Savage Night

I recently enjoyed Jim Thompson's Savage Night.It’s centered around Carl Bigelow, who’s either a hitman sent to kill somebody set to rat out on the mob or a young man going to teacher’s college. Most of the book hinges around on identity: if Bigelow is really somebody else, who else is pretending – and who are they after? Appearance-altering contact lenses and fake teeth play a large role in this novel.This paranoia spills all over the place. Routine events become the setting for a double-cross. A bakery-worker neighbour isn’t just another killer hired for the same purpose, but maybe one planning to kill him, too. The wife wants the husband out, but is she working with the cops? And just why are the cops so friendly, anyway?Savage Night is a short book packed with violence, lying and tons of paranoia. And in between bouts of killing, it’s punctuated with disturbing imagery from biblical verses spelled out of ripped-apart magazines to deformed bodies. The book gradually moves from crime novel to a disturbing horror story, but given Bigelow’s state of mind, it’s fitting. Every corner is a trap, every person out to get him. Whenever he kills someone, it’s not because they needed to, but because of what they could do.It’s vintage Thompson. It’s a somewhat typical story turned on it’s side, then flipped around and back and forth. It builds up to an insane, schizophrenic finish. And it’s a hell of a ride, too. Sure, it occasionally trips over itself as it zigs and zags and it’s occasionally hard to follow, but overall, it’s a fun, disturbing ride. I’m not sure it completely works, but when it does, it really does. Recommended .