Episode 28: A Swell-Looking Babe - Hard-Boiled Crime Against Nature

During his lifetime, Jim Thompson's masterful novels of crime, obsession, and dark Americana were published as pulp novels. Intervening years have seen a reassessment of his work, with Stephen King singing his praises and cultural historian Geoffrey O'Brien dubbing him "The Dimestore Dostoyevsky." A Swell-Looking Babe finds Thompson at his sharpest, weaving a taut tale of a bellboy who finds himself drawn into a seedy series of schemes that might actually be about altogether different--and far darker--themes.

Listeners are encouraged to seek out the book before listening, since SPOILERS ABOUND.

Will Kate and Jack encounter any familiar themes as they explore a new-to-the-podcast genre? Are women, once again, the root of all evil? What do manatees have to do with any of this? Find out the answers to these questions and much more on this episode of Bad Books for Bad People.