The Girl with the Long Green Heart: A Hard Case Crime Novel

Knowing the difference between what you want and what you need should be a beginning. Wanting what you need is hard.

It does not take long for the fan of American crime fiction (and of THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL in general) to find themselves compelled and intrigued by this by now classic release, first published in 1956. A long time ago, in what feels like a galaxy far, far away, back before technology once more transformed forever the world we had all grown to love.The opening chapter introduces the reader to the book’s principal character (John Hayden) and, one assumes, the book’s first victim (Wallace Gunderman). We also meet the secretary of the book’s first victim, and she is so gorgeously portrayed by Mr Block that male fans may well find themselves checking the back of their kindles for a trap door that will provide direct and three-dimensional access to the story for them, too.Chapter two gives essential insight into the back ground of Hayden, and also introduces us to another brilliant character, former associate Doug Rance. By chapter’s end, this ex-con and full time grifter manages to tempt Hayden back into a life of crime, high risk and potentially everlasting damnation (not to mention another stretch behind bars) by convincing him to contemplate another short cut to success.And by then of course, the reader is hooked.The book’s writing (of course) is world class. By the start of the third chapter, you either love Hayden or you take him for a complete and utter fool. Questions begin to arise for the alert fan, ranging from, ’Will he get the girl?’ to ’Is the girl in on the act with Rance?’ and ’Is Hayden actually the book’s major victim?' The latter may well appeal only to paranoid fans of Mr Block, as there is a sense of remorse, or melancholy, to the writing which seems to underpin the plot.But I may be wrong about that.The book’s first half is an intricate master class on how to set up a grift. It is a fascinating expose on the procedure, with a slight mix of love won, enjoyed and love (potentially) lost, with a small dose of friendship, betrayal, excitement, terror and suspense. I wont be telling anyone how it all pans out. You will have to track down a copy of this jewel yourself. But the effort will be worth it. Only Mr Block could make such a topic so compelling, intriguing, entertaining, sexy, and scary.What else do you want from a classic work crafted by one of the greatest literary minds the world has ever seen?Hugely recommended.

That it be bigger not trade paper but the early ones are trade people. The girl with the long green heart was my third book by auther love how these remind me of old Detective film noir novel. I must read if this is your favorite author.

The Girl With the Long Green Heart by Lawrence BlockJohn Hayden and Doug Rance are ready to pull off a big con. To scam a big time real estate man Wallace Gunderman. But they need help on the inside, their best bet Evelyn Stone. Gunderman's Secretary and lover. But she is a woman scorned and wants revenge.The story moves at a steady pace with engaging dialog and intense moments. The two men have the job well planned out, until things go sour. Soon they are at a cross roads as the story takes a turn, heading to a slow burn. Overall I found The Girl with the Long Green Heart enjoyable and recommend to those who enjoy hard case crimes.

"The Girl with the Long Green Heart" was originally published in 1965 and later reissued by Hard Case Crime in 2005. The book tells of a long con attempt by John Hayden, a small-time con man who has just served a prison sentence. He meets up with one of his former partners, Doug Rance, who has a proposition - one big con before John retires. Although he's hesitant, John decides to go along as he has big dreams of buying a rundown bar outside Boulder, Colorado, and making a success of it. The long con involves a Canadian land scheme and a New York businessman named Wallace Gunderman. Of course, there's also a beautiful woman involved - Gunderman's secretary, Evie Stone - who is the titular girl with the long green heart.I enjoy stories of long cons and Block knows this genre so well. The book is rife with realistic details, although these details may bore some readers. The plot was a bit easy to figure out early on, but Block's writing always makes the trip fun, even if the destination is a bit predictable. I particularly appreciate Block talent for descriptions. Evie, for example, smells "as clean and alive as a newly mown lawn." Later, John gets a meal in a cheap diner, where the "food was greasy and so were most of the customers."Note: This review is for the Kindle version, which was published by Open Road in 2010 rather than Hard Case Crime (I also have the paperback HCC version). The electronic version is excellent; I did not find any noticeable errors or formatting problems. It includes a table of contents with linked chapters as well as a brief autobiography of Block with 10 photos taken from various points in his life.

Mit "The Girl with the Long Green Heart" von Lawrence Block, von dem schon Band 1 der amerikanischen Taschenbuch-Reihe Hard Case Crime stammt, haben die Herausgeber einen weiteren exzellenten hardboiled Krimi aus der Versenkung gehoben: Johnny Hayden und Doug Rance, zwei Trickbetrüger, haben einen Plan, wie sie den Immobilienhai Wallace Gunderman um sein Vermögen erleichtern können. Dazu benötigen sie jedoch die Hilfe von Gundermans Sekretärin und Geliebte Evelyn Stone, welche sich rächen dafür will, dass Gundermann ihr zwar die Ehe versprochen hat, sie aber nie geheiratet hat. Jetzt will sie es ihm heimzahlen und wird zu seinem schlimmsten Alptraum. Ein spannender Roman aus dem Jahre 1965, leider zur Zeit nur auf Englisch verfügbar.

Faced paced book one might consider reading on a train journey or something where full span of attention is not required.Interesting read non the less with fairly expected climax.Please ignore the racy cover, the book is actually quite decent.Recommended for someone who enjoys coffee table thrillers and 80's style crime movies.

Every book published by Hard Case Crime is well worth the read!

騙されるほうも悪いのさそうはいうが、騙すほうは、騙される側が騙されるように事を運ぶ。「カモ」に選ばれたときから騙される仕組みになっている。騙されている最中、騙されていると気づかない、そして、すっかり騙されているにもかかわらず、そのことに気づくのを少しでもあとにする、それが、詐欺のテクニックなんだろう。プロの詐欺師がみせてくれる手口に、なるほどと感心しつつ騙すほう、騙されるほうの心理をじっくり読ませてくれる。それにしても女が絡むと思わぬ展開になるもんだ。（笑）

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