Two classic, obsessive noir novels from the late 1950s and early 60s. "Gil Brewer is the premier architect of the Gold Medal noir."--Jack O'Connell, author of Word Made Flesh. These high-octane crime novels, originally published as pulps in 1959 and 1961 but long unavailable, have much in common: guys with cheating spouses, drinking problems, and nagging consciences launch long-shot money grabs with the wrong dames while being stalked by men with dark agendas. But like a practiced bluesman, the late Brewer improvised well within the basic structure. One of the most enjoyable aspects of both stories (but especially the superior A Taste for Sin ) is how the protagonists doggedly work out every last detail of what remain utterly crazy schemes. For instance, they'll rob a bank without knowing if the tellers' vaults can be broken into by force, but meanwhile they will replace the scratched kitchen countertop upon which they've been fashioning keys. Watching these characters make their refreshingly oddball choices underscores how formulaic many noir tales are. Brewer also displayed a gift for hard-boiled descriptions: "Cars littered the sloped lawn like discards on green felt"; "She was beating his head in with a hammer. It was a ball and peen. She was using the peen." Deliriously delicious. Frank Sennett Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved For me, Gil Brewer is the premier architect of the Gold Medal noir. --Jack O'Connell For me, Gil Brewer is the premier architect of the Gold Medal noir. --Jack O'Connell Sex-drunk men...scheming women, all in pursuit of the big payoff... noir with a vengeance. --Gregory Shepard, from his introduction Gil Brewer was born Nov. 20, 1922 in Canandaigua, NY. After leaving the army at the end of WWII, he joined his family who had settled in St. Petersburg, Florida. There he met Verlaine in 1947 and married her soon after. Brewer started by writing serious novels, but soon turned to paperback originals after a sale to Gold Medal Books in 1950. At his height, he was a brilliant writer of sharply defined noir thrillers, usually involving a male protagonist driven to crime by the sexual allure of a young siren. But unwilling to promote himself, his career took a turn for the worse after a mental breakdown, and a long decline into alcoholism. Brewer died on Jan. 9, 1983. Used Book in Good Condition