Humdinger (pulp fiction in the tradition of elmore leonard and richard stark)

by Sam Stone

Overview

Brian doesn't sell used cars. He sells quality pre-owned vehicles. Like many salesmen, he doesn't own a car but borrows various autos from the lot. After spending the night with his girlfriend, he goes outside to warm his ride and Cirrus, a garbage man slash ex-con, deserts his trash route and steals the idling BMW. Brian can't call the law for help because his girlfriend is married to a local police detective. Rather than betray his paramour's secret, he sets out on foot to recover the car using his own wits and resources.


Danielle Perez: "This was a fun and punchy read, where the crimes are over-the-top and the characters are likeable despite being morally bankrupt."



Also available by Sam Stone:
Ring A Ding
The Hollywood Doll (A Carl Porter Mystery)
Sunset Slam (A Carl Porter Mystery)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940013361478
Publisher:	4 Boys Publishing
Publication date:	01/18/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	142 KB

About the Author

Sam Stone with friend and fellow writer Jackson Marshall:

J - Sam, your writing has clearly been influenced by writers like Elmore Leonard. What else influences the work?

S - I love cinematic crime like Hollywoodland and Confidence. Book-wise, I'm also a big fan of Erskine Caldwell. His characters are most often dirt poor and slaves to runaway libidos. So on some level it's still a bit like watching the traveling salesman being seduced into murder in Double Indemnity, they are all pretty well damned.

J - So it's more about people with complicated lives?

S - Sometimes it's simply making poor choices and other times the characters are social misfits. I can't pass an idling car without thinking it would be fun to take a joyride but it isn't such an inviting lark that I'd do it. Some people don't have that brake and these are the characters that interest me, people who wander out on a limb.

J - While writing I've often found characters taking unexpected turns I hadn't planned on...

S - Yes, I think of a scene I wrote recently where a character started saying the exact opposite of what I needed him to say and then another character played off of this switch and righted the ship in a manner that was completely unexpected. Those are the fun moments.

J - So you aren't interested in crime fiction in the 'Columbo' sense - a murder to be solved?

S - My next project is a traditional mystery but the principal character is a free spirit and feels like she's cut from the noir fabric so I'm excited about what's developing there.