Publishers Weekly
05/11/2020
This pleasant but slight history of the distinctly American figure of the hardboiled detective opens by proposing that “for every tough season in American history, there is a detective who emerged to handle it.” Lee (Hard-Boiled Crime Fiction and the Decline of Moral Authority), a Georgetown comparative literature professor, argues that at moments of crisis, from Prohibition to the opioid epidemic, hard-boiled detectives have functioned as “wishful American self-portraits” who apply frontier individualism to societal anxieties and morally ambiguous situations. Lee traces the prototype back to 1923, when pulp fiction writer Carroll John Daly introduced his wildly popular character Race Williams. She then proceeds through the ’30s, with Dashiell Hammett’s Sam Spade and Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe; the ’40s, when Mickey Spillane created an explicitly anticommunist detective in Mike Hammer, and up to the present. Her argument becomes strained as this type of character becomes demonstrably less popular—indeed, her main contemporary example, Netflix series lead Jessica Jones, is also a superheroine, suggesting that the hard-boiled detective’s symbolic significance has faded over time. Despite this limitation, for detective fiction fans, this will prove an entertaining and informative trip through American history alongside their favorite gumshoes. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
One can say many things about crime fiction, and throughout this thoughtful, well-crafted piece of literary history, Lee succeeds in telling the story straight.—Library Journal
For detective fiction fans, this will prove an entertaining and informative trip through American history alongside their favorite gumshoes.—Publisher's Weekly
A revealing critique of a pop culture icon and required reading for mystery buffs.—Julie Hale, BookPage
BookPage - Julie Hale
A revealing critique of a pop culture icon and required reading for mystery buffs.
Library Journal
03/01/2020
The hard-boiled P.I. appeared in fiction for the first time in the 1920s and has endured for nearly a century. Drawing on iconic figures in detective fiction from pulp magazines to television, Lee (French, comparative literature, Georgetown Univ.; Hard-Boiled Crime Fiction and the Decline of Moral Authority) articulates a sophisticated thesis as to why their personas resonate with fans from the 1920s to today. Starting with Jon Carroll Daly's Race Williams, the author moves to Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, considers the sea change in attitudes reflected in Mickey Spillane's appeal, and takes us on a whirlwind tour of TV detective heroes, such as David O. Rockford from HBO's The Wire. The book concludes with an essay on Jessica Jones, addressing why so few women are assigned the detective role. For Lee, these loner heroes encapsulate strains in American 20th-century culture, and with acute commentary, she explores the genre's predominant maleness and whiteness. VERDICT One can say many things about crime fiction, and throughout this thoughtful, well-crafted piece of literary history, Lee succeeds in telling the story straight.—David Keymer, Cleveland
