- Paperback: 211 pages
- Publisher: Melville House Publishing (4 Oct 2011)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1935554573
- ISBN-13: 978-1935554578
- Product Dimensions: 14 x 1.5 x 20.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,568,649 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
He Died with His Eyes Open (Factory 1)
and over 900,000 other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"'A crackerjack of a crime novel, unafraid to face the reality of man's and woman's evil' Evening Standard 'A unique crime writer whose fictional world was brutal, realistic and harrowing in the extreme' Maxim Jakubowski, Guardian 'Peopled by a fast-talking shower of queens, spades, morries, slags, shysters, grifters and grafters of every description, The Crust on its Uppers is one of the great London novels' New Statesman 'A State of Denmark is a fascinating and important novel by one of our best writers in or outside of any genre' Time Out"
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
As it turns out, a dead man can tell stories...
Murders are a dime a dozen in Margaret Thatcher's London, and when it comes to the brutal killing of a middle-aged alcoholic found dumped outside of town, Scotland Yard has more important cases to deal with.
Instead it's a job for the Department of Unexplained Deaths and its head Detective Sergeant. With only a box of cassette-tape diaries as evidence the rogue detective has no chouce but to listen to the haunting voice of the victim for clues to his gruesome end.
The first book in Derek Raymond's acclaimed Factory Series is an unflinching yet deeply compassionate portrait of a city plagued by poverty and perversion, and a policeman who may be the only one who cares about the "people who don't matter and who never did."
Murders are a dime a dozen in Margaret Thatcher's London, and when it comes to the brutal killing of a middle-aged alcoholic found dumped outside of town, Scotland Yard has more important cases to deal with.
Instead it's a job for the Department of Unexplained Deaths and its head Detective Sergeant. With only a box of cassette-tape diaries as evidence the rogue detective has no chouce but to listen to the haunting voice of the victim for clues to his gruesome end.
The first book in Derek Raymond's acclaimed Factory Series is an unflinching yet deeply compassionate portrait of a city plagued by poverty and perversion, and a policeman who may be the only one who cares about the "people who don't matter and who never did."
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
He was found in the shrubbery in front of the Word of God House in Albatross Road, West Five. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
He was found in the shrubbery in front of the Word of God House in Albatross Road, West Five. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Weclome reissue of original British noir writer,
By Rimbaud (UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: He Died with His Eyes Open (Paperback)
Derek Raymond was the pseudonym of Robin Cook (used to avoid confusion with the medical thriller writer of the same name) who, despite his upper class background, ended up involved in the demimonde of criminality, alcoholism and drug abuse. He wrote 5 crime novels in his 'Factory' series as well as several other non-series novels set in Soho and France where he lived for a long time. The books were published from the 60s until early 90s (he died in 1994).This book is the first in the 'Factory' series (the 'Factory' is the name given by cops and criminals to the police station) where the unnamed detective works for the department of Unexplained Deaths. This department has to deal with the 'lowest' murders i.e. those of the poor, the unimportant and the marginalised. In this investigation the detective gradually becomes obsessed with a sad middle-aged nobody who has been found kicked to death. Details of the victim's background are revealed by writings and tapes that he has left behind and which come to haunt the driven detective. The style is lean, terse and very dark despite the occasional lyrical flourish and leavening of the mood with black humour and the usual sharp dialogue. The atmosphere is grim and unsettling and many of the characters are deeply dislikeable but this is still strangely compelling, well-plotted and with a slightly bizarre but satisfying conclusion. Raymond's dark vision makes him the first truly modern noir British writer (continuing a tradition of Graham Greene, Gerald Kersh and Patrick Hamilton et al.) and his is a singular voice that has contemporary echoes in the work of writers such as James Ellroy, Ian Rankin, Ken Bruen and especially David Peace. If you like your fiction dark and sparse, this is an excellent writer to try. This is a very welcome reissue and Serpent's Tail are to be congratulated on having the foresight to republish most of Derek Raymond's backlist. I very much hope that they continue with their program of reissues although I have not yet seen any future publication dates for the remaining books in the series, How the Dead Live, I was Dora Suarez and Dead Man Upright.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Noir at its best,
By
This review is from: He Died with His Eyes Open (Paperback)
This is a brilliant book, quite frankly one of the best I have ever read. The plot is simple and yet effective and Raymond avoids the usual clichés that can come with a police procedural. Instead he opts for almost a psychological portrait of his nameless detective who slowly becomes obsessed with the victim and immerses himself in his life.Like the best noir, almost all the characters are disagreeable and unpleasant human beings while Raymond's hero is as flawed an anti-hero as any. This is a brilliant book and I would urge anyone who likes their fiction realistic and gritty to read this book.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Review.,
By Noir Reader. (Just here) - See all my reviews
This review is from: He Died with His Eyes Open (Paperback)
A cracking example of high quality noir writing. If you are into the likes of Andrew Vachss, Eugene Izzi, Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, Hubert Selby Jr and their ilk, you'll be delighted with this gem. Although a police / crime story in essence, it is so much more. It is a deep, probing study of the darker side of the human condition. Not pulling punches but never anything but subtle, this wonderful book, so simply executed will work it's way right under your skin. Don't miss out on a quality British writer.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
