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A Hell of a Woman Audiobook
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(3.01) - 1,222 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
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.
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"This was my first Jim Thompson book I have read and I wasnt disappointed. The dialogue is so brilliant and keeps you intrigued and what I liked is it is from another time and place in the 1950s. The words he uses to describe the characters and the story are like something out of a Bogart movie but the difference is you know everything the main protagonist is thinking and feeling all along giving this such realism, honesty, and depth. I was hooked right away into the story and didnt want to put this down. My father-in-law was a door to door salesman and I feel Thompson knew my father-in-law. The reader did a great job and his inflections were very realistic. I also liked how Thompson didint get into the details of the sex and the gore and just continued telling the story with the reader knowing exactly what happened. I see why his books are sought after and the PBO's (Paperback Originals) sell for high dollars. I plan on reading The Killer Inside Me and The Alcoholics for my next Thompson selections. A Hell of a Writer!"
— Tom (5 out of 5 stars)
A Hell of a Woman Listener Reviews
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" Absolutely Consuming. The first book in years that has Kept me awake until the very last page. "
— Andy, 2/16/2014 -
" Very dragging didn't get very far and decided to read something else. "
— Stefanie, 2/2/2014 -
" A classic with a crazed twist. I read this many years ago and loved it. A must read! "
— Dave, 1/28/2014 -
" I enjoyed this story of a loser who is taking dumb risks allowingly under the heel of two women, his abusive wife and the alluring femme fatale. The signature writing in this book stands apart from that in the incredible "Pop.1280", which was my first Thompson novel, this is my second. In addition to the sharp straight story-telling continuity, he takes inspired formal liberties such as a torn personality inner dialouge towards the end, and a whole lot of chapters starting with the word - Well. I didn't find the conclusion where the protagonist falls into madness very compelling nor climactic, rather unrealistic, which some might call "surreal" to give it a more positive spin. Reagardless it's worthwhile reading. "
— Anders, 1/27/2014 -
" The definition of Noir. "
— Neil, 1/23/2014 -
" Another good book from Jim Thompson, that is if you like to read about murder. "
— Phillip, 1/16/2014 -
" 3.5 instead of 3. Think Crime & Punishment crossed with Tomato Red w. more gender-hatred for both sexes. Wow. "
— Elizabeth, 1/2/2014 -
" This is really the only book from Jim Thompson that I wouldn't really recommend. Yes, the kind of incest thing is weird, but it was more than that that put me off. I suppose the main character wasn't bad enough or slick enough. "
— Melissa, 12/2/2013 -
" I had a difficult time with this Jim Thompson novel mainly because the protagonist is not a sympathetic character. "
— Matt, 11/30/2013 -
" I liked every Jim Thompson book I ever read. Pop. 1280 was probably the favorite "
— Slim, 11/11/2013 -
" Dostoevsky without hope. "
— Tomas, 10/14/2013 -
" a great example of the strength of narrative voice- the sociopath narrator will keep you interested in the story. "
— Irmak, 7/24/2013 -
" Its like watching Cops on television, you know what is going to happen, but you cannot stop looking, or in this case reading. Simple pleasure at its best. "
— Patrick, 6/27/2013 -
" very good story, just don't read it if you are easily depressed. "
— Ryan, 2/28/2013 -
" Apparently this gets compared to Crime and Punishment quite a bit. Which is funny, because this book is actually good. "
— Alfred, 5/27/2012
About Jim Thompson
Jim Thompson (1906–1977) 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. He eventually wrote twenty-nine novels, all but three of which were published as paperback originals, and two screenplays, for the Stanley Kubrick films The Killing and Paths of Glory. An outstanding crime writer, he created a world of fiction rife with violence and corruption. In examining the underbelly of human experience and American society in particular, he was both philosophical and experimental. Several of his novels have been filmed by American and French directors, resulting in classic noir such as The Killer inside Me, After Dark My Sweet, and The Grifters.