Book picks similar to
Brainquake by Samuel Fuller


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The Wounded and the Slain


David Goodis - 1955
    But in the slums of Kingston James found himself fighting for his life – while Cora found her own path to destruction, in the arms of another man. Available for the first time in more than 50 years, this lost novel by legendary pulp author David Goodis is a stunning, shocking tale of cruelty, danger, desperationâ�¦and the possibility of redemption.

Fake I.D. (Hard Case Crime #56)


Jason Starr - 2000
    Published for the first time in the United States, this gritty novel tells the story of a bar bouncer who needs to pony up $10,000 to buy into a horse racing syndicate and will stop at nothing to get it--not robbery, not even murder.

Kiss Her Goodbye (Hard Case Crime #8)


Allan Guthrie - 2005
    When they don't pay it back, they get a visit from Joe Hope. — But now Joe's got troubles of his own. His teenage daughter's found dead, an apparent suicide. Then the police arrest him for murder. But for once, Joe's innocent--and with help from Scotland's hardest men (and one of Scotland's hardest women), he sets out to find who's framed him and deliver his own brutal brand of justice.

The Hunter


Richard Stark - 1962
    The thriller that introduces Parker. “A brilliant invention”. Played by Lee Marvin in the John Boorman movie. “The funnies call it the syndicate. The goons and hustlers call it the Outfit. You call it the Organization. But I don’t care if you call yourselves the Red Cross, you owe me forty-five thousand dollars and you’ll pay me back whether you like it or not.”This novel was originally titled The Hunter, later retitled Point Blank because of the movie, later retitled Payback because of the other movie.

Queenpin


Megan Abbott - 2007
    Notoriously cunning and ruthless, Gloria shows her eager young protégée the ropes, ushering her into a glittering demimonde of late-night casinos, racetracks, betting parlors, inside heists, and big, big money. Suddenly, the world is at her feet--as long as she doesn't take any chances, like falling for the wrong guy. As the roulette wheel turns, both mentor and protégée scramble to stay one step ahead of their bosses and each other.

Savage Night


Jim Thompson - 1953
    But when the state's latched onto his game, the feds take a bite and the lawyer fees eat away at the rest, all Jake's got left is the bottle and a beautiful wife whose every word is ugly. Jake's to be the top witness in a major case against organized crime -- if he hasn't already kicked the bucket before the trial has its day in court. But an enigmatic mafioso known only as The Man has a plan to make dead certain Jake never gets the chance to testify. The Man's hired Charlie "Little" Bigger, a hit man barely five feet tall, to infiltrate the Winroy residence as a tenant and murder Winroy in cold blood. To Little, it seems like the easiest job on Earth. Until he lays eyes on the beautiful and dangerous Fay and the Winroy's young housemaid Ruth, a woman as sensual as she is vulnerable. Savage Night is Jim Thompson at his most unpredictable and deeply suspenseful, in a claustrophobic thriller of one man's fractured mind.

The Guns of Heaven


Pete Hamill - 1983
    American reporter Sam Briscoe, after visiting relatives in Northern Ireland and inadvertently getting involved in an international IRA gun-smuggling plot, must deal with a group of sadistic terrorists who have not only kidnapped his daughter but also have plans on blowing up a historic Manhattan landmark. While visiting his 72-year-old uncle -- a staunch IRA supporter -- in Northern Ireland, Briscoe gets the once-in-a-lifetime chance to talk face to face with an enigmatic IRA leader known only as Commander Steel. In return for the exclusive interview, Briscoe agrees to deliver an envelope to an Irish tavern owner in Queens upon his return to the States. But shortly after Briscoe hands over the envelope to its intended recipient, Irish-born Jack McDaid, McDaid and his bar are blown to smithereens by a bomb; and Briscoe becomes entangled in a bloody conflict that could mean the death of him, his daughter, four prominent Irish-American politicians, and thousands of innocents. As with every Hard Case Crime release since the imprint's 2004 inception, The Guns of Heaven is an utterly readable and thoroughly enjoyable pulp noir gem. As timely as it is timeless, this unearthed crime fiction classic featuring hard-nosed reporter Sam Briscoe will enthrall, enlighten, and, above all else, entertain. Paul Goat Allen

A Touch of Death


Charles Williams - 1953
    Original.

Money Shot


Christa Faust - 2008
    THEY THOUGHT WRONG.It all began with the phone call asking former porn star Angel Dare to do one more movie. Before she knew it, she'd been shot and left for dead in the trunk of a car. But Angel is a survivor. And that means she'll get to the bottom of what's been done to her even if she has to leave a trail of bodies along the way...

Fright


George Hopley - 1950
    After strangling his blackmailing mistress on the day of his wedding, Prescott Marshall goes on the run with his new wifebut are the police on his trail?

Binary


John Lange - 1972
    including the President of the United States?

The Confession


Domenic Stansberry - 2004
    But he’s also got a mistress.  And when Jake’s mistress is found strangled to death with his necktie, it’s up to him to prove he didn’t do it. But how can he, when all the evidence says he did? Jake races to reveal the secret conspiracy against him.  But with every step, the noose is tightening, and all of Jake’s resourcefulness may not be enough to save him?

The Continental Op


Dashiell Hammett - 1930
    The Continental Op was his great first contribution to the genre and these seven stories, which first appeared in the magazine Black Mask, are the best examples of Hammett's early writing, in which his formidable literary and moral imagination is already operating at full strength. The Continental Op is the dispassionate fat man working for the Continental Detective Agency, modelled on the Pinkerton Agency, whose only interest is in doing his job in a world of violence, passion, desperate action and great excitement.The tenth clew.--The golden horseshoe.--The house in Turk Street.--The girl with the silver eyes.--The whosis kid.--The main death.--The farewell murder.

Get Carter


Ted Lewis - 1970
    Frank's car was found at the bottom of a cliff, with him inside. Jack thinks that Frank's death is suspicious, so he decides to talk to a few people. Frank was a mild man and did as he was told, but Jack's not a bit like that.

Killing Castro


Lee Duncan - 1961
    Five Americans a bounty hunter, a murderer on the run, a vengeful college kid, a professional thug, and a bank clerk dying of cancerwill split $100,000 if they can sneak into Cuba and assassinate Fidel Castro.