt mästerverk, och det är James Crumleys En sista riktig kyss.« JAN ARNALD, DN »Nästan omöjlig att lägga ifrån sig. Klassisk amerikansk miljö, klassisk amerikansk kriminallitteratur det är sällan det blir bättre än så här.« GEFLE DAGBLAD »För den som är det minsta intresserad av hårdkokta deckare är denna makalösa historia ett måste.« DAGENS ARBETE »Ett tidsdokument, en brytpunkt där Mickey Spillane och Raymond Chandler spökar i bakgrunden men Crumley dessutom mer än sneglat på vildhjärnor som Charles Bukowski och Hunter S. Thompson.« BORÅS TIDNING »En av det senaste halvseklets mest betydande kriminalförfattare.« JOHN-HENRI HOLMBERG, SYDSVENSKAN »Jag sträckläser. Jag förvånas över vändningarna, förfasas över våldet och kylan och fascineras av alkoholens strida ström längs vägarna.« ÅSA PETTERSSON, DAGENS BOK »En smått fantastisk roman. Engagerande, spännande och underhållande rakt igenom. En sista riktig kyss är en riktig sidvändare, inte enbart för att historien är spännande, utan framförallt för att den är så förbannat välskriven. Rapp dialog, träffande skitiga metaforer och målande miljöbeskrivningar av Amerikas bakgator.« SAND IN MY EYES »James Crumleys En sista riktig kyss som kom ut 1978 är den viktigaste, mest nyskapande noirromanen. Den visade att genren kunde vara så mycket mer. Och stor litteratur.« DENNIS LEHANE »James Crumley är en amerikansk författare av högsta rang... pyrotekniskt underhållande, sexig, medkännande.« THE VILLAGE VOICE »En av de mästerliga amerikanska skildrarna av det fattiga, luggslitna och perversa USA. James Crumley skriver så nära och så bra att Tom Waits skulle kunna sätta musik till hans berättelser.« BLASKAN

A Byzantine tangle of crime, sex, drugs, violence and retribution in red-neck Texas from the ultimate hard-boiled writerMilo Milogragovitch, Crumley’s uncontrollable, cocaine-snorting Montanan, takes centre stage in this adrenaline-fuelled thriller by the master of hard-boiled fiction. This time Milo’s trying to find his feet in Texas, earning a living as a bar owner and a PI on the side.A tedious job tracking down a runaway wife takes a violent turn when he finds himself in a bar with ex-con Enos Walker, who’s out for revenge on the partners who turned him in. Turning a gun on Walker, bar manager Billy Long has accidently shot himself and the police are only too keen to add his murder to the long list of crimes Walker’s in the frame for. Only Milo’s testimony can save him from a death sentence, but Milo’s got problems of his own in the shape of sultry lawyer Molly McBride.Hurtling from the plains of Texas to the desert town of Las Vegas, from the freezing Montana mountains to the Gulf of Mexico and the final bloody showdown, The Final Country is a non-stop roller-coaster ride that will leave you breathless.

The new unputdownable thriller from the author of The Final Country, winner of the CWA Silver Dagger Award 2002.You're only as tough as you feel. Take private eye C.W. Sughrue, ex-alcoholic and recovering gunshot victim. He thought he knew better than to do any work for Doctor Will "Mac" Mackindrick – even if he is his buddy. But 30,000 big ones does a whole lot of talking. So who's blackmailing Mac? One of his patients maybe?Sughrue's first day on the job lives up to expectations when the wife of one of Mac's patients ends up headless with a noose round her neck – and Sughrue's pretty certain she won't be the only fatality. In fact, you can count on it. Six patients. That's six bodies…

Alfonso Zamora is an aging Mexican senior tour player who has discovered he's going blind. Rita Shaugnessy is a lusty, hard-drinking, down-on-her-luck golfer on the women's pro tour. Billy Sprague is a country club pro with the most beautiful golf swing - except when there's money on the line. All three receive an invitation from Philip Bates, the richest man in the world and the founder of Macrodyne Software, to play in a mysterious golf tounament held on a never-before-seen course in Scotland. There the three will play in what will be the golf match of all time and upon whose results rests the fate of the world.

‘Crumley in scintillating form: an anarchic, savagely violent and brilliantly written lament for a vanishing past’ Evening StandardJames Crumley is the king of hard-boiled noir, credited with inspiring the next generation of crime writers – including Dennis Lehane and Michael Connelly – and best known for his two private detectives, Milo Milodragovitch and C. W. Sughrue. He brought them together for one wild, pulse-pounding ride. This is that story.Someone shot Sughrue and left him for dead, and someone stole Milo’s $3million inheritance. And they’re not the kind of men to let it go. They’ve joined forces in El Paso and they’re set for a wild ride across America. They’re out for revenge…‘No one in American crime fiction writes sharper, more authentic dialogue, nor more exciting action, nor, beneath the tough façade, has a greater feel for the values and mores that really matter’ The Times

A classic from a legend of American crime writing. ‘Crumley writes like an angel on speed’ Time Out.Milo Milodragovitch isn’t exactly an upstanding citizen. He’s more than likely to be drunk, and leaves heartbreak in his wake; five ex-wives to be precise. In fact, ‘his forte is self-destruction’ (Elmore Leonard). When an elderly lady offers him a handsome fee to satisfy her curiosity he thinks it’s an easy job, a quick win. Every Thursday she watches a couple arrive at the same spot at the woods opposite her house, in separate cars. But finding out who they are and what they’re doing is far from straightforward and before he knows it Milo is in a world of trouble, complete with machine guns, grenades, and a bag of coke. Never a dull day...

‘This complex thriller is so hardboiled it makes Ellroy and Connelly read like Simon and Garfunkel… it’s good. Very good’ Time OutSettling – and calming – down is never easy. Especially not for Milo Milodragovitch. He’s set up a bar, and found a woman he thinks he may love, but he can’t leave his work as a private investigator behind entirely. When he crosses paths with ex-con Enos Walker, and as the bullets fly, he’s launched on to a cocaine- and alcohol-fuelled quest to solve a 20-year-old mystery. It’s a journey that will take him racing across Texas, Montana and Mexico, with barely a moment for him – or you – to catch breath…‘A brilliant achievement, with Crumley returned to his full powers, seeming to say with each assured sentence, “Yeah, I’m an old dog, but I still wag the baddest bone”’ Publishers Weekly

'A fantastic road trip...wild, wicked, sweet, painful, courageous, outrageous, and obscene' New York TimesNever the most conventional of private detectives, C. W. Sughrue is called in to solve a far from traditional missing persons case. A beautiful woman has vanished, and Sughrue is set to be the next in a long line of people who have tried to find her: the FBI, her well-connected Republican husband, and – most worryingly – a group of South American drug dealers. And his only clue is a hollowed-out sculpture of a duck.From Montana to the Mexican border, Sughrue embarks on a wild ride, as he finds himself in and out of trouble – and the beds of one or two women. And, as he runs from his memories of Vietnam, he ponders the meaning of loyalty and revenge. This is a journey like no other from the pen of James Crumley, the master of a generation of crime writers.

'Crumley writes like an angel on speed' Time Out Clark Air Force Base, the Philippines. 1962. Sergeant Jacob ‘Slag’ Krummel, wannabe scholar now warrior, is posted to the base to take command of the 721st Communication Security Detachment, perhaps the least committed band of drunken, rebellious and bored soldiers in the US Air Force. With the Vietnam War looming large in their minds, they cannot escape war, fear and the truth about America, overturning the lies they’ve been told about their homeland. First published in 1969, this is the debut that launched the career of one of the greatest writers of his generation. Crumley’s timeless classic is a stunning exploration of the effects of war, told with his trademark razor-sharp dialogue, dark humour, relentless pace and remarkable set pieces.

'The poet laureate of hard-boiled literature, superior even to James Lee Burke in his ability to evoke extreme melancholy, gruesome violence and an acute sense of landscape... Deeply compelling' Guardian Things are never straightforward for private detective C. W. Sughrue. A long-time recovering Vietnam veteran and prone to trouble, he’s finally enjoying a slower pace of life. Until, that is, his old friend - psychiatrist William Mackinderick - enlists his help in shadowing some of his patients. Mackinderick suspects one of them may have taken highly confidential files from his office and he’s desperate to know who. But soon Sughrue’s not tracking them alive but dead, as one after the other they meet a gruesome end. Sughrue thought he’d seen it all before but he’s been proved wrong…madness knows no bounds.

Milo Milodragovitch is a once-successful divorce lawyer, who now prefers to spend his days drinking and staring out the window. That all changes when Helen Duffy walks into his office and asks him to find her missing brother.Though it's not his usual line of work, Milo agrees to help - he needs the money, and he wants to spend more time with this beautiful woman. But this is far from a routine case, and whispers of a long-past crime haunt Milo's every move . . .'As sweetly profane a poet as American noir could have asked for' Ian Rankin'Like James Ellroy, he is a master of American vernacular, turning tough-guy slang into something like poetry' Independent

'As sweetly profane a poet as American noir could have asked for' Ian Rankin'A friggin' masterpiece' Dennis Lehane'The stunner that reinvigorated the genre and jacked up a generation of future crime novelists' George PelecanosMeet Private Detective C. W. Sughrue. Private detectives are supposed to find missing persons and solve crimes. But more often than not Sughrue is the one committing the crimes – everything from grand theft auto to criminal stupidity. All washed down with a hearty dose of whiskey and regret.At the end of a three-week hunt for a runaway bestselling author, Sughrue winds up in a ramshackle bar, with an alcoholic bulldog. The landlady’s daughter vanished a decade ago and now she wants Sughrue to find her. His search will take him to the deepest, darkest depths of San Francisco’s underbelly, a place as fascinating, frightening and flawed as he is. Welcome to James Crumley’s America.

'As sweetly profane a poet as American noir could have asked for' Ian Rankin'A friggin' masterpiece' Dennis Lehane'The stunner that reinvigorated the genre and jacked up a generation of future crime novelists' George PelecanosMeet Private Detective C. W. Sughrue. Private detectives are supposed to find missing persons and solve crimes. But more often than not Sughrue is the one committing the crimes – everything from grand theft auto to criminal stupidity. All washed down with a hearty dose of whiskey and regret.At the end of a three-week hunt for a runaway bestselling author, Sughrue winds up in a ramshackle bar, with an alcoholic bulldog. The landlady’s daughter vanished a decade ago and now she wants Sughrue to find her. His search will take him to the deepest, darkest depths of San Francisco’s underbelly, a place as fascinating, frightening and flawed as he is. Welcome to James Crumley’s America.

Milo Milodragovitch is a once-successful divorce lawyer, who now prefers to spend his days drinking and staring out the window. That all changes when Helen Duffy walks into his office and asks him to find her missing brother.Though it's not his usual line of work, Milo agrees to help - he needs the money, and he wants to spend more time with this beautiful woman. But this is far from a routine case, and whispers of a long-past crime haunt Milo's every move . . .'As sweetly profane a poet as American noir could have asked for' Ian Rankin'Like James Ellroy, he is a master of American vernacular, turning tough-guy slang into something like poetry' Independent

Zunächst sieht alles nach einem harmlosen Auftrag aus: Privatdetektiv Chauncey Wayne Sughrue aus Montana soll den Schriftsteller Abraham Trahearne ausfindig machen, der sich auf einer Sauftour quer durch Amerika befindet, und ihn zurück zu seiner Frau und an seinen Schreibtisch bringen. Sughrue trinkt sich von Tresen zu Tresen, doch als er den Autor endlich findet, nimmt das Unheil erst so richtig seinen Lauf. Barbesitzerin Rosie heuert die beiden für gerade mal 87 Dollar an, ihre seit zehn Jahren verschwundene Tochter Betty Sue zu finden. Und weil Sughrue bisweilen selbst hinter der Theke steht, um nicht davor hocken und saufen zu müssen, und weil er ein Herz für die Barkeeperin hat, nimmt er den Auftrag an. Ein wilder Roadtrip beginnt - mit der durstigen Bulldogge Fireball Roberts und dem ramponierten Schriftsteller im Schlepptau.

En frisk vårdag hittar privatspanaren C.W. Sughrue äntligen författaren Abraham Trahearne på en sunkig bar i Kalifornien, där han sitter och dricker öl tillsammans med en alkoholiserad bulldog. I baren arbetar Rosie, vars tonåriga dotter tio år tidigare försvunnit i hippie-erans lyckligt nedknarkade San Francisco. I stället för att köra hem Trahearne tar Sughrue med honom på en resa kantad av urspårade fester och brutala utpressningsförsök, allt för att finna Rosies dotter. Det finns mer än en sanning om Betty Sue visar det sig i Crumleys våldsamma och poetiska berättelse om borttappade själar och överlevande blomsterbarn i ett kallt amerikanskt sjuttiotal. JAMES CRUMLEY, född 1939 i Texas, är författare till ett stort antal kriminalromaner, bland dem The Mexican Tree Duck och The Right Madness - som delar huvudpersonen C.W.Sughrue med En sista riktig kyss. Dennis Lehane framhåller En sista riktig kyss som den i särklass mest inflytelserika detektivromanen för den hyllade generation deckarförfattare som han själv tillhör. »En sista riktig kyss är nästan omöjlig att lägga ifrån sig. [...] Klassisk amerikansk miljö, klassisk amerikansk kriminallitteratur - det är sällan det blir bättre än så här.« ANDERS WENNBERG, GEFLE DAGBLAD »För den som är det minsta intresserad av hårdkokta deckare är denna makalösa historia ett måste. [...] Modernista har gjort en kulturgärning.« DAGENS ARBETE