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Summary: Jim Thompson introduces you to the mind of a killer.
Review: Lou Ford -- a bland, cliche-spouting deputy -- stalks his way through a Texas boom town killing those who have injured him, or who obstruct or offend him in this piece set in the early 1950s. Thompson grabs you early and gives you a ride as you gaze into the mind of an engaging psychopath. Thompson crafts here a character that us attractive and yet horrifying. His is a chilling, absorbing book; don't pick it up unless you have the time to read it through!
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Summary: Definitely a roman noir
Review: After seeing the movie The Talented Mister Ripley and enjoying it immensely, I read an article in the Boston Globe about Patricia Highsmith, the woman who wrote the book. She was grouped in the same category as Ruth Rendell (whom I love) and Jim Thompson, the author of The Killer Inside Me.I had never read anything by him,but his book sounded fascinating, so I gave it a try. I was not disappointed. If you enjoy books dealing with the darker side of humanity, you will love this book. It is told by the main character, Lou Ford, who would make Norman Bates look like a choirboy. Lou Ford is a cold blooded killer, yet is able to function in society (as the respected town sheriff, no less). The story is chilling and well written. Give it a try.
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Summary: A Texas noir
Review: What's chilling about this guy is he's a sociopath and he knows he's a sociopath. Still, he can logically explain the reasons for each of his murders...until he can't anymore. The use of the first person is insidious, as the reader spends 244 pages inside Lou Ford's head. A few minor plot inconsistencies, but an amazing, sad, almost cinematic ending.
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Summary: A great, scary book
Review: It has some loose ends and sloppy passages, but none of that matters much, because Thompson has goten so far inside of Lou Ford that once you've finished the book you can't get his voice and laugh out of your mind.
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Summary: A masterpiece
Review: I think that Lou Ford is one of the most memorable characters in all of crime fiction. Dark humor and disturbing scenes come together in a nice, riveting mixture. Any lover of crime fiction MUST have this in their collection.
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Summary: Everyone Needs to Relax
Review: The book was all right. Everyone here seems to be exaggerating. I found the plot pretty stupid, but that is what was part of the thrill. This boring, average next door neighbor decides to start killing people off for no apparent reason. But he does have HIS reasons- I work in the Mental Health field so I could see this guy in some of my patients. Seeming "NORMAL" but having that disorder that no one can really understand or see. The book had its ups and down. Nothing major. The book seems almost rushed. I couldn't relate any to of the characters. Even Lou, the main character. But the book was published in 1952. So maybe for it's time it was a great book. Like I said it was good, but 3 stars- no more no less.
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Summary: Worst Book I have ever read
Review: This is by far the worst novel I have ever read. If I could, I would give it -5 stars. I can't imagine why anyone would call this piece of crap a classic. The story is so proposterous. A sheriff in a small Texas town kills the simple town folk for no logical reason. And then there is his ridiculous back story about how he killed when he was 12 or something and since then it's just something he does. I found this book in a store and thought it would be good because the late great filmmaker Stanley Kubrick praised it. WRONG!!! If you ask me, this book is a waste of time and money. Unless, of course, you get it from a library. Life is to short to waste a few hours on a book like this. This book should be banned, not because of it's content, but because it's an embarrassment to American Literature.
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Summary: Inside who
Review: Thompson uses the fun loving Lou Ford to explore the most evil root in every man's core. "It is better to burn than to rot" and Lou Ford makes his own decisions unlike his victims, who, tend to not be filled with all that much substance. A hooker, a spoiled young rich slob, a bum and a common nobody all fall victim to the judgement of Lou Ford. It's much like Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" except the reader actually gets to journey into the mind of the killer, unlike "Darkness" where the reader has to read Marlow's accounts of Kurtz, second hand. "The Horror, The Horror."
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Summary: A nightmarishly wonderful experience
Review: Imagine the music of Morphine only in print, with a hint of the brown acid they warned of at Woodstock. An insane sheriff on a homicidal spree explained in the first person. If you like noir you'll love this. It gets no better than a Jim Thompson Novel. To explain more would be criminal.
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Summary: this book is funny as hell
Review: This is a pulp novel, so don't expect too much. But this book sure is entertaining. Also look for population 1280 which is the same book, with a goofier killer. this is a funny book for people with a sick sense of humor.
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