The Literate Kitty

If Charlie Hardie—the hero of author Duane Swierczynski’s Fun & Games —was channeling Bruce Willis as tough cop Officer John McClane in all his Die Hard , “Yippee-ki-yay, m***...!” glory (and believe me, he was ), then the follow-up, Hell & Gone , finds him walking in the footsteps of Willis’ conflicted convict James Cole from Twelve Monkeys , with a bit of Alice in Wonderland (if Alice were a bruiser sporting a five-o’clock shadow) and its down-the-rabbit-hole trippiness thrown in for good measure. Intrigued?  You should be, because Swierczynski is the real deal when it comes to delivering pulse-pounding, visually-dynamic, explosively-energetic, and insanely-addictive action-suspense-crime-fiction thrillers.  And, as outrageously good as the first in the Hardie trilogy (see my review here  ) was? I think the second, Hell & Gone , is that much better. ✠  ✠  ✠  ✠  ✠  ✠  ✠ Hell & Gone picks up right where the previous book l...

My earliest exposure to "pulp fiction" was Quentin Tarantino's aptly-named  movie masterpiece. It never dawned on me, though, that it was a genre I could read . Until, that is, Duane Swierczynski’s Fun & Games  came across my desk, intriguing me with its mix of familiar-enough territory (noir-ish mystery) and the promise of a little extra kapow (over-the-top action scenes in a bizarre-o setting). And I knew it was time to take the plunge. ____________________________________________________________________________ First, let's do a little drive-by,  to make sure all the key ingredients are present and accounted for in the true  pulp fashion.  Hardboiled action hero? Check. Charlie Hardie is an ex-Philly-cop, as tough as old boots, who’s been trying to escape a lot of bad memories by consuming copious amounts of booze.  Beautiful damsel-in-distress? Check. Lane Madden is a gorgeous young actress, on the run from some very bad people.  Which brings u...