Brad Sanders's bass pitch and intimate storytelling skills make him an excellent choice to read this noirish story of crime and punishment. Narrating in the first person, Sanders portrays Ed Edwards, an African-American used-car salesman who passes for white. Edwards, seduced by a femme fatale, plans a get-rich-quick scheme for acquiring a drive-in movie theater and a pet cemetery. As the crime spree escalates, Sanders adds authenticity by chipping away at Edwards's macho posturing to reveal a guilt-ridden protagonist. Lansdale provides his usual Texas setting and quirky characters, placing the events in the 1960s. The audiobook has a few loose strings, and the ending sneaks up on the listener. Nonetheless, when it comes to Lansdale, expect the unexpected. R.W.S. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
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More Better Deals
Narrated by Brad Sanders
Joe R. LansdaleUnabridged — 5 hours, 59 minutes
![More Better Deals](http://img.images-bn.com/static/redesign/srcs/images/grey-box.png?v11.9.4)
More Better Deals
Narrated by Brad Sanders
Joe R. LansdaleUnabridged — 5 hours, 59 minutes
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Overview
Editorial Reviews
When funky books need to be written, Joe R. Lansdale writes them. He comes through again with More Better Deals…The plot is pure James M. Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice, but steeped in hillbilly noir.
04/06/2020
Used car salesman Ed Edwards, the narrator of this highly enjoyable hardboiled tale set in 1960s Texas from Edgar winner Lansdale (Jane Goes North), has no qualms about perpetrating serious crimes in his pursuit of the American Dream. When sent to repossess a Cadillac purchased by Frank Craig, a rough, hard-drinking brute who is “big enough to hunt tigers with nothing but a bad attitude,” Ed falls for Frank’s gorgeous if conniving wife, Nancy. After acquiring the Cadillac for himself, Ed and Nancy begin an affair, and Ed soon sets his sights on attaining part-ownership of Nancy’s drive-in movie theater and pet cemetery. To achieve this, he devises a crude plan to beat her husband to death and stage his murder to look like an accident so that Nancy can claim Frank’s life insurance policy. Unsurprisingly, nothing goes as planned, and Ed’s hopes of a more prosperous future prove as shoddy and pretentious as the clunkers he sells. Populated with an admirable array of laughable miscreants, this droll, savage novel is vintage Lansdale. The author’s storytelling powers remain as strong as ever. Agent: Danny Baror, Baror International. (July)
"When funky books need to be written, Joe R. Lansdale writes them. . . . The plot is pure James M. Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice, but steeped in hillbilly noir."—Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review
"The prolific Mr. Lansdale…draws on the spirit and themes of James M. Cain in this stand-alone book, which works clever variations on such Cain classics as The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity. —Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal
"Lansdale really makes this used car purr."—Booklist (starred review)
"Highly enjoyable . . . Populated with an admirable array of laughable miscreants, this droll, savage novel is vintage Lansdale. The author's storytelling powers remain as strong as ever."—Publishers Weekly
" [A] down-and-dirty riff on Double Indemnity, a provocative new variation on James M. Cain’s noir classic...an enjoyably cynical cruise down the back roads to perdition."—Lisa Henricksson, Airmail
"He's genre dextrous, moving fleetly between westerns, mysteries, thrillers, horror, sci-fi, literary fiction, and nonfiction, and doing it all extremely well."—Publishers Weekly
"Southern crime legend Joe Lansdale channels his best James M. Cain world vision...Readers can expect to be transported in the usual Lansdale fashion, as nobody does those East Texas period details quite like Lansdale, who always delivers with a finely-crafted, engaging, compulsive crime story in his home terrain."—Dwyer Murphy, CrimeReads
Praise for The Elephant of Surprise
"The Elephant of Surprise is the read of the year thus far for adrenaline junkies, action-hero aficionados and, as is always the case with Lansdale's novels, fans of clever and unexpected similes and metaphors." BookPage
"Hap and Leonard remain two of the most likable characters in crime fiction." Kirkus Reviews
"Lansdale's narrative voice is as wonderful as ever, as is the banter between the mismatched best friends as they punctuate the violence with drolly mundane observations. ..It's always a pleasure to spend time with Hap and Leonard." Booklist
Brad Sanders's bass pitch and intimate storytelling skills make him an excellent choice to read this noirish story of crime and punishment. Narrating in the first person, Sanders portrays Ed Edwards, an African-American used-car salesman who passes for white. Edwards, seduced by a femme fatale, plans a get-rich-quick scheme for acquiring a drive-in movie theater and a pet cemetery. As the crime spree escalates, Sanders adds authenticity by chipping away at Edwards's macho posturing to reveal a guilt-ridden protagonist. Lansdale provides his usual Texas setting and quirky characters, placing the events in the 1960s. The audiobook has a few loose strings, and the ending sneaks up on the listener. Nonetheless, when it comes to Lansdale, expect the unexpected. R.W.S. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Product Details
BN ID: | 2940173608147 |
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Publisher: | Hachette Audio |
Publication date: | 07/21/2020 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
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