The Rip-Off

Rating:
Summary: worth a read
Review: -Rip Off is worth a read, especially for the Jim Thompson enthusiast. Last thing Thompson wrote before he died. The first chapter just tugs you right in. Forget about putting it down. The protagonist is great. Any man who thinks he was meant for bigger and better will associate with him. Ok- so here's the question...I read the New Black Mask Quarterly #1 in 1985 which included the First few chapters of Rip Off. However it said that Thompson died before he could arrange the typescript. That's the problem. You can really tell that Jim Thompson couldn't go back to put his finishing touches on the story. But read it anyway. Its still better than anything Robert B. Parker ever wrote. amen

Rating:
Summary: worth a read
Review: -Rip Off is worth a read, especially for the Jim Thompson enthusiast. Last thing Thompson wrote before he died. The first chapter just tugs you right in. Forget about putting it down. The protagonist is great. Any man who thinks he was meant for bigger and better will associate with him. Ok- so here's the question...I read the New Black Mask Quarterly #1 in 1985 which included the First few chapters of Rip Off. However it said that Thompson died before he could arrange the typescript. That's the problem. You can really tell that Jim Thompson couldn't go back to put his finishing touches on the story. But read it anyway. Its still better than anything Robert B. Parker ever wrote. amen

Rating:
Summary: Probably Thompson's worst
Review: I'm a huge Jim Thompson fan, but I did not enjoy this book at all. Britt Rainstar is the protagonist. As is typical of a Thompson character, Rainstar owes lots of money and is in lots of trouble. Enter Manuela Aloe, a sexy and wealthy woman who takes a liking to Rainstar and hires him to write pamphlets for her company. Aloe is tough and when she finds out that Rainstar is married, mysterious things start to happen to him, including being threatened by a man in a skeleton costume. Is Aloe the one behind all of it? The plot could have been quite interesting, but instead is filled with unbelievable coincidences and characters. None of it really makes much sense and I didn't care what happened to Rainstar. This was Thompson's last book, and was published after his death. One can't help but wonder whether it was actually finished at the time of his death. A real disappointment. If you haven't read Thompson before, start with "The Killer In Me," "The Grifters," or any one of his other classics.

Rating:
Summary: Probably Thompson's worst
Review: I'm a huge Jim Thompson fan, but I did not enjoy this book at all. Britt Rainstar is the protagonist. As is typical of a Thompson character, Rainstar owes lots of money and is in lots of trouble. Enter Manuela Aloe, a sexy and wealthy woman who takes a liking to Rainstar and hires him to write pamphlets for her company. Aloe is tough and when she finds out that Rainstar is married, mysterious things start to happen to him, including being threatened by a man in a skeleton costume. Is Aloe the one behind all of it? The plot could have been quite interesting, but instead is filled with unbelievable coincidences and characters. None of it really makes much sense and I didn't care what happened to Rainstar. This was Thompson's last book, and was published after his death. One can't help but wonder whether it was actually finished at the time of his death. A real disappointment. If you haven't read Thompson before, start with "The Killer In Me," "The Grifters," or any one of his other classics.

Rating:
Summary: Thompson's last work... and not recommended.
Review: Ripoff was released after the great Jim Thompson had passed away, and you can tell. Great writers know what books to release and what books to throw in the trunk, and this is one of the latter. This book is written in a comic style, but it's not funny in the slightest. There is nothing hard-boiled about it either, and neither the characters or the plot is interesting or innovative. Please, put this book down, and pick up any of Thompson's classic works.