We have updated our Privacy Policy Please take a moment to review it. By continuing to use this site, you agree to the terms of our updated Privacy Policy.
Reissue of a true classic – ‘One of the toughest crime novels ever’ (Newsweek).
‘Jim Thompson is the best suspense writer going, bar none’ NEW YORK TIMES
Roy Dillon is young, good-looking and devastatingly charming. He’s also a completely amoral con man. Lily, his mother, works for the mob. Moira Langtry, Roy’s mistress, is always looking for the main chance, and so is Carol Roberg, the nurse brought in to look after Roy when a bad choice of mark means he has an unfortunate encounter with a baseball bat and a bad case of internal bleeding.
The Grifters, one of the best novels ever written about the art of the con, is an ingeniously crafted story of deception and betrayal that was the basis for Stephen Frears’ and Martin Scorsese’s critically-acclaimed film of the same name.
‘Jim Thompson is the best suspense writer going, bar none’ NEW YORK TIMES
Roy Dillon is young, good-looking and devastatingly charming. He’s also a completely amoral con man. Lily, his mother, works for the mob. Moira Langtry, Roy’s mistress, is always looking for the main chance, and so is Carol Roberg, the nurse brought in to look after Roy when a bad choice of mark means he has an unfortunate encounter with a baseball bat and a bad case of internal bleeding.
The Grifters, one of the best novels ever written about the art of the con, is an ingeniously crafted story of deception and betrayal that was the basis for Stephen Frears’ and Martin Scorsese’s critically-acclaimed film of the same name.
Newsletter Signup
By clicking ‘Sign Up,’ I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Hachette Book Group’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Reviews
Casts a dazzling light on the human condition
My favourite crime novelist - often imitated but never duplicated - is Jim Thompson
If Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and Cornell Woolrich could have joined together in some ungodly union and produced a literary offspring, Jim Thompson would be it
Jim Thompson is the best suspense writer going, bar none
One of the toughest crime novels ever
I don't read many books twice but Jim Thompson novels - due to their concise, dirty power, their relentless violence and purity - can always draw me in for a second time. Some of the most psychological crime writing ever done. I love James M Cain and Elmore Leonard but Jim Thompson holds a special place in my heart.
The most hard-boiled of all the American writers of crime fiction