Night Squad

Publication date: 1961- very late in the author's career.I was half-way through the book before I realized how much of a spoof it is, but there are some tip-offs early on:The Friday night drinkers were three-deep at the bar, and there was considerable jostling and scuffling. At the splintered loose-legged tables, most of the chairs were taken. Several women were skirmishing for possession of one of the tables. A hairy-chested, bulky-shouldered construction worker, wearing a sweat-stained undershirt and a yellow pith helmet, moved toward the women to break it up. One of the women knocked him down.[...]The Swamp was a labyrinth of alleys, and with an excessive number of oversized cats. The cats were very rugged, but every now and then a loner would be jumped by a pack of rats, and that would be the end of him.[...](This was what finally tipped me off):The city was very proud of the boat clubs... The fences made certain that only the properly qualified got in. A blueblood could get in. A ditch digger could get in provided he was a first rate rower, capable of winning silver cups. There was no way for a man to buy his way in... On very rare occasions a man got in because he had something on one of the bluebloods. Like a photograph showing the blueblood in an off-beat situation. That was how Grogan got in, some twelve years back. The photo had been taken at night in the zoo, and it showed the blueblood involved with a full-grown zebra.One reason for jokes like these is because the plot itself was old hat by 1961- a Black Mask standby scenario of a guy working two sides of the street, padded out by such devices as the protagonist who talks to himself (or to his badge), and quite a bit of 'tough tender' back story, not only for Corey, the ex-cop, but also for his boss and the little guy who keeps his eye on things (Elisha Cook Jr, anyone?).- but despite the padding, and the general boozy insouciance of the author, the book is 200 pages and reads well.One more joke, or maybe something to try at home?:"Who tipped you?""Rafer himself. So you know I got it on good authority.""But Rafer's your man. Why would he tell you a thing like that?""He was high," Nellie said. "He was forty thousand feet up. On that mixture he drinks. Calls it California Clouds. Mixes it himself. A bottle of some cola drink, six aspirin tablets, two tablespoons of snuff. Puts it all together in a bowl and sips it from the spoon. In no time at all he's up there. California Clouds."

I recently read a short story by David Goodis, "The Professional Man," and I was hooked !.I am a big fan of the better known noir writers like Raymond Chandler, Dashiel Hammet, Cornel Woolrich, James Cain,and Jim Thompson,David Goodis' writing is the same caliber as the aforementioned authors. Night Squad may have a few slow parts in the narrative, but the chase scene in the Swamp is outstanding. I almost missed my stop, while returniong home from work, because I couldn't stop reading the book. Goodis has an uncanny ability to pull the reader into the stark psychological landscape of his characters. There are no cardboard cutout personalities in Goodis' stories. There are certain contemporary suspense writers, whose entertaining tales are forgotten almost as soon as you finish them. Not so with Goodis.His stories may be disturbing, but you will not soon forget them.Great, great reading!

David Goodis is known for authoring novels about the depressing, hopeless side of life. Night Squad, first published in 1961, is no exception.Corey Bradford has lived his entire life in a rundown, rat infested neighborhood called The Swamp. This is a place devoid of hope. Alcoholism, poverty and crime are rampant. Law enforcement is riddled with corruption and a powerful crime boss named Grogan holds sway.Bradford was once a cop. He was unceremoniously dismissed from the force for taking payoffs. Early on, he's given a chance to redeem his reputation and spends the remainder of the novel being drawn between good and evil.Night Squad is a book about very bad things happening to its various characters. Unfortunately, the manner in which Goodis has the story unfold is rushed, disjointed and sorely lacking in credibility. A 3 star effort. Goodis has done much better.

The higher ups downtown decided to take his badge.Offered a job with a neighborhood gangster catches hisinterested, so needing some pocket money, he takes aretainer.He is also offered another job, with the "off the books",infamous, do anything they want, no holds barred, NightSquad.Badge and gun returned, he now is asked about the neighborhoodgangster, he is thinking about still working for.This is the run of the storyline, and I will stop here, because if youwant to find out the meat and bones of the tale, you will have toread the book

This is one of DG’s Later works and while I have loved all of the other books from Night Passage to They Shoot Horses Don’t They This one was a tough book to finish. A lot of the exposition a lot of needless repetition and the noir was a little cartoonish. I found myself skimming and that’s never a good sign.