Wild Town

Jim Thompson

Dec 2011 · Sold by Mulholland Books

About this ebook

In trouble more often than not, guilty of assault, manslaughter, and honorably discharged from the military by the skin of his teeth, David "Bugs" McKenna can't seem to help doing the right thing at the wrong time--or the wrong thing, every chance he gets.

But when he drifts his way into Ragtown, Texas, things seem to finally be turning around for Bugs. He gets his first job in years as the hotel detective of the landmark Hanlon Hotel. But now that Bugs owes deputy sheriff Lou Ford a favor, things are likely to get ugly, fast--and odds are, it'll have something to do with the bombshell wife of his Bugs' new employer...

In WILD TOWN, Jim Thompson returns to the characters from THE KILLER INSIDE ME that made his reputation, in a virtuoso, multi-character portrait of how one man's life can take a turn for the worse.

Ratings and reviews

In a dusty, sparse oil town, the tangled web of deceit sits patiently for its next victim. Unsuspecting Bug McKenna has his own problems: like being thrown in the clink at every town he stops. This town is different. He has never had a jail stay so luxurious (big red flag). When offered a pretty good gig as a hotel detective, he figures his luck has finally changed. Enter the mogul who owns the town, his philandering wife and a sequence of events that make him wish he were back on the road, grifting for survival. It was a lot safer at least. Jim Thompson began his writing career as a teenager, going on to write many paperbacks in this genre. His imagination utilized the people he came across in everyday life. Crime novels are filled with corruption and promising more action at the turn of every page. Thompson's books follow a certain subculture level in society. For instance, another of his books, "The Grifters", is made of the same type of seedy characters but with its own story line. "Wild Town" is aptly named with its dastardly reputation, devious plots and devastating outcomes. The phrase that came to mind while reading this ruffian novel was, "Can't see the forest for the trees." You see, sometimes the things going on right in front of your eyes are the ones you simply do not see. Bugs McKenna should have taken a step back for a better look before getting involved.

About the author

James Meyers Thompson was born in Anadarko, Oklahoma. He began writing fiction at a very young age, selling his first story to True Detective when he was only fourteen. Thompson eventually wrote twenty-nine novels, all but three of which were published as paperback originals. Thompson also wrote two screenplays (for the Stanley Kubrick films "The Killing" and "Paths of Glory"). An outstanding crime writer, the world of his fiction is rife with violence and corruption. In examining the underbelly of human experience and American society in particular, Thompson's work at its best is both philosophical and experimental. Several of his novels have been filmed by American and French directors, resulting in classic noir including The Killer Inside Me (1952), After Dark My Sweet (1955), and The Grifters (1963).