I was waiting for some food and popped in to Barnes and Noble to peruse the shelves. Lo and behold a bevy of Jim Thompson novels in paperback in the fiction section! I couldn’t believe it as it had been since never (well about 1996) that I’ve seen a Thompson novel outside of a used book store. I picked up HELL OF A WOMAN but there were quite a few of the more popular titles there.
Of the ones I’ve read, here is how I would rank them.
Pop. 1280 – this is probably his best book. If you read only one, pick this up– just maybe not first if you are going to read others.
The Transgressors – it’s a bit similar to Pop 1280, but the main character has very different motives, he just uses similar tactics as the characters in Pop 1280/Killer Inside Me. Don’t read these first two back to back, but they are both excellent reads.
After Dark My Sweet – this is a shorter character study that should probably be one’s first Jim Thompson novel as it has ALL the elements that typically make up his novels. I’ve read this one probably 4-5 times as it can be picked up on a whim and read in a weekend.
The Getaway – Another absolute classic. What to know what El Rey is from the movie Dusk til Dawn? You get to find out.
The Grifters – Can’t leave this one out though I read it so long ago I can’t remember it well.
The Killer Inside Me – This is pretty insane but not quite as good as POP. 1280. There are a few novels with very similar main characters each with his own (insane) twist.
I’ve got a lot more to read as I’ve never heard of a few of the books in the picture above. In the Hardboiled genre, I think Thompson is the absolute. I love Hammet and a lot of the other pulp authors of that era, but Thompson just blows them to the wall. Just in case you doubt whether you should pick up Thompson’s books when you find them: his film screenplay credits include Paths of Glory and The Killing both with Kubrick.