This Week's Travel Reading, Hard Case Crime Edition

Yes. I know. I keep saying that I don't like Stephen King's novels--or, at least, don't like the way he spins his wheels repeatedly before getting to the point, or the plot.

And yet? Here I am again, reading his latest paperback from the Hard Case Crime imprint.

Why am I bothering, you ask?

For one thing, Hard Case Crime puts out a regular stream of excellent, "lost" crime novels by some of the finest practitioners of the art--Mickey Spillane, Donald Westlake and James M. Cain have all had thrillers appear under the imprint. King has as well, for that matter--both Joyland (which I read and enjoyed) and The Colorado Kid (which I haven't read yet) were published by Hard Case Crime.

For another, it's relatively short--only 264 pages--so even if it sucks, it won't suck for long.