Bait Money by Max Allan Collins - Book Review

 Bait money was originally published in 1973 and is the first novel from Collins who has since

gone onto to become a highly respected and often imitated luminary in the mystery/neo-noir genres. I first became aware of the author because of the work he was doing with the unfinished novels left behind by Mickey Spillane and it took me some time to read any of Collins own work. Being a British reader I wasn't that familiar with the writer, as he's never really been an household name this side of the pond and it best known for being the author of The Road to Perdition graphic novel which sparked off the successful movie starring everyone's favourite every-man, Tom Hanks.

Collins though is a highly successful writer and has several times won highly sought after literary awards, perhaps most notably, The Shamus Award which is given out by the Private Eye Writers of America - he's taken that beauty twice. If that wasn't enough Collins had a successful run penning the long running Dick Tracy comics books and also did a brief stint on DC's Batman. He's written for Dark Horse, DC, Marvel, Image and just about every big name comic publisher out there.

I think it's fair to say that if Collins was twenty years older he would have likely been one of the big names in Men's Adventure Paperback genre which boomed during the late Fifties to late Eighties, but the industry is very different today than it was then and the author has always worked between mediums and he continues to do so.

Back back to the book in question - Collins, like many of us, was a big fan of the Richard Stark Parker books and Bait Money introduces the character of Nolan who is directly influenced by Parker. In many ways Bait Money is a pastiche of the Richard Stark blueprint, but it's evident that there is enough meat on the Nolan character to make him very much his own character. In fact the story is that Collins sent a copy of the original manuscript to Bait Money to Richard Stark (actually Donald Westlake) and the veteran author have the young upstart his blessing. So let's get the nonsense of the Nolan series being a Parker rip-off from the table and judge the book on its own merits.

The book starts with Nolan on the run from the mob, having left the organisation after killing the brother of a high ranking mobster called, Charley. Now approaching the golden age of Fifty, Nolan is looking to retire from his shady life but must first make amends with the mob. Cue, a last big heist in which Nolan and a team of largely amateurs, including a comic book obsessed kid, whom I suspect Collins based on himself, make to rob a bank, pay off the mob and then settle down into the peaceful autumnal years. What follows is a fast moving, hardboiled story with some great details of the heist being planned and double cross laid upon double cross as we speed towards the climax of a truly fantastic read.

The flow of the book is excellent and the author's ear for dialogue is something to be envied - scenes where characters are exchanging smart arse remarks really give a feel for the genre and would sit comfortably in any classic heist movie. I found myself picking up the book whenever I had a few moments to spare and I'd read the entire thing in a couple of days. Quite an achievement these days with so many demands on my time. To sum up then I think Bait Money is a bloody fantastic read - a lean, mean, pleasure machine.

The Nolan series includes

1. Bait Money (1973)
2. Blood Money (1973)
3. Fly Paper (1981)
4. Hush Money (1981)
5. Hard Cash (1981)
6. Scratch Fever (1982)
7. Spree (1987)
8. Mourn the Living (1988)

Bait Money is currently available paired with the second novel, Blood Money, in the series from the wonderful Hard Case Crime under the title, Two For the Money. And this was the edition I read