A Swell-Looking Babe
Jim Thompson

Hachette Audio (Unabridged)
November 1, 2011 / ASBN: B0062BQ1ZY
Mystery / Noir / Audiobook / Run Time: 5 hours, 26 minutes
Amazon

Reviewed by Jo Rogers

A Swell-Looking Babe is another Noir thriller from Jim Thompson. The story begins with a young, handsome man working as a bellhop at a hotel in a southern city. His name was Bill Rhoads, but he·d been nicknamed. He had been attending college when his father was fired from his teaching job at the high school. With no other source of income for his parents, Dusty was forced to quit medical school. He took a night job at a hotel.

Dusty had thought the situation would be temporary. But time passed and his father was still no closer to getting his job back than he'd ever been. Since Dusty's check was their only income, things were pretty tight. Then his mother died and Dusty was left to care for his sick, elderly father alone.

After that, Dusty had a problem at work. The night cashier, an older man named Bascome had started to get rough on him, trying to make Dusty quit. But no job Dusty qualified to do paid as well as this one. His dad didn't take care of money as well as he had in the past. Dusty would give him money for groceries, but there were none when got home from work, and his dad hadn·t eaten. And then, she came.

Like all his books Jim Thompson crafted this book very well. The characters are human, even if they are badly warped. The plot is so twisted, the reader can·t see the ending until he or she reaches it. The complications Dusty faces range from Bascome getting on his nerves to the really hot woman on the tenth floor of the hotel putting the moves on him. If you like a fast-moving, wild tale, give this one a listen.