Showing results by author "Jim Thompson" in All Categories

Everyone in the small town of Central City, Texas loves Lou Ford. A deputy sheriff, Lou's known to the small-time criminals, the real-estate entrepreneurs, and all of his coworkers - the low-lifes, the big-timers, and everyone in-between - as the nicest guy around. He may not be the brightest or the most interesting man in town, but nevertheless, he's the kind of officer you're happy to have keeping your streets safe. The sort of man you might even wish your daughter would end up with someday. But behind the platitudes and glad-handing lurks a monster the likes of which few have seen.

Jim Thompson's classic The Grifters is one of the best novels ever written about the art of the con, an ingeniously crafted story of deception and betrayal that was the basis for the critically acclaimed film by Stephen Frears and Martin Scorcese. To his friends, to his coworkers, and even to his mistress Moira, Roy Dillon is an honest hardworking salesman. He lives in a cheap hotel just within his pay bracket. He goes to work every day. He has hundreds of friends and associates who could attest to his good character.

Doc McCoy is the most skilled criminal alive. But when, for the first time in Doc's long criminal career, his shot doesn't hit the mark, everything begins to fall apart. And Doc begins to realize that the perfect bank robbery isn't complete without the perfect getaway to back it up. The Getaway is the classic story of a bank robbery gone horribly wrong, where the smallest mistakes have catastrophic consequences, and shifting loyalties lead to betrayals and chaos.

Nick Corey is a terrible sheriff on purpose. He doesn't solve problems, enforce rules or arrest criminals. He knows that nobody in tiny Potts County actually wants to follow the law and he is perfectly content lazing about, eating five meals a day, and sleeping with all the eligible women. Still, Nick has some very complex problems to deal with. Two local pimps have been sassing him, ruining his already tattered reputation.

It was supposed to be only a temporary job - something to pay the bills until Dusty could get his feet back on the ground and raise enough money for medical school. After all, there's nothing wrong with being a bellboy at a respectable hotel like the Manton - that is, until she came along. Marcia Hillis. The perfect woman. Beautiful. Experienced. Older and wiser. But while Dusty has designs on Marcia, Marcia has an agenda of her own.

William "Kid" Collins was once a respected boxer. Now he's a drifter, on the run after escaping from a mental institution. One afternoon he meets Fay, a beautiful young widow. She is smart and decent - at least when she's sober. Soon Collins finds himself involved in a kidnapping scheme that goes drastically wrong almost before it even begins. Because the kid they've picked up isn't like other kids: He's diabetic and without insulin, he'll die. Not the safest situation for Collins, a man for whom stress and violence have long gone hand-in-hand.

Jake Winroy had no looks, no education, and little else before he'd worked his way to the top of a million-dollar-a-month horse-betting ring. But when the state's latched onto his game, the feds take a bite, and the lawyer fees eat away at the rest, all Jake's got left is the bottle and a beautiful wife whose every word is ugly. Jake's to be the top witness in a major case against organized crime. But an enigmatic Mafioso known only as "The Man" has a plan to make dead certain Jake never gets the chance to testify.

Are you looking for unique ways to "get into the game"? To enhance your training and find focus? You aren't alone. Increasingly, athletes and coaches are incorporating mindfulness practices into their training. That's because mindfulness can help you lower your stress levels, connect with the moment, and mentally bounce back after setbacks. So whether you're a sports enthusiast or a professional athlete, mindfulness can also help you deal with physical aspects of training, such as fatigue, aches, pains, injury, burnout, and exhaustion.

Frank "Dolly" Dillon has a job he hates, working sales and collections for Pay-E-Zee Stores; a wife named Joyce he can't stand; and an account balance that barely allows him to pay the bills each month. Working door-to-door one day, trying to eke money out of folk with even less of it than he has, Dolly crosses paths with a beautiful young woman named Mona Farrell. Mona's being forced by her aunt to do things she doesn't like, with men she doesn't know - she wants out, any way she can get it.

Nick Corey likes being the high sheriff of Potts County. But Nick has a few problems that he needs to deal with: like his loveless marriage, the pimps who torment him, the honest man who is running against him in the upcoming elections and the women who adore him. And it turns out that Nick isn't anything like as amiable, easy-going or as slow as he seems. He's as sly, brutal and corrupt as they come.

Chi ha detto che tra moglie e marito non è mai il caso di mettere il dito? C’è chi lo fa e pure con discreto successo. Quando nella fiacca routine di Joe ed Elizabeth, che insieme gestiscono l’unico cinematografo della cittadina di Stoneville, irrompe la giovane e apparentemente ingenua Carol, assistente tuttofare, nessuno penserebbe mai che una storia di corna possa trasformarsi nella più improbabile delle finzioni shakespeariane, per giunta nella sonnolenta provincia americana. Eppure, è proprio Elizabeth a proporre al marito e alla giovane amante un patto di ferro.

Dedicated to the story of your greatest influence and the lesson that changed your life.

Meet Maxy Quinn - the world’s unluckiest kid whose life has been turned upside down ever since he found a reverse four-leaf clover that gave him the worst luck ever. Could you imagine dealing with your principal living next door, a psychic lizard, or how about turning your psycho older sister’s teeth blue? Can things get any worse for Maxy? All of this and more happens to Maxy Quinn in this laugh-out-loud hilarious audiobook.

The Brain Chomp brings listeners to the intersection of media and marketing. Explore advertising and marketing examples from media companies, consumer brands and local businesses to uncover the motivation value of the messages and get the hosts' takes on how today's marketing advertising and marketing may grow the brand or build community.

Un fattorino d'albergo è costretto ad assistere a perversioni da adulti; uno scrittore alcolista cerca in ogni modo di rimandare il proprio collasso nervoso per riuscire a finire il suo ultimo libro; una famiglia disfunzionale, i cui membri si distruggono vicendevolmente sull'ingannevole sfondo della ricca California nel periodo bellico. È un'opera sconvolgente e per gran parte autobiografica. L'autore guida il lettore come un moderno Dante nel proprio inferno personale e dipinge in modo vivido e disperato personaggi indimenticabili.

Se un grande autore come Joe R. Lansdale si scomoda per dire che Notte selvaggia è uno dei suoi romanzi preferiti nella produzione dell'amatissimo Jim Thompson, una ragione dovrà pur esserci. In effetti, la figura tormentata del protagonista, Carl Bigelow, il killer assoldato dall'Uomo, un misterioso mandante, avvince dalla prima pagina. In un perfetto e maligno gioco delle scatole cinesi, due donne di malaffare mandano in tilt le convinzioni dell'efficiente sicario chiamato a uccidere Jake Winroy, testimone scomodo in un processo imminente.

Nel calcolo delle probabilità, l'imponderabile va sempre messo in conto. Ecco perché il trucchetto oliato e utilizzato un'infinità di volte con successo da Roy Dillon, truffatore spregiudicato e senza scrupoli, si dimostra un'arma a doppio taglio: il negoziante che lo smaschera non ci pensa due volte e gli assesta un colpo tremendo allo stomaco con una mazza da baseball. Da questo momento, Dillon è costretto a nascondersi nella camera d'albergo di una località della California del sud e a leccarsi letteralmente le ferite. Almeno una cosa saggia l'ha fatta.

Il vicesceriffo Lou Ford è il pilastro della comunità della piccola cittadina del Texas di Central City. Stimato da tutti, paziente e riflessivo. Qualcuno in città crede che la cosa peggiore che si possa dire di lui è che è noioso e non particolarmente sveglio. Ma nessuno sa che c'è qualcosa di molto sbagliato in lui, qualcosa che lui chiama "la mia malattia" e che l'ha quasi portato alla rovina da giovane. Qualcosa che sembra riaccendersi il giorno in cui Lou Ford conosce Joyce Lakeland, una prostituta.

Britton Rainstar never knew he could love a woman as deeply as he does Manuela Aloe and be so terrified of her at the same time. It's not just that he thinks she's out of his league. It's more that the longer he stays with her, the closer to death he seems to come. A vicious dog is somehow let loose in his hotel room. He's threatened at gunpoint by a man in a skeleton costume. And when he finally ends up in the hospital, someone pushes his wheelchair down the stairs.

To everyone he's ever played dice with, Mitch Corley seems like the luckiest guy around. But in truth, Corley's fast hands are the only gift fate's ever given him. He's never held down a steady job, and when it comes to women, his luck might just be the worst of all - his girlfriend and partner-in-crime, Red, would double-cross him in a heartbeat if she knew just how short on cash they really were. And if Red ever finds out about the wife Corley neglected to mention, there's a good chance that Corley might not survive the night.