Novels by Jim Thompson (Study Guide) - The Kill-Off, the Killer Inside Me, Pop. 1280, Now and on Earth, the Getaway, the Alcoholics (Paperback)

This is nonfiction commentary. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: The Kill-Off, the Killer Inside Me, Pop. 1280, Now and on Earth, the Getaway, the Alcoholics, Savage Night, Nothing More Than Murder. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: The Kill-Off is an American crime novel by Jim Thompson first published in 1957, and reprinted by Vintage Crime/Black Lizard in 1999. The novel is a bleak tale of murder in a small, dying resort town being torn apart by gossip, racism, incest (actual or alleged), alcoholism and financial difficulties. It was adapted into a film in 1990. The Kill-Off relates the events leading up to the inevitable murder of Luane Devore, a hypochondriac hated in the seaside town of Manduwoc for her malicious gossip. Each chapter provides a partial first person account from a different character, all of whom are unreliable, to an unidentified audience. The result is a sprawling network of possibilities and suspicions with no ultimately trustworthy account. Manduwoc, a small seaside resort town (located "a few hours train-ride from New York City" (6)) has been suffering financially from gradual loss of its tourist trade, and morally from gossip spread by Luane Devore about the seedy activities of the town's inhabitants. Before the murder even happens, numerous characters are viewed as potential suspects, notably the psychotic Bobbie Ashton, whose future was ruined when Luane revealed him as the bastard offspring of a mixed-race relation. Also involved in the potential crime is the suspected hoard of money Luane keeps from her husband Ralph's earnings. When finally Luane is found dead, having fallen down a flight of stairs, the characters scramble to establish their alibis. Ultimately local businessman Pete Pavlov confesses to unintentionally having pushed Luane down the ...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=1754904