New Releases by Jim Thompson

En Nick Corey és el xèrif d''un poble de Texas de 1.280 habitants. Inofensiu i pusil·lànime, sembla més preocupat per estalviar-se conflictes que per fer complir la llei. Però sota aquesta aparença anodina, la seva ment cínica i astuta maquina sense treva. Per treure''s de sobre els problemes que l''assetgen, Corey no només xapoteja en benefici propi en la hipocresia dels seus conciutadans, sinó que exerceix la violència més abjecta. En Nick Corey és, també, un home a la deriva en un món sense esperança. «1280 hab.» és una de les novel·les més grans que ha donat el gènere negre. Tal com diu Núria Cadenes en el seu epíleg, Jim Thompson «dissecciona societats, retrata ànimes, no deixa escapatòria». Pocs escriptors com ell han estat més astuts i contundents en la seva representació de la naturalesa quotidiana del mal: la hipocresia, el racisme, el masclisme i la corrupció moral d''una societat aparentment civilitzada, però podrida fins al moll de l''os. «El meu novel·lista del gènere criminal preferit. Sovint imitat però mai igualat». Stephen King «Per a mi és un dels millors llibres del món, amb l''aire estripat i alhora casolà del text». Enric Casasses «La textura rogallosa de la veu narrativa, el ritme i els fets, que espeteguen com una canya seca contra les natges d''una mula. El lèxic i els personatges! El protagonista... Oh, quina ratota amoral i deliciosa». Maria Nicolau

Nick Corey is a terrible sheriff on purpose. He doesn''t solve problems, enforce rules or arrest criminals. He knows that nobody in tiny Potts County actually wants to follow the law and he is perfectly content lazing about, eating five meals a day, and sleeping with all the eligible women. Still, Nick has some very complex problems to deal with. Two local pimps have been sassing him, ruining his already tattered reputation. His girlfriend Rose is being terrorized by her husband. And then, there''s his wife and her brother Lenny who won''t stop troubling Nick''s already stressed mind. Are they a little too close for a brother and a sister? With an election coming up, Nick needs to fix his problems and fast. Because the one thing Nick does know is that he will do anything to stay sheriff. Because, as it turns out, Sheriff Nick Corey is not nearly as dumb as he seems. In Pop. 1280, widely regarded as a classic of mid-20th century crime, Thompson offers up one of his best, in a tale of lust, murder, and betrayal in the Deep South that was the basis for the critically acclaimed French film Coup de Torchon.

Jim Thompson''s classic The Grifters is one of the best novels ever written about the art of the con, an ingeniously crafted story of deception and betrayal that was the basis for the critically acclaimed film by Stephen Frears and Martin Scorcese. To his friends, to his coworkers, and even to his mistress Moira, Roy Dillon is an honest hardworking salesman. He lives in a cheap hotel just within his pay bracket. He goes to work every day. He has hundreds of friends and associates who could attest to his good character. Yet, hidden behind three gaudy clown paintings in Roy''s pallid hotel room, sits fifty-two thousand dollars — the money Roy makes from his short cons, his "grifting." For years, Roy has effortlessly maintained control over his house-of-cards life — until the simplest con goes wrong, and he finds himself critically injured and at the mercy of the most dangerous woman he ever met: his own mother.

Obra-prima macabra que influenciou artistas e diretores como Tarantino e Kubrick encontra seu lar na DarkSide Books Você está pronto para entrar no inferno? Está pronto para levar um soco na boca do estômago e pegar carona para um mundo sombrio e verdadeiramente perturbador? A Macabra, em parceria com a DarkSide Books, escavou mais um grande clássico da literatura policial. O Assassino em Mim é uma obra-prima suja e transgressora que transpira álcool, sangue, nicotina e imoralidade. O livro de Jim Thompson exala seus cheiros, seus vícios e seu olhar cruel sobre personagens aparentemente comuns. Thompson vai te colocar na pele e na mente de um assassino em série diante de seus objetivos, desejos e troféus. Marco da literatura noir e aclamado por sua narrativa visceral, O Assassino em Mim nos leva em uma jornada macabra pela mente de um predador. Lou Ford, o subxerife de um canto imundo no Texas dos anos 1950, aparenta ser um homem pacato e comum, querido por todos, mas guarda segredos sombrios e, aos poucos, sua personalidade perigosa surge em uma fúria visceral. Você será arremessado ao chão com uma sequência de golpes que o autor está disposto a desferir sem interrupção, e levado pela estrada empoeirada enquanto testemunha, pelo retrovisor da viatura, o pedido de socorro de outras vítimas. O livro conta com uma introdução especial do grande mestre Stephen King e também uma adaptação cinematográfica, lançada em 2010. Testemunho da força e da profundidade dessa impactante história, o filme de Michael Winterbottom, conhecido por sua abordagem crua e violenta, retrata de forma magistral a complexidade dos personagens e a atmosfera sombria que permeia a narrativa. Com elenco de talentos excepcionais e direção habilidosa, o filme traz à vida a visão perturbadora de Thompson. A Macabra e a DarkSide® Books convidam leitoras e leitores a capturar mais um monstro para a sua biblioteca. Um personagem tão real que poderia ter saído do livro Anatomia do Mal. Original, obscuro e com uma ironia violenta, Thompson cravou com unhas e dentes o seu lugar na literatura mundial. O monstro dele está pronto para morar em você. A Colheita Macabra na DarkSide Books A Macabra Filmes e a DarkSide® Books selaram um pacto eterno e inauguraram, no início de 2020, o selo Macabra para apresentar livros e quadrinhos transgressores ao público brasileiro. Casa de obras icônicas do terror como A Garota da Casa ao Lado, de Jack Ketchum, e Quando os Adams Saíram de Férias, de Mendal W. Johnson, a Macabra apresenta ao público o sombrio e chocante clássico de Jim Thompson, O Assassino em Mim. A fazenda está pronta para uma nova temporada com seus leitores macabros. MACABRA FILMES é a fazenda do terror. Compartilhamos o horror e a beleza, a vida e a morte. Brindamos com sangue as alegrias de existir. Cultivamos o primeiro suspiro, o abrir de olhos, o frio na espinha, o grito na montanha-russa, o crepúsculo e a eterna escuridão. Para nós, o medo é natural — e a vida, um presente sobrenatural. É puro terror. 100% macabra.

The classic crime novel about a kidnapping scheme gone wrong from America''s "Dimestore Dostoevsky," the basis for the noir film of the same name (Geoffrey O''Brien, poet, critic author, former editor and chief, Library of America). William "Kid" Collins was once a respected boxer. Now he''s a drifter, on the run after escaping from a mental institution. One afternoon he meets Fay, a beautiful young widow. She is smart and decent—at least when she''s sober. Soon Collins finds himself involved in a kidnapping scheme that goes drastically wrong almost before it even begins. Because the kid they''ve picked up isn''t like other kids: he''s diabetic and without insulin, he''ll die. Not the safest situation for Collins, a man for whom stress and violence have long gone hand-in-hand. After Dark, My Sweet once again displays Jim Thompson as the undisputed master of American noir. The basis of James Foley''s critically acclaimed film of the same name, with the sweep of an epic tragedy, Thompson''s classic limns the dangerous territory of honest people all-too-easily sucked into wickedness, with no way out but down. Praise for Jim Thompson: "The best suspense writer going, bar none." — The New York Times "My favorite crime novelist—often imitated but never duplicated." —Stephen King "If Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett and Cornell Woolrich would have joined together in some ungodly union and produced a literary offspring, Jim Thompson would be it . . . His work . . . casts a dazzling light on the human condition." — Washington Post "The master of the American groin-kick novel." — Vanity Fair "The most hard-boiled of all the American writers of crime fiction." — Chicago Tribune

Frank "Dolly" Dillon has a job he hates, working sales and collections for Pay-E-Zee Stores, a wife named Joyce he can''t stand, and an account balance that barely allows him to pay the bills each month. Working door-to-door one day, trying to eke money out of folk with even less of it than he has, Dolly crosses paths with a beautiful young woman named Mona Farrell. Mona''s being forced by her aunt to do things she doesn''t like, with men she doesn''t know -- she wants out, any way she can get it. And to a man who wants nothing of what he has, Mona sure looks like something he actually does. Soon Dolly and Mona find themselves involved in a scheme of robbery, murder and mayhem that makes Dolly''s blood run cold. As Dolly''s plans begin to unravel, his mind soon follows. In A Hell of a Woman, Jim Thompson offers another arresting portrait of a deviant mind, in an ambitious crime novel that ranks among his best work.

A man is drawn into a murder in "one of Jim Thompson''s best. . . . sharp and markedly individual studies in crime and punishment . . . a rattling good story'''' ( New York Times). It was supposed to be only a temporary job—something to pay the bills until Dusty could get his feet back on the ground and raise enough money for medical school. After all, there''s nothing wrong with being a bellboy at a respectable hotel like the Manton—that is, until she came along. Marcia Hillis. The perfect woman. Beautiful. Experienced. Older and wiser. The only woman to ever measure up to that other her—the one whose painful rejection Dusty can''t quite put from his mind. But while Dusty has designs on Marcia, Marcia has an agenda of her own. One that threatens to pull the Manton inside-out, use Dusty up for all he''s worth and leave him reeling and on the run, the whole world at his heels. A richly-imagined crime narrative of the Oedipal and betrayal, A Swell-Looking Babe is Thompson at his very best—a cornerstone in Thompson''s enduring legacy as the Dimestore Dostoyevsky of American fiction. Praise for Jim Thompson: "A blisteringly imaginative crime novelist . . . violent, amoral, terse and fast moving . . . a classic American writer." — Kirkus Reviews "My favorite crime novelist. Often imitated, but never duplicated." —Stephen King

A desperate dream. A love triangle gone horribly wrong. From the author Stephen King calls "my favorite crime novelist—often imitated but never duplicated." Joe Wilmot can''t stand his wife Elizabeth. But he sure loves her movie theater. It''s a modest establishment in a beat-down town—but Joe has the run of the place, and inside its walls, he''s king. Without the theater, he''d be sunk. Without his leadership, the theater would close in a heartbeat. If it isn''t the life Joe imagined for himself, at the very least, it''s livable. Everything changes when Joe falls for the housemaid, and the two can''t keep it a secret from Elizabeth. Elizabeth won''t leave Joe the theater unless he provides for her . . . but he''s put all his money into the show house. Elizabeth and Joe''s only hope are the life insurance policies they''ve taken out on each other. If one of them were to be presumed dead, they''d have more than enough money to solve all their problems . . . In this incisive foray into the dark dealings of the mid-20th century movie industry, Jim Thompson lives up to his reputation as "the master of the American groin-kick novel" ( Vanity Fair). Praise for Jim Thompson "The best suspense writer going, bar none." ― The New York Times "The most hard-boiled of all the American writers of crime fiction." ― Chicago Tribune "If Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett and Cornell Woolrich would have joined together in some ungodly union and produced a literary offspring, Jim Thompson would be it . . . His work . . . casts a dazzling light on the human condition." ― The Washington Post

A gambler looking to score big takes his game to Texas and finds himself in a load of trouble in this classic hard-boiled crime novel. To everyone he''s every played dice with, Mitch Corley seems like the luckiest guy around. But in truth, Corley''s fast hands are the only gift fate''s ever given him. He''s never held down a steady job, and when it comes to women, his luck might just be the worst of all — his girlfriend and partner-in-crime Red would double-cross him in a heartbeat if she knew just how short on cash they really were. And if Red ever finds out about the wife Corley neglected to mention, there''s a good chance that Corley might not survive the night. At first, Mitch was sure Texas would be the perfect place for him and Red to run their game — there are players in nearly every back room and side-street across the state and here, the pockets run just a little deeper. But Corley forgot about one thing: Texans don''t forgive easily. And there''s nothing they hate more than a cheater. "Jim Thompson must be ranked in the top bracket. I strongly urge you not to miss one of his books." —Anthony Boucher, New York Times "Thompson''s novels are plaintive and obscene, raucous and bitterly funny." — The Village Voice

The classic heist thriller from "the master of the American groin-kick novel"—the basis for the movie starring Steve McQueen ( Vanity Fair ). Doc McCoy is the most skilled criminal alive. But when for the first time in Doc''s long criminal career, his shot doesn''t hit the mark, everything begins to fall apart. And Doc begins to realize that the perfect bank robbery isn''t complete without the perfect getaway to back it up. The Getaway is the classic story of a bank robbery gone horribly wrong, where the smallest mistakes have catastrophic consequences, and shifting loyalties lead to betrayals and chaos. The basis for the classic Steve McQueen film of the same name, as well as a 1994 remake with Alec Baldwin, Thompson''s novel set the bar for every heist story that followed—but as Thompson''s proved time and again, nobody''s ever done it better than the master. Praise for Jim Thompson "The best suspense writer going, bar none." — The New York Times "My favorite crime novelist—often imitated but never duplicated." —Stephen King "My man in crime fiction." —Jo Nesbø "If Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and Cornell Woolrich would have joined together in some ungodly union and produced a literary offspring, Jim Thompson would be it . . . His work casts a dazzling light on the human condition." — The Washington Post

When a West Texas lawman is swindled out of his oil rights, revenge leads to murder in this classic noir from "the best suspense writer going, bar none" ( New York Times). Deputy sheriff Tom Lord knows by now that far-west Texas is the place he''ll always call home. He''s spent too much time in the region''s small towns to adapt to another place. And that''s all right with him. What''s not all right is being a deputy sheriff, where if it weren''t for family misfortune, he might have been a doctor instead. Lord''s got one ace-in-the-hole—the land deed that makes him the biggest landowner in the county, just as the oil companies have started to move in. When Tom''s approached by Aaron McBride of Highlands Oil and Gas with a contract to set up pipelines on his property, he''s more than happy to sign on the dotted line with barely more than a cursory glance at the paperwork—it just might be Lord''s way out of a life he never wanted in the first place. But when Lord finds out just what that contract entailed, things start to go sour for Aaron McBride—and fast. Because in this Texas town, Lord''s the law—and there''s nothing more dangerous than a cop with nothing left to lose. "My favorite crime novelist. Often imitated, but never duplicated." —Stephen King "If Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett and Cornell Woolrich would have joined together in some ungodly union and produced a literary offspring, Jim Thompson would be it . . . His work . . . casts a dazzling light on the human condition." — Washington Post "The most hard-boiled of all the American writers of crime fiction." — Chicago Tribune

Everyone in Kenton Hills knows that short-tempered, tongue-tied Bob Talbert wasn''t the one responsible for the brutal crime that ended Josie Eddleman''s life. Nevermind that he was the last one to see her alive. But in a town filled with the likes of an amoral tabloid reporter known only as The Captain, a district attorney who''ll do anything for a confession, and Bob''s parents, who care as little for Bob as they do for each other, guilt and innocence are little more than a matter of perspective. In a masterfully woven tapestry of multiple points of view, The Criminal explores the nature of guilt and responsibility in a psychological thriller of an entire town under the spell of an act of brutal violence. Jim Thompson unlike you''re ever read him before.

War changed Clinton Brown. Permanently disfigured by a tragic military accident, he''s struggling to find satisfaction from life as a rewrite man for Pacific City''s Courier. Shame has led him to isolate himself from closest friends and even his estranged, still faithfully devoted wife, Ellen. Only the bottle keeps him company. But now Ellen has returned to Pacific City, and she''s ready to do whatever it takes to get Brown back. Even if it means exposing his deepest secret ... a painful truth Brown would do anything to stop from coming to light. He''d kill a whole lot of people just to keep this one thing quiet--and soon enough, the bodies just happen to start piling up around him... THE NOTHING MAN is Thompson at his most psychologically astute, in a deeply suspenseful and tragic portrait of one man''s journey through the dark side of the Postwar Boom.

In the rural town of Verdon, Nebraska, in the early days of the 20th century, you can''t go ten feet without running into one of the Fargos. So, Grant Fargo argues to his grandfather Lincoln, it''s perfectly all right that he''s desperately in love with his first cousin, Bella-she''s the only source of intelligent conversation for miles, and in a town like Verdon, it would be hard not to end up with a relative of one kind or another. Before it all plays out, men will be murdered, jailed, tarred and feathered or worse, and while everyone in the Fargo clan would kill for the family deeds, God might just end up with them instead. In Heed the Thunder, one of Thompson''s earlier works, Thompson''s signature style collides with a sweeping picaresque of the American prairie, in a multigenerational saga that''s one part Steinbeck, two parts Dostoyevsky, and all Jim Thompson.

Britton Rainstar never knew he could love a woman as deeply as he does Manuela Aloe and be so terrified of her at the same time. It''s not just that he thinks she''s out of his league. It''s more that the longer he stays with her, the closer to death he seems to come. A vicious dog is somehow let loose in his hotel room. He''s threatened at gunpoint by a man in a skeleton costume. And when he finally ends up in the hospital, someone pushes his wheelchair down the stairs. Nothing anything like this has ever happened to Britt before--and while Manuela''s never around when the so-called "accidents" happen, neither can Britt prove she''s behind the many threats on his life. Is a rival for Manuela''s affections trying to chase him away? Is there more to Manuela herself than meets the eye? Whatever it is, Britt better find out fast--before whoever''s after him hits their mark, and the man who never thought he''d land the ultimate girl ends up paying the ultimate price.

Dr. Peter S. Murphy needs fifteen thousand dollars by the end of the day, or the city of Los Angeles can say goodbye to the El Healtho clinic. A recovery center for the most severe cases of alcoholism in the state -- even if no one ever does quite seem to get dry there -- El Healtho has been the bane of Dr. Murphy''s existence ever since he started running it. But now that its doors are about to close forever, Dr. Murphy finds he''ll do anything to keep it open. Up to and including admitting Humphrey Van Twyne III, a patient with an extremely violent past whose wealthy family has the means to keep El Healtho open for business. Sure, the man isn''t exactly an alcoholic. And yes, what he really needs is to be under the care of the surgeons who performed the lobotomy that''s rendered Van Twyne all but a vegetable. But the money''s good -- until the rag-tag group of ne''er-do-wells at El Healtho begin to wreak havoc with Dr. Murphy''s plans, and suddenly no one day has ever seemed so long. A literary precursor to One Flew Over the Cuckoo''s Nest, The Alcoholics is Thompson like you''ve never read him before, a pitch-black, mad-cap portrait of deviant behavior that is at once darkly comic, humane and harrowing.

The legendary author of The Getaway delivers a suspenseful tale of an ailing woman who awaits her own murder—until she turns the tables on her would-be assassins. Luane Devore''s days are numbered. All her neighbors in the declining seaside resort town of Manduwoc want her dead. Some, like her young husband Ralph and his girlfriend Danny, want the thousands of dollars she keeps hidden under the mattress she spends her days resting on. Others want her to stop her malicious gossip—some of which could ruin lives. Told from multiple perspectives, The Kill-Off tells the story of a woman not long for this earth . . . but who will finally take matters into her own hands. This classic crime novel from Jim Thompson, one of the masters of the genre, was the basis of Maggie Greenwald''s critically acclaimed film of the same name.

From "the best suspense writer going, bar none," a convict transferred from prison to the care of a psychologist becomes an accomplice to murder ( New York Times). Patrick Cosgrove used to think he''d do anything not to be a prisoner of Sandstone State Reformatory. Fifteen years on the inside for a victimless crime, under the care of a warden whose penchant for violence is legendary—surely nothing could be worse. But when an unbelievably Samaritan act by a psychologist he''s never met places Cosgrove in the care of Roland "Doc" Luther, Cosgrove''s not so sure he hasn''t traded the frying pan for the fire after all. On the one hand, Doc claims that Cosgrove owes him nothing, and seems at times like the most decent man alive. But at other times, Doc''s potential for cruelty seems unimaginable. As it turns out, freedom''s not as freeing as he thought it would be—especially when it might end up getting him killed. Praise for Jim Thompson: "My favorite crime novelist. Often imitated, but never duplicated." —Stephen King "If Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett and Cornell Woolrich would have joined together in some ungodly union and produced a literary offspring, Jim Thompson would be it . . . His work . . . casts a dazzling light on the human condition." — Washington Post "The most hard-boiled of all the American writers of crime fiction." — Chicago Tribune

Singing is one of the most repeated commands in Holy Scripture. It’s right up there with “believe” and “do not fear.” But commands like these can feel vaguely spiritual, intangible, or esoteric. You might not know if you’re doing them right. Not so with singing. You just open your mouth and make it happen. And when we do, we often get the sense that God is up to something, that he has designed singing to change us. But how? How does singing do its transformative work? Why has God hard-wired singing with such power? What does Scripture teach us about the gift of song? What did the songs of Scripture feel like and sound like? Why does singing awaken something so visceral and emotional within us? And what are the results of being changed by the power of song? Behind all of these questions lies a creative, songful God. He delights in singing. He extends to us a melodic mission. He invites us into intimacy with himself and with his people, and singing is more essential to the journey than we have yet to believe.

The first self-loading rifle to see widespread military use, the robust M1 Garand survived the tests of battle from World War II to Vietnam, and it remains a favorite among competition shooters and collectors to this day. In this heavily illustrated, practical history, author Jim Thompson, a longtime M1 shooter and collector, tells the complete story of the rifle''s development, look, feel, and function. A thoroughly researched overview of the M1 Garand goes beyond industrial histories and provides background on manufacturers and stateside sources as well as discussing ammunition and accuracy. Detailed photo sections present: Early and World War II rifles World War II and postwar rebuilds (including rare postwar rifles from the US and Italy) Special purpose rifles and rarities, including sniper, match, and competition rifles plus the T26 Spinoffs and derivatives, including the M14, M1A, and BM.59 In addition, reprinted and heavily annotated military and National Match manuals, an updated troubleshooting chart, and a section on reloading provide valuable functional data and rules of thumb with the shooter in mind. Collectors will benefit from an extensive parts compendium. The final part of the book, dedicated to the enjoyment and maintenance of the M1, addresses some common questions about the rifle and offers detailed instruction on some expert procedures for maintaining and smoothing this wartime classic.

Tommy est un simple gars de la campagne. Il aurait sans doute mené une vie sans histoire s''il n''avait pas rencontré Mary et Donna... Nouvelle traduction intégrale d’un classique de Jim Thompson publié pour la première fois à la « Série noire » en 1970 sous le titre Deuil dans le coton.

Lou Ford, el sheriff adjunto de una pequeña localidad de Texas, es un hombre de apariencia cordial, simpático y tranquilo. Todas las personas que le rodean están cómodas con él. Pero esa fachada de normalidad, que él mismo ha ido construyendo con paciencia después de haber cometido un crimen en su juventud, empieza a resquebrajarse cuando lo que él llama «la enfermedad» empieza a abrirse paso en su mente. En el momento en que su aletargada faceta oscura consiga por fin imponerse y salir desbocada, las consecuencias para su vida y las de los demás pueden ser imprevisibles. Maestro en retratar el reverso criminal de la mente humana, Jim Thompson alcanzó con El asesino dentro de mí unas cotas de perfección que ningún otro escritor ha superado. Una de las novelas más duras, descarnadas e ingeniosamente perversas de toda la literatura moderna.

Jim Thompson’s sinewy, brutal, and beloved novel comes to life in this graphic noir-novel! In The Killer Inside Me, Thompson went where few have dared, giving us a pitch-black glimpse into the mind of the American serial killer years before Charles Manson, John Wayne Gacy, and Brett Easton Ellis’ American Psycho, in the novel that will forever be known as the master performance of one of the greatest crime novelists of all time.

Quand on mesure un mètre cinquante avec des talonnettes, qu''on parait dix-sept ans au lieu des trente qu''on croit avoir, qu''on est presque aveugle et en train de crever de tuberculose, on a du mal à se faire prendre au sérieux. Mais ce n''est sûrement pas par hasard si c''est à vous qu''on offre 30.000 dollars pour descendre un mafioso trop bavard. Et ce n''est pas par hasard non plus que deux superbes filles vous tombent dans les bras, même si l''une d''elles souffre d''une infirmité sur laquelle vous aimeriez bien en savoir davantage... Nuit de fureur est un chef d''oeuvre. On y retrouve les thèmes chers à Thompson : l''érotisme noir, poussé jusqu''à une sorte de perfection ; le fétichisme des corps torturés ; l''effroi et la fascination des âmes écartelées, en équilibre sur l''arête qui les sépare de l''abîme, (François Forestier, Polar).

“Always ready, always there” is the official motto of the United States National Guard. This military branch is presented through the eyes of a child whose cousin upholds that motto every day as a member of this reserve military force. Readers get an in-depth look at what it’s like to have a family member in the military. The text also explores the history of this branch, its modern-day operations, and its members’ unique lifestyle. Fact boxes and photographs present other topics, such as the National Guard’s tools and technology and career opportunities. By the end of the text, readers gain a full understanding of the sacrifices made by the brave men and women—and their families—of the U.S. National Guard.

Südlich vom Himmel: Für die einen ist das die Hölle, für andere die harten Ölbohrarbeiten unter der Sonne von Texas. So eine Geschichte erzählt der junge Tommy Burwell, der bei einer Ölgesellschaft anheuert. Für Tommy beginnt eine harsche Zeit, denn sein alter Kumpel Four Trey Whitey setzt ihn für Sprengarbeiten ein. In diesem von hemmungsloser Gewalt geprägten Milieu muss Tommy sich seinen Platz erkämpfen. Er lebt ein Leben in Blut, Schweiß und Tränen. Als die Brüder seiner Freundin Carol planen, die Lohnkasse zu rauben, wird es eng für Tommy ... »Jim Thompson ist der beste Spannungsautor, keine Diskussion!« (The New York Times) »Seine besten Geschichten gehen weit über das Genre hinaus, nicht nur weil sie vom Mord erzählen aus der Perspektive der Täter, sondern weil diese Täter sich zu ihren Taten eine ganze Philosophie erfinden, eine Theologie des Mordes und die Moral dazu.« (Der Spiegel) »Oft kopiert, nie erreicht - Jim Thompson ist mein liebster Krimiautor.« (Stephen King)