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The Kill-Off Audiobook
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(3.01) - 472 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Luane Devore's days are numbered. All her neighbors in the declining seaside resort town of Manduwoc want her dead. Some, like her young husband Ralph and his girlfriend Danny, want the thousands of dollars she keeps hidden under the mattress she spends her days resting on. Others want her to stop her malicious gossip--some of which could ruin lives.
Told from multiple perspectives, The Kill-Off tells the story of a woman not long for this earth--but who will finally take matters into their own hands, and when? THE KILL-OFF was the basis of Maggie Greenwald's critically acclaimed film of the same name.
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"Interesting multiple viewpoint novel by Jim Thompson. Deals with taboo subjects in a small town setting in the mid-50s. I actually really enjoyed reading and discussing in my lit & film class, comparing/contrasting with the movie Pulp Fiction."
— Janea (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“One of the finest American writers…Read Jim Thompson and take a tour of hell.”
— New Republic -
“Jim Thompson is the best suspense writer going, bar none.”
— The New York Times -
The best suspense writer going, bar none.
— The New York Times -
My favorite crime novelist-often imitated but never duplicated.
— Stephen King -
If Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett and Cornell Woolrich would have joined together in some ungodly union and produced a literary offspring, Jim Thompson would be it...His work...casts a dazzling light on the human condition.
— Washington Post -
Like Clint Eastwood's pictures it's the stuff for rednecks, truckers, failures, psychopaths and professors ... one of the finest American writers and the most frightening, [Thompson] is on best terms with the devil. Read Jim Thompson and take a tour of hell.
— The New Republic -
The master of the American groin-kick novel.
— Vanity Fair -
The most hard-boiled of all the American writers of crime fiction.
— Chicago Tribune
The Kill-Off Listener Reviews
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" Better than a whodunit. It's a whozgunnadoit? We all know someone will knock off the gossipy old lady. Which of the multiple narrators will finally do the deed? Nastily noire. "
— Jessica, 1/14/2014 -
" Not my favorite Thompson, but some interesting character development. "
— Paige, 12/10/2013 -
" A good yarn from the master of hard-boiled fiction. Not a pretty picture of small town America, but it's somewhat tame compared to the rest of Jim Thompson's work. "
— J, 12/9/2013 -
" Each chapter is told from the pov of a different character. The story is about a small town murder, hard times, singers, race relations, crazy, sinister people. "
— Liz, 11/30/2013 -
" kind of fun. My first Jim Thompson. Thanks George. Each chapter from the pov of a different character "
— Robby, 10/8/2013 -
" My least favorite of Jim Thompson's books I've read so far. It's told from the points of view of various characters, and the story is of a murder that is yet to happen, and maybe that's just too many stretches for this rambler. Still better than anything I could write. "
— Pdxjackie, 9/14/2013 -
" Rather unexceptional, compared to the other two books I've read (especially "A Swell-Looking Babe"). "
— Sean, 7/8/2013 -
" Pulito, accecante di cinismo, lucido come pochi. Per me davvero strabiliante "
— Vale, 6/12/2013 -
" Schizo goodness. "
— M.E., 1/5/2013 -
" I like Jim Thompson because his books seem so artificial, if that makes sense. They are all like, "HELLO YOU ARE READING A GRITTY, RAW, HARD-BOILED CRIME NOVEL THAT I, JIM THOMPSON, HAVE WRITTEN." Sometimes that's a bad thing, but he seems to get away with it. "
— Jessica, 10/13/2012 -
" As with every Thompson book I've read so far, I find myself really engaged, right up until the end. It just seems like we have very different ideas of how the last act should go. Still, an entertaining read, if not quite my cup of tea. "
— Roy, 7/24/2012
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.
About the Narrators
Robertson Dean has played leading roles on and off Broadway and at dozens of regional theaters throughout the country. He has a BA from Tufts University and an MFA from Yale. His audiobook narration has garnered ten AudioFile Earphones Awards. He now lives in Los Angeles, where he works in film and television in addition to narrating.
Coleen Marlo is an AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator who has been nominated for an Audie Award twice, winning in 2011. She has been awarded three Listen-Up Awards from Publishers Weekly, an AudioFile Audiobook of the Year Award in 2011, and was named Audiobook Narrator of the Year for 2010 by Publishers Weekly. She is a member of the prestigious Actors Studio and taught acting for ten years at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute. Marlo is a proud founding member of Deyan Institute of Voice Artistry and Technology.