Cripple Creek

I had forgotten how dark these books about this lawman in Tennessee are. I remembered that I liked the way Sallis' tells a story and that John Turner is an interesting character. I also remembered that Sallis' use of language in this series is as wonderful as in his Lew Griffin mysteries. I just did......more

James Sallis is obviously in love with the sound of his own voice. But it's hard to take a writer to task for that. Kind of comes with the territory. In this case, he's walking in the oversize footsteps of James Lee Burke, as Cripple Creek relates the life and times of John Turner: a detective turne......more

Pretend it's a southern night back in some piney woods, you're sitting on the porch and it's hot and humid. No, more than that, like the air is sticky and heavy and incapable of movement. Some sadness has recently come into your life and now you're alone with some thoughts and a cold beer. Only soun......more

I'd heard of James Sallis many times over the years--always positive reviews. I'm not sure. I think the book was hurt, frankly, by ridiculously poor interior design, among other things. It's trade paperback, very short, and with huge type reminiscent of YA novels. I love the South, and all of the ch......more

I think this author writes some beautiful prose, certainly about nature--birds, storms, etc. and provocative, not in an erotic way but a thought-provoking way, of getting into people's psyches. I will be looking into other works of this author, particularly his poetry. Even though this is a series an......more