I wanted Dani Amore on My Dark Pages for a very simple reason. She does something unique. She writes hardboiled fiction with a strong female lead. I've seen female leads in crime fiction before, but her character Mary Cooper had the strength to hang with the big boys. It's always a pleasure to see a woman write hardboiled better than many guys, because it's somewhat of a man's world. Check out Dani's choice for My Dark Pages...it's a new title to check out for me.
“Three men at McAlester State Penitentiary had larger penises than Lamar Pye, but all were black and therefore, by Lamar’s own figuring, hardly human at all.”
The year is 1995.
I have traded in copious amounts of drinking for copious amounts of writing and reading. My father has passed away, and I realize that life really can end at pretty much any moment.
With that realization, my love for crime fiction, always a bit of a secret held close to my Fair Isle sweaters, has blossomed.
I have just cracked open a novel by Stephen Hunter called DIRTY WHITE BOYS.
The above quote represents the first sentence of the novel.
It is one of the rare moments of my life when I can actually vividly remember reading a single sentence.
I stopped. I smiled. I even laughed a little. But mostly, the the line ricocheted around my skull, followed by the thought, “Fuck me, I am in for a ride.”
And I was.
DIRTY WHITE BOYS is the story of three escaped convicts and the Oklahoma State Trooper who is determined to catch them.
It is violent. Profane. Touching. Even, at times, laugh-out-loud funny. But most of all, the story is absolutely riveting.
I dare you to try to look away from the F-U-C-K and Y-O-U tattooed across Lamar Pye’s knuckles.
Or refrain from holding your breath when Trooper Bud Pewtie strolls up the driveway of a mousy little woman named Ruta Beth who murdered her parents as a teenager and is now aiding and abetting the most dangerous “buttfuckers” ever to come out of McAlester State prison.
DIRTY WHITE BOYS is a crime novel written by an author at the height of his powers. Stephen Hunter takes great enjoyment in describing these characters, as he portrays the most evil of men with just the right amount of redeeming qualities. As well as a hero struggling with an addiction that’s threatening to tear his family apart.
After I read this book, I realized how insanely powerful good crime fiction could be. In fact, it made me once and for all understand that I would never be apologetic for writing books about people with guns and bad intentions.
Hey, that’s what happens when you fall in love with some Dirty White Boys…
Dani Amore is a crime novelist living in Los Angeles, California. You can learn more about her at daniamore.com
Follow her on Twitter: @authordaniamore
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