Peter Rabe's body of work
is a relatively new discovery for me with the bulk of his work produced in the
fifties and sixties. His original Gold Medal paperbacks aren't easy to find, at
least in my general area. However, I did pick up the very collectible Hard CaseCrime reprint of his 1955 novel Stop This Man! I'm a big fan of the Hard Case
Crime imprint. Not only has the series introduced me to a great number of
authors; they have also upheld the classic tradition of pulp artwork as
evidenced by the cover of this book. That artwork alone makes me want to read
it without even skimming the synopsis on the back.
I must say that the tone of this novel is very bleak and straight forward with a no-nonsense style prose. I have read that Donald Westlake was influenced by Rabe's writing style and I can definitely recognize that in Westlake's pseudonym Richard Stark novels. There's just enough character development to get the story moving and as the events unfold; there are just enough tidbits of background to become completely absorbed in the action.
Much like a film or a screenplay, the narrative alternates between characters. At first, it appears to be an FBI procedural/ chase novel, but it twists again becomes a heist novel. Then it twists back again into a chase. In retrospect, I find that this is what I enjoyed most; that is, the inability to pigeonhole the type of crime story that it tells. In fact, it contains FBI, Mobsters, ex-cons, dames, botched heists, gold, and nuclear radiation! (On a side note, the film version of Mickey Spillane's Kiss Me Deadly, also produced in 1955, deals with a mysterious stolen package that contains a valuable substance that turns out to be contaminated. The two stories would make a very interesting academic comparison in a much larger work for another day.)
At first, I actually thought this novel was going to be a disappointment; yet, Rabe is able to contain these elements into a story frame without running off course in any direction. The plot begins with an ex-con's supposed final heist. It goes wrong when he manages to steal contaminated gold ore. The ex-con, Catell, is determined to avoid another prison sentence, and in his efforts to off-load his contaminated score and avoid the authorities; he manages to sicken, not only himself, but also everyone around him. Which makes tracking his where a bouts that much easier for the FBI. Catell's character has a very existentialist vibe to him and reminds me of the films of Jean-Pierre Melville, such as Le Samouri. Without guessing the ending, you already feel that this character is doomed from the start.
Overall, I would recommend Rabe’s Stop This Man!I must say that the tone of this novel is very bleak and straight forward with a no-nonsense style prose. I have read that Donald Westlake was influenced by Rabe's writing style and I can definitely recognize that in Westlake's pseudonym Richard Stark novels. There's just enough character development to get the story moving and as the events unfold; there are just enough tidbits of background to become completely absorbed in the action.
Much like a film or a screenplay, the narrative alternates between characters. At first, it appears to be an FBI procedural/ chase novel, but it twists again becomes a heist novel. Then it twists back again into a chase. In retrospect, I find that this is what I enjoyed most; that is, the inability to pigeonhole the type of crime story that it tells. In fact, it contains FBI, Mobsters, ex-cons, dames, botched heists, gold, and nuclear radiation! (On a side note, the film version of Mickey Spillane's Kiss Me Deadly, also produced in 1955, deals with a mysterious stolen package that contains a valuable substance that turns out to be contaminated. The two stories would make a very interesting academic comparison in a much larger work for another day.)
At first, I actually thought this novel was going to be a disappointment; yet, Rabe is able to contain these elements into a story frame without running off course in any direction. The plot begins with an ex-con's supposed final heist. It goes wrong when he manages to steal contaminated gold ore. The ex-con, Catell, is determined to avoid another prison sentence, and in his efforts to off-load his contaminated score and avoid the authorities; he manages to sicken, not only himself, but also everyone around him. Which makes tracking his where a bouts that much easier for the FBI. Catell's character has a very existentialist vibe to him and reminds me of the films of Jean-Pierre Melville, such as Le Samouri. Without guessing the ending, you already feel that this character is doomed from the start.
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