James Crumley Pořadí knih (chronologicky)

C.W. Sughrue hasn't slept through the night for months and is having trouble with his bowel movements. A recovering gunshot victim, the last thing he wants is more work from Dr Will MacKinderick. Sughrue is soon cursing as he finds himself taking on yet another dangerous case for the desperate psychoanalyst.

James Crumley first gained attention in crime fiction with his 1975 debut featuring hard-drinking private investigator Milo Milodragovitch. His 1978 novel became a seminal PI work of the late 20th century. Over the next 18 years, Crumley published only three more novels, becoming known for his meticulous craft, though none matched his early success. In this unexpected return, Milo Milodragovitch, now in a prosperous yet unfulfilling late middle age, owns a bar and motel in Texas but feels trapped in boredom. To escape, he resumes his private eye career, starting with the search for a runaway wife. During this, he encounters Enos Walker, an ex-con who has just killed a drug dealer, igniting Milo's sympathy and curiosity about Walker's past. As he investigates, Milo uncovers a web of lies and betrayals reaching back 20 years, involving a corrupt district attorney, a multimillionaire, and various associates. His journey spans from Texas to Las Vegas to Montana, filled with danger, substance abuse, and physical challenges. Ultimately, Milo emerges transformed, marking a significant evolution in his character. Crumley's skillful writing and rich characterizations elevate this tale of violence and greed, avoiding parody while maintaining a gripping narrative.

16 nouvelles inédites par les maîtres du suspense américain.

Ex-private eye C.W. Sughrue has been depressed, jobless and living in the basement of a morgue, but now a job has come up. He sets off on an odyssey of liquor, sex and gunplay to find a missing woman who has eluded the FBI and cocaine dealers.

Od soukromých detektivů se očekává, že budou pátrat po pohřešovaných osobách a chytat zločince. C. W. Sughrue však trestnou činnost možná častěji páchá, než odhaluje. Nezříká se ničeho, počínaje porušováním zákona při řízení motorových vozidel a konče drobnou kriminalitou. A všechno to splachuje pořádnými loky whisky a splínu. Po třítýdenním pátrání po úspěšném spisovateli Abrahamu Trahearnovi skončí Sughrue v zaplivaném kalifornském baru po boku buldoka závislého na alkoholu. Majitelka nálevny se detektivovi svěří, že jí před deseti lety zmizela dcera, a najme ho, aby ji našel. Před Sughruem, k němuž se záhy přidává i svérázný Trahearne, stojí nelehký úkol. Pátrání po pohřešované dívce jej totiž zavádí do těch nejskrytějších a nejtemnějších koutů sanfranciského podsvětí – do míst stejně fascinujících, děsivých a zkažených, jako je on sám.

Milo once had a thriving divorce-case business in the small town of Meriwether, in the Pacific Northwest, but because of liberal new divorce laws has taken to drinking and staring out of the window. He's up to his third drink of the morning when an attractive young woman walks into his office and asks him to find her brother.