The Killer Inside Me (Mulholland Classic)

Lou Ford is a consummate serial killer created by a writer who knew his way around the dark nooks and crannies of the troubled, impassioned, and diseased minds of wayward men and women better than most, and who masterfully portrayed these traits in simple, stark, and powerful language. THE KILLER INSIDE ME, perhaps his best, serves as the blueprint for the nearly perfect serial killer novel because it plunks you down inside the mind of the killer; you see the world through his off kilter eyes. If you're looking for crime fiction that stands heads and shoulders above the usual genre fare stuffed with overly dramatized and generally implausible protagonists, THE KILLER INSIDE ME, along with a handful of other novels, may be what you want.THE KILLER INSIDE ME offers you Lou Ford, the aw-shucks deputy who appears a little slow on the uptake, who handily dispenses clichés upon every occasion, who, in short, strikes you as a pretty nice, ineffective guy in the beginning and then, amazingly, given his predilection for murder, a sympathetic, tormented man. It's a credit to Thompson's skill that you feel for Ford in the end.Don't assume that just because THE KILLER INSIDE ME appeared in 1952 that the prose is censored milquetoast. Thompson's writing is blunt and raw, as in the scene in which Lou cold-bloodedly kills Joyce, the prostitute he's been frequenting and abusing as he executes his plan of revenge against local big-deal Chester Conway: "I backed her against the wall, slugging, and it was like pounding a pumpkin. Hard, then everything giving away at once." Or this, after inflicting a brutal beating upon his fiancé, leaving her barely alive while he awaits the person he plans to frame for her murder: "I sat down and tried to read the paper. I tried to keep my eyes on it. But the light wasn't very good, not good enough to read by, and she kept moving around. It looked like she couldn't lie still." Those are the thoughts of a true sociopath.Don't fear extraneous excursions into back stories and side narratives; or excessive descriptions of the countryside or characters. Thompson gives exactly enough to provide context and move the story along swiftly. That's no mean ability; it earned him a living as a screen and television writer for Stanley Kubrick and others.Do expect sharply drawn characters. You'll get to know Lou, Joyce, Elmer, Chester, Johnnie (who put his trust in a psychopath who understood only self preservation), Amy (who campaigned to marry Lou to unfortunate results), and the others not through elaborate descriptions but through what they say and do.And do expect a realistic serial killer who goes about his business in a straightforward way, a killer who is at heart a sociopath, a manipulator of people, who Thompson based on emerging research on psychopathology, research that forms the foundation of modern thinking about these people.Highly recommended not only as the best crime fiction but also a fine literary experience.Along the lines of Thompson, other writers have put readers into the minds of serial killers with interesting, satisfying, and enlightening results. Some recommendations are: Joyce Carol Oates's ZOMBIE, in which Quentin travels around Michigan in search of victims to lobotomize into sexual service; THE COLLECTOR, featuring the self-centered Fred Clegg who wins a pool and uses the money to collect beautiful young women, Miranda the first, whom he expects to love him; and my own I, KILLER, in which morbid men congregate around the bed of a psychopathic killer and lead him to his judgment at the hands of a girl named Sarah.

Publication date: 1952I was not sure I wanted to read this book. It has a reputation as a 'portrait of a serial killer,' and that does not appeal to me; but this strange pulp novel did. It is a 'Texas tale,' very Southern, about the standards that uphold society, and that society upholds, sometimes to the detriment of truth:“Bruises?” I said. “Gosh, you got me there, Howard. How would I know?”“H-how”—he sputtered—“how would you know?”“Yeah?” I said, puzzled. “How?”“Why, goddam you! You’d been screwing that gal for years! You—”“Don’t say that,” I said.“No,” said Jeff Plummer, “don’t say that.”There is a running gag that deadpan platitudes are as bad as a punch in the gut:Rothman got up and put on his hat. “Well, I can’t find it in my heart to chide you for the stunt, despite its unfortunate outcome. I almost wish I’d thought of it.”“Aw,” I said, “it wasn’t nothing much. Just a matter of a will finding a way.”“Ooof!” he said. “What are Conway’s feelings, by the way?”“Well, I don’t think he feels real good,” I said.“Probably something he ate,” he nodded. “Don’t you imagine? But watch that stuff, Lou. Watch it. Save it for those birds.”He left.Thompson wants us to know that although Lou Ford is not as dumb as everyone thinks he is, he is also not as clever as he tells us he is. The fact is, his form of irony is pretty low grade:I debated calling up the newspapers and complimenting them on their “accuracy.” I often did that, spread a little sunshine, you know, and they ate it up. I could say something—I laughed—I could say something about truth being stranger than fiction. And maybe add something like—well—murder will out. Or… the best laid plans of mice and men.I stopped laughing...

(Originally published at Basil & Spice)I first heard of this book while reading a short article in Playboy magazine about the best books for real men. Playboy put this 1952-era crime noir novel at the top of that list. Then I heard that a movie version was headed our way, starring Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson and Jessica Alba. So, curiosity inspired me to give it a try. Like the magazine that recommended it, The Killer Inside Me turns out to be dated and a bit of a bore. Now I'm struggling to understand all the fuss.As a fan of hard-boiled crime novels and true crime nonfiction, I have tried to include readings from the roots of those genres to understand them better. Sad to say, I am usually disappointed when I compare the masters of the 1940s and 50s--like Raymond Chandler and Mickey Spillane--with their literary descendants of these days--Elmore Leonard, Jeffery Deaver and Dennis Lehane come quickly to mind. The Killer Inside Me should be read in that vein, as an example of a more primitive literary time. Students of noir who can put themselves into a black-and-white frame-of-mind will want to include this on their resumes. The author, Jim Thompson, died in 1977 at the age of 70. But modern readers in search of entertainment should look elsewhere.The Killer Inside Me could make an intriguing period-piece of a movie. The book tells the story through the eyes of a psychopathic deputy sheriff in a small West Texas oil town. It details Lou Ford's final crimes and delves into what he calls his "sickness"--the killer inside him. The 2010 movie is a remake of an earlier film from 1976 that starred Stacy Keach. But neither could ever match the FX series  The Shield: Complete Series for a stark portrayal of police corruption--another symptom of generation gap with this book..Thompson authored several successful cinematic crime novels, including  The Getaway (Deluxe Edition) and  The Grifters (Miramax Collector's Series) . But he received minimal recognition in his lifetime. His novels were resurrected in 1980 by the Vintage Crime Black Lizard unit of Random House. The Killer Inside Me has been touted as Thompson's finest work with Thompson described by some as the "dimestore Dostoyevsky" for the book's raw portrayal of a violent man fighting his demons. Many of his themes appear autobiographical from his youth as the son of an Oklahoma sheriff to his work in the Texas oil fields and briefly as a newspaper reporter for the Los Angeles Mirror. He honed his fiction credentials by taking newspaper crime events and turning them into short stories told imaginatively from the perspective of the criminal.He worked most prominently as a screen writer for the film director Stanley Kubrick, notably on the classic  Paths of Glory . Kubrick is quoted in a blurb on the Vintage Crime edition of The Killer Inside Me, describing this book as "Probably the most chilling and believable first-person story of a criminally warped mind I have ever encountered."Kubrick either owed Jim Thompson a big favor, or, he hadn't read much dime store Dostoyevsky. Probably the latter.

Gritty, it's true and disturbing in its psychomania. It's a story about a murderer gone mad from the wrong side of the law. Trouble is ... it don't add up. There is "evidence" all the way through the trail that would lead a lawman with even half a brain to single out the culprit and nail him - from the very first killing. How do you beat someone to death in an apparent frenzy yet have no blood marks on your gloved fists or blood spatter on your shirt? "Marked bills" are traded elsewhere, but there is no mention of a recovery, or of anyone spotting this anomaly. And the ending, I'm afraid, borders on farce. Can't fault the writing. Just didn't much care for the story and its brazen brutality. Surely the idea of a revenge killer is to get away with it and plan meticulously to outlive what they've done? Not to bumble haphazardly to and from each self-inflicted disaster. Sorry Mr Springsteen, this is not a writer I'd want to read over again. Once is quite enough for me.

I raced through this book - it is only 220 pages long - because it was action-packed from start to finish and had me gripped wondering what on earth could happen next. The story revolves around Lou Ford who is a young Deputy Sheriff of a small close-knit community in Texas. Lou has old-fashioned Texan values, he believes women should always be treated with respect, he always has time for a friendly word with the good citizens of Central City and he takes time out to offer good advice to a young hoodlum in the making.Lou's boss, Sheriff Bob Maples, thinks the world of young Lou but questions his lack of ambition and his apparent contentment in living in a boring, one-horse town where nothing much happens. Then things do start to happen, the local big-shot's son is found dead at the side of the local hooker who has been horribly battered beyond recognition.It's difficult to say much more about the plot without risking a spoiler but suffice to say this is an intelligent novel, the language is rich and colloquial and the reasoning behind the murderer's motives is so chilling yet logical at the same time that I found myself lulled into a kind of calm which added to the shock when the same tone is used to describe a very violent murder in a very graphic way. Excellent stuff.This is my first Jim Thompson book but he has written dozens of well known novels and The Getaway,The Grifters and this one, The Killer Inside Me, have been made into films.If you don't mind graphic violence on paper this is an excellent book.

this was a great book really engaging and like other crime noverls from the killers perspective the empathy and drama that you feel revolves around wanting the killer, in this case lou, to get away with it. at times the story was so twisted and it was just written as the character would think it and i found it hard to follow, things are not decribed as such but though about, if that makes sense to anyone then this book is great. i did buy this as i thought that the film recently sounded interesting (i have a secretly wrong lust for dexter and the books in that series)and i love stuff about dark evil people but this books portrays the killings as necessary and justified more than just to fulfil a craving or an urge as others do so it is more about him killing out of necessity than desire. now i really want to see the film as little is described in the book and it is quite hard to clear the events on your mind if you are not good at inventing your own images. anyway this was a really good story and theme but maybe it was because it was so old (1952- before my parents were born!!!) that i found t hard to understand or maybe im just too lazy to think too hard about it but nevertheless i really enjoyed it and would recommend to anyone who enjoys mysteries and thrillers.

I won't repeat the storyline of this novel as enough reviews have already covered that. Instead I'll cut to the chase and tell you this is another great Jim Thompson crime novel, probably his best. Each chapter adds to the story, deepens the impact and builds toward the powerful conclusion. With deceptive ease he creates a fragile world of one man's madness where all it takes is one false move and the whole thing slowly slides into violence and chaos. After reading The Getaway, The Grifters and After Dark, My Sweet I thought I'd seen the best of Jim Thompson but this is a storming book by one of the masters of crime. Enjoy.

The sorry tale of Lou Ford; a small town sherriff with a penchant for rough sex and killing. To everyone around him, he's a likeable, hick lawman. An intensely inteligent man who was destined for bad things from childhood, Lou is affected by the "sickness".A real good read for fans of pulp, noir and suspense thrillers. The reader can't help but empathise with the main character who so desperately wants to be normal but is trapped by circumstance (real and imaginary) in a downward spiral of ever decreasing circles.