I have just read A swell-looking babe and The Getaway.

Marvellous. Minimalist, no-nonsense crime yarns. Horrible people living their desperate lives. Short and to the point.

Obviously very understated by today's graphic standards. The final 'El Ray' chapter of The Getaway was one of the best, most subtle instances of come-uppance I've come across. It mercifully bears no resemblance to that crappy Baldwin/Basinger movie.

Thompson is also an order of magnitude better than James Ellroy, who I find to be a vastly overrated novelist.

But yes: Jim Thompson. Give him a try.