::READERS REVIEWS::

The Killer Inside Me - For a book written in 1952 for The Killer Inside Me to have lasted so long in peoples minds speaks to the writing of Jim Thompson. Thompson, a writer I began reading after discovering James Ellroy wrote mainly in the hard boiled noir type novels and thats one of the main things of Killer's plot. On the surface the curious antihero of the tale Lou Ford hiding his monstrous proclivities behind a carefully composed persona, kills a bevy of people and in the tradition of a good noir spends his time trying cover his crimes. But coming from the first person perspective of Ford things are a bit different. From one angle He admits to wanting to kill one main person because of a slight to his family, believing the father of a victim had his brother killed. Could it be true? It doesn't really matter as Fords psyche begins to concot more and more different reasons as to why He has to kill more people hoping We his audience will understand. Whats great though is the ending of the book where a lot more is unsaid than said and the authorities slowly close in on Ford until the ending which is excellent.
Like I said the writing is excellent and for fans of killer fiction, or noir its a definite recommendation from me for the just terrific writing in general. Thompson gets in the mind of his character perfectly and its one you won't forget.

Gripping, but slightly incoherent - The story and the atmosphere keep this piece above water, but the style is flat and feeble. After all, the ending is rewarding in its unexpectedness.

A intricate tale of corruption, revenge, and love lost. - A Killer Inside Me is just as relevant today as any crime fiction being written by those that are currently at the top including some of my favorites: Ken Bruen, George Pelecanos, Dennis Lehane, Michael Connelly, etc.

This book follows a deputy sheriff by the name of Lou Ford. Little does anyone in a small texas town suspect him of murder. But what unfolds will shock some and leave others just shaking there heads. A lot of the novel is bleak, dark, and very intricate. Some of the lines written in this book are brilliant.

If you like this, read Once were Cops by Ken Bruen, very similar story in that it follows a deranged psychopath around NYC, who just happens to be a cop. A very excellent read.

Not worth the time - What a disappointment. This book is being filmed in my community and I was anxious to read it. Boring! Predictable until the last chapter and then just a let down. If you enjoy reading about a perverted, sick man who kills people just to kill them - well have at it! The author does not make much of a subplot and the story line is muddled throughout. I don't even think I will waste my time at the movie - even if it was filmed in one of my favorite restaurants. Nothing redeemable here.

A Killer Book - After seeing the movie American Psycho (see this movie for Christian Bale's performance alone) I was interested in the fact that it was based on a novel. There really doesn't seem to be to many writers that are willing to put there story in the first person perspective of a serial killer so I checked it out. After reading that novel the only word that I could think of to describe it was tedious. I honestly could not have finished it fast enough and it is one of the few instances where the movie is much better than the book. However when looking at that book on Amazon I came across this novel and was surprised to see that it was written in the early 50's by a writer who became known as one of the best in the hard boiled thriller novelas. Intrigued I was so I bought this book and have to say that this was everything I hoped for and then some.

The stories protagonist is Lou Ford who is a Sheriffs Deputy in a small oil town in the early 1950's Texas. He is the son of a late and respected doctor of that town and everybody seems to like him. In fact really the only bad thing you can say about him is that he is boring as hell and a little slow. But nothing is what it seems and Lou is actually a cold, calculating sociopath who has been dealing with his "sickness" for fifteen years and just can't fight against it anymore. And after a behind the scenes meeting with a Union manager and a confrontation with the town whore the dominos begin to tumble as Lou plans to give into his sickness for the last time. Or is it? Where the story goes from here is quite disturbing and yet quite fun to read. It's like a horrible car accident. It's disturbing and scarring to view but for some reason you just can't look away.

This was my first Jim Thompson book and I can assure you it will not be the last. His writing is loose and readible and just seems to flow. He knows his character Lou so well you will begin to doubt his sanity. What's even more interesting is the fact that there are so many funny moments (or at least I thought they were funny) throughout this book. One minute I would be laughing my head off and the next I would be squirming from what Lou was doing next. Truly the sign of a great writer. To bad many contemporary readers have no I idea who he is.

All in all this gets my highest recommendation for any mystery / thriller fan or for anybody who loves to get a little scare before the lights go out (Stephen King fans will love Jim Thomposn).

If stomach-turning, misogynistic violence is your thing, look no further - On the front cover of this book there is a quote from Stanley Kubrick calling it "the most chilling and believable first-person story of a criminally warped mind I have ever encountered." Sorry, Mr. Kubrick, I disagree. Maybe it is just changing times, or my changing mind, but I found this book sickening and heartless. It is the story of a deputy sheriff in a small Texas town who begins beating and killing people, particularly women. He has some reason for what he is doing - desire to get revenge on the rich businessman who was responsible for his brother's death - but what he is doing is so crazy and evil that it makes for painful reading. He gets real pleasure out of beating the women to a pulp also, and they come back for more. Did this kind of thing really go on 50 years ago? Whatever - it is no fun to read about now. And I am not someone who only enjoys reading poems about butterflies - I do like a good noir title or mystery. Thompson is not the most talented writer ever, altho I did enjoy his autobiographical book "Roughneck" a lot.

Not getting it... - I'm sorry to be critical of you amazingly eloquent reviewers, and I have not read every review, I would have to be daft. But does no one address the fantasy portion of this book? The turning point from reality? Was it when he started hearing the Pappas boy's voice in the prison cell? Was it a "subconscious conscience" trying to break through? We know they did not play a recording. Was it when he saw the slide show on the wall in his room in the sanitarium? We saw the nurse look at him like he was crazy when he mentioned it to her and we know it had no rhyme or reason, anyway. So is he crying inside because of the way his life unfolded? Does anyone not know there was absolutely no reality to the ending? He hadn't really been sitting there in an alcohol/gas soaked house, with a butcher knife, anticipating Joyce to walk in. And the instant the knife goes in, a choreographed inferno erupts because the cops fired some guns. Fraid not. And why was he actually in an institution? Because somebody did indeed declare him insane? And how did Billy Bob get him out of there? Did he materialize a release order? Or was it just because he was walking down the hall screaming Lou's name and they said get this lunatic out of here and take this other lunatic with you?

It doesn't make any sense, folks. I may be the only dissenter in history, here. But it just doesn't make any sense.

Prove me wrong.

A CULT FAVORITE - This is a shocking first person narrative told by a murderer. It is riveting and driven by a spell-binding author of great, understated talent. Once you pick it up you will not put it down. The pages will melt away like ice in Texas summer heat . Our killer maintains the facade of an always smiling, always friendly talking deputy sherriff. The devil takes an attractive form. This facade enables our cold-blooded serial murderer to sidle up close and personal to situations where he can do his worst. There is real kinky S & M sex here. The understatement of the kinky sex is so nuanced it bears out the maxim that less is more. Between the kinky sex and brutality of the murders the hairs on my neck stood up. A classic. Riveting. Timeless. Compelling. Truly a journey into the dark side of the human mind, body , and soul.

Playboy's best book for a manly read? C'mon, man! You can do better than this! - (Originally published at Basil & Spice)

I first heard of this book while reading a short article in Playboy magazine about the best books for real men. Playboy put this 1952-era crime noir novel at the top of that list. Then I heard that a movie version was headed our way, starring Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson and Jessica Alba. So, curiosity inspired me to give it a try. Like the magazine that recommended it, The Killer Inside Me turns out to be dated and a bit of a bore. Now I'm struggling to understand all the fuss.

As a fan of hard-boiled crime novels and true crime nonfiction, I have tried to include readings from the roots of those genres to understand them better. Sad to say, I am usually disappointed when I compare the masters of the 1940s and 50s--like Raymond Chandler and Mickey Spillane--with their literary descendants of these days--Elmore Leonard, Jeffery Deaver and Dennis Lehane come quickly to mind. The Killer Inside Me should be read in that vein, as an example of a more primitive literary time. Students of noir who can put themselves into a black-and-white frame-of-mind will want to include this on their resumes. The author, Jim Thompson, died in 1977 at the age of 70. But modern readers in search of entertainment should look elsewhere.

The Killer Inside Me could make an intriguing period-piece of a movie. The book tells the story through the eyes of a psychopathic deputy sheriff in a small West Texas oil town. It details Lou Ford's final crimes and delves into what he calls his "sickness"--the killer inside him. The 2010 movie is a remake of an earlier film from 1976 that starred Stacy Keach. But neither could ever match the FX series The Shield: Complete Seriesfor a stark portrayal of police corruption--another symptom of generation gap with this book..

Thompson authored several successful cinematic crime novels, including The Getaway (Deluxe Edition)and The Grifters (Miramax Collector's Series). But he received minimal recognition in his lifetime. His novels were resurrected in 1980 by the Vintage Crime Black Lizard unit of Random House. The Killer Inside Me has been touted as Thompson's finest work with Thompson described by some as the "dimestore Dostoyevsky" for the book's raw portrayal of a violent man fighting his demons. Many of his themes appear autobiographical from his youth as the son of an Oklahoma sheriff to his work in the Texas oil fields and briefly as a newspaper reporter for the Los Angeles Mirror. He honed his fiction credentials by taking newspaper crime events and turning them into short stories told imaginatively from the perspective of the criminal.

He worked most prominently as a screen writer for the film director Stanley Kubrick, notably on the classic Paths of Glory. Kubrick is quoted in a blurb on the Vintage Crime edition of The Killer Inside Me, describing this book as "Probably the most chilling and believable first-person story of a criminally warped mind I have ever encountered."

Kubrick either owed Jim Thompson a big favor, or, he hadn't read much dime store Dostoyevsky. Probably the latter.

If stomach-turning, misogynistic violence is your thing, look no further - On the front cover of this book there is a quote from Stanley Kubrick calling it "the most chilling and believable first-person story of a criminally warped mind I have ever encountered." Sorry, Mr. Kubrick, I disagree. Maybe it is just changing times, or my changing mind, but I found this book sickening and heartless. It is the story of a deputy sheriff in a small Texas town who begins beating and killing people, particularly women. He has some reason for what he is doing - desire to get revenge on the rich businessman who was responsible for his brother's death - but what he is doing is so crazy and evil that it makes for painful reading. He gets real pleasure out of beating the women to a pulp, and then they come back for more. Did this kind of thing really go on 50 years ago? Whatever - it is no fun to read about now. And I am not someone who only enjoys reading poems about butterflies - I do like a good noir title or mystery. Thompson is not the most talented writer ever, altho I did enjoy his autobiographical book "Roughneck" a lot.

Very Creepy - I had to read this book for a class. I know what you're thinking, "For class? What class was this, Murder 101?" Well, not quite. We read dark novels from the first person perspective. And that is exactly what this book is. The reader gets into the head of a killer and watches, almost feels the protaganist slowly go insane. While there are grittier books out there, this was still very creepy to read. It does have a good amout of plot movement though, very few boring, slow passages, but you alomost wish there were more so there is less blood and crazy.