I was intrigued by Sallis when I found out he had written Drive. I decided to read this one rather than Drive because I had so recently seen the movie. The book is full of pain but very well written. It grabs you and pulls you through Turner's world. Don't read it if you are melancholy. ( )

Like me, you might be both attracted and fatigued by crime novels. Nowhere does the formulaic structure show through as obviously as in this genre. Two I'll-matched partners? Check. Race against time to solve the crime/save the innocent (usually female) victim? Check. Climax with the hero facing off against the villain, usually without a mobile phone? Check.

If you're as weary of these by-the-numbers plots as I am, you may want to sit down with James Sallis. He writes in a recognisable tradition ("Southern Noir", for want of a better term) but his focus is pleasingly on character, atmosphere and beautifully-crafted prose. Cypress Grove proceeds at a pace just sufficient to prevent the novel stalling (which has clearly been a problem for some readers), but, in sacrificing the tyranny of a helter-skelter plot, Sallis is able to provide a more sophisticated set of pleasures. Cypress Grove is a highly-recommended piece of old-fashioned craftsmanship. ( )

John Turner was leading a low-key life until he heard the Jeep coming down the dirt road to his isolated house. Sheriff Bates needs some big-city police assistance investigating a brutal murder. Turner, former policeman, couldn't say no.

One doesn't read James Sallis solely for the story. One reads him primarily for the literature, how he weaves Turner's past and present into a cohesive whole. As the present unwinds in front of the reader, so does Turner's past in separate chapters.

This is my second Sallis read and I'm planning on going through his entire fiction catalog. ( )

Some great use of language, but some pretty typical man with a past trying to escape humanity, gets roped into a case, finds companionship, decides to give the world another chance. Even though he’s a tough guy he has refined taste in obscure music and good wine. The case even revolved around a obsession over a mysterious cult film. And that’s when he got around to the case. Is it possible I’m done with noir? I hope not. ( )

This is the most eloquently written mystery I've read. Here's a quote, from p. 119
"I've been wondering how you were able to go three months without ever noticing no bills had been paid."
"Point taken." We watch a bat flap across moonlit sky. Scooping up gnats, mosquitoes and moths as it went, no doubt. Joyful is a human word, but it was hard to watch the bat's flight without its coming to mind.

Despite its beauty, it is also a dark book. Nick advised against reading his novels back to back, so I will space them out, but I felt oddly blessed by this one. In the midst of all this darkness - grace. ( )