A Few Bad Men… Six Book Series With Villains as the Heroes!

A Few Bad Men Six Book Series With Villains As the Heroes The Noir Factory

 
A Few Bad Men Six Book Series With Villains As the Heroes The Noir FactoryThere are as many ways to handle a case as there are ways to skin… well, almost anything. If you are on the side of the angels, then there are procedures to be followed and rules to be obeyed. Tasks must be delegated, superiors must be placated, and questions must be answered.

Even the anti-heroes, those darlings of the noir plot lines, aren’t given passes. Although they may not answer to authority and might bend the rules, they do so reluctantly. They have society to answer to and usually keep one side planted on the right even while the other foot dances in the shadows.

The real fun happens when the bad guy enters. Unencumbered by rules and superiors as well as devoid of conscience, they follow a code all their own. Mostly they are the forces to be fought, but occasionally, like any good character, they will be the heroes of their own story, and those stories are treats indeed.

Like Darth Vader and Hannibal Lecter, some villains are too big to simply be just a foil for the hero. Below are some of the best of the worst, in no particular order. Thrill to their adventures, chill to their exploits, just be very, very careful not to judge them.


John Dortmunder

Jimmy The KidTall, awkward, and highly jinxed, convicted thief and Donald Westlake creation John Archibald Dortmunder is a criminal genius and perpetual sad-sack. Given up at birth and raised by the “Bleeding Heart Sisters of Eternal Misery,” if Dortmunder didn’t have bad luck he would have no luck at all.

Living with his girlfriend, a cashier at a local supermarket, Dortmunder is a normal guy with a record and an unlucky streak a mile wide. Described by Westlake as having “hair-colored hair” and a hound dog face, Dortmunder is an unlikely criminal mastermind who plans for the best and gets handed the worst.

His crimes are spectacular in their scope and unfortunate in their execution. The objects of his heists range from gems and money to rare artifacts, and while the payoff is usually big, the costs and the losses almost always outweigh the loot.

You can find John Dortmunder’s capers in such great books as The Hot Rocks, Bank Shot, Jimmy the Kid, and What’s the Worst That Could Happen?


Bernie Rhodenbarr

Burgler In The ClosetWritten by Lawrence Block, Bernie Rhodenbarr is a kind, considerate, and gentle soul who owns a small used bookstore that specializes in rare editions. While he owns both the business and the building it resides in, sometimes a guy has to take on a little side work to keep the lights on.

Luckily for Bernie he has the skills to pay any number of bills.

After doing time for burglary at a young age, Bernie Rhodenbarr vowed never again to be arrested. He never vowed not to steal, and circumstances being what they are, there are times when a burglar has to fall back into old habits.

As a good friend and a pillar of the community, Bernie has many friends , but only a handful of people know of the bookstore owner’s less-than-legal activities. Although there are many professional associates that know of Bernie side-gig, only his best friend and confident, pet groomer and owner of the Poodle Factory, knows all the pieces of the complex puzzle that is Bernie Rhodenbarr, and does not pass judgment.

You can follow Bernie Rhodenbarr’s exploits in The Burglar in the Closet, The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams, The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons and others.


Dexter Morgan

darkly devoted dexterDexter Morgan, created by Jeff Lindsay, is the well-loved and doted on foster child of police officer Harry Morgan, little-league coach, father-of-the-year nominee, and a man with a plan for almost any circumstance.

Recognizing early on the his foster-son is a violent sociopath with a need to kill, Harry Morgan does the sensible thing and trains young Dexter to kill “positively,” taking his aggression out those who have already killed, thus helping out society on the whole.

This “Code of Harry” becomes the rules that Dexter lives by, and he takes up forensic blood spatter investigation, bringing him into contact with those he hunts. As a sociopath he does not experience emotion but has learned to approximate them.

While Dexter keeps his lethal urges, his “Dark Passenger” as he calls it, a secret, others in his world have learned of his true self and have also learned to work with it.

You can follow Jeff Lindsay’s Dexter in Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Dearly Devoted Dexter, Dexter by Design, and others.


Taco Noir


Thomas Ripley

The Talented Mr RipleyAs Patricia Highsmith’s complex and charming psychopath, Thomas Ripley is a a sophisticated monster. Running off from his family at an early age, Ripley moves to New York to become an artist and ends up scratching out a meager living as a con man.

When he is mistaken as the friend of a dilettante who has run off to France, he accepts the assignment of the young man’s family to go to Europe and retrieve him. Ripley find the young man and becomes obsessed with him, to the point of dressing like him, sounding like him, and eventually killing him and assuming his identity.

Eventually Ripley is forced to turn over the identity and go on the run, but you can’t keep an evil man down. With the skills of a killer and the taste of the good life, Thomas Ripley moves up the ladder. He eventually lands in a French Estate, by marrying well and keeping an active hand in both society and crime.

In addition to the finer things in life, Ripley also takes a protege for a time and destroys the life of an artist, and those around him, because the man foolishly insults Ripley. If you are looking for a dark and twisted individual, you would be hard -pressed to find one as charming or as deadly as Mr. Ripley.

Patricia Highsmith’s “Ripliad” spans four books – The Talented Mr. Ripley, Ripley Underground, Ripley’s Game, and Ripley Under Water.


Parker

The HunterDonald Westlake had a knack of writing bad guys, and Parker is the pinnacle of bad. Physically intimidating and emotionally unflinching, Westlake’s Parker is a violent and practical man. He is also an expert planner whose scope is as big as his imagination.

With scores such as the a rock concert, a football stadium, and even a small town, nothing is safe from the machinations of Westlake’s Parker. The only Achilles heel Parker suffers are those he recruits for his schemes.

While not overly moral, Parker considers crime to be “business” and he is simply a businessman. And like business, crime has very few rules and so does Parker. One of the few he does adhere to, however, is that you do not betray one of your crew. At least not while you are working on the same scheme.

After that, all bets are off

You can find Parker in 24 of the Westlake novels penned under the name Richard Stark. Some of the best are The Hunter, The Score, and The Juggler.


Keller

Hit And Run Lawrence BlockLike Donald Westlake, Lawrence Block is a master of crafting engaging and intriguing villains the hero of the story. In one of his best series, Keller, the titular character, John Keller, is a regular guy who collects stamps, does the crossword puzzle, and shows up for jury duty.

More than a regular guy, John Keller is a boring guy who wouldn’t so much as hurt a fly.

Unless someone took out a hit on the fly.

Keller is a hit-man, as professional as the day is long. He is summoned from his everyday, hum-drum life by Dot, his contract representative. As an assassin, Keller is highly sought after and almost always gets his man, and in at least one case, pets.

Most contracts take Keller away from his home and normal life and expose him to locations that cause a wistfulness in the killer, a yearning to give up the profession and settle down.

On completion of most contracts, however, the wistfulness usually gives way to a payday and the promise of a rare, pre-1940 Spanish postage stamp.

You can find Keller at work in such Lawrence Block stories as Hit List, Hit Parade, and Hit and Run, and others.


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