Madball by Frederic Brown
Tigus - I definitely didn't hate it.
Everyone else: well, that was quite the blood bath! This was, indeed, the perfect book for Creepy Carnivals.
I have a love-hate relationship with hardboiled noir style fiction. I loved The Bride Wore Black and I hated The Thin Man. This falls in closer to the love end of the spectrum than the hate end of the spectrum.
I was, however, uncomfortable with Sammy, who is sort of Steinbeckian (as in, Lennie, from Of Mice and Men, a book I loathed). Sammy is mentally challenged. His completely normal sexual interest in girls and their breasts was difficult to read about, and his role in bringing things to the distressing conclusion was pathetic.
The story was convoluted and well-put-together. The language was punchy and trenchant. The ending was deranged. All in all, a great choice for Halloween bingo!
4
