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THE GOLDEN GIZMO
by Thompson, Jim
- Used
- Fine
- Paperback
- first
- Condition
- Fine/No Jacket
- ISBN 10
- 0375700323
- ISBN 13
- 9780375700323
- Seller
-
Warwick, Rhode Island, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
N.Y.: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, 1998. 1st Vintage Crime / Black Lizard Edition June 1998 with complete number line beginning with 1. Trade size paperback, fine. Toddy Kent would be another footstore gold buyer hustling brooches from Los Angeles housewives if he hadn't been born with a "gizmio, " the sixth sense that guides him to where the easy money is. Now Toddy's gizmo has steered him to a seemingly unlimited source of pure, unadulterated--and convienently illicit--gold. The only problem is that Toddy's gizmo has a tendency to desert him just when he needs it the most. And no sooner has he acquired his first "sample" than Toddy's wife is dead and he himself is being stalked by a sinister man with no chi and a Doberman that sings hyms before it kills.. 1st Edition. Pictorial Wrappers. Fine/No Jacket. Book.
Synopsis
One of Thompson's most outrageous works of fiction, the Golden Gizmo incorporates elements of the classic American tall tale with descriptions of the particularly hardboiled criminal underclass of 1950's L.A.. Toddy Kent is a hustler, seeking out sources of easy money in the most unlikely places thanks to a sixth-sense he has, known as a 'gizmo,' after the G.I. term for something unidentifiable. He does not know how it works; if he did than maybe he could prevent the inconvenient inconsistencies that often leave him high and dry at the worst times. A transient life leaves Toddy with an extensive rap sheet and a runaround wife, eventually landing him on the gray side of legal in LA county. Then, his gizmo strikes with a hunch he cannot ignore, leading him to an unknown source of gold. Of course it comes at a price to Toddy. His wife turns up dead--murdered--and he finds himself stalked by a chinless man with a talking doberman that sings hymns before it kills. Thomspon's portrayal of the incurable criminal who has no control over his situation goes from hilarious to horrifying. Through Toddy's attempts to understand his situation, the reader is lead through the strip joints, brothels and seedy bars of a different era, when L.A. was capital of the world of illusion.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Murder By The Book
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 004731
- Title
- THE GOLDEN GIZMO
- Author
- Thompson, Jim
- Format/Binding
- Paperback
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- No Jacket
- Edition
- 1st Edition
- ISBN 10
- 0375700323
- ISBN 13
- 9780375700323
- Publisher
- Vintage Crime/Black Lizard
- Place of Publication
- N.Y.
- Date Published
- 1998
- Keywords
- MYSTERY; PAPERBACK; MYSTERY & CRIME
Terms of Sale
Murder By The Book
All items are subject to prior sale. Postage and handling (North America) is $5.20for the first book, and 2.50 cents for each additional book for Media Mail. $13.00.00 for the first book, and $3.50 for each additional book for Priority Mail. In the event where Shipping Destination warrants it, we may request additional shipping funds. Please contact us for the exact shipping charges. International: Please ask for cost. Returns: Books may be returned for any reason within 7 days after receipt provided they have not been damaged by purchaser.
About the Seller
Murder By The Book
Biblio member since 2004
Warwick, Rhode Island
About Murder By The Book
In business since 1978 specializing in Mystery, Detective Fiction both in hardcover and collectible paperbacks.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Number Line
- A series of numbers appearing on the copyright page of a book, where the lowest number generally indicates the printing of that...
- Wrappers
- The paper covering on the outside of a paperback. Also see the entry for pictorial wraps, color illustrated coverings for...
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