Eric Beetner has been described as
‘the hardest working man in crime fiction.’ As well as writing numerous noirish
thrillers and award-winning short fiction he’s ventured into western territory
with the ‘Lawyer’ series.
Eric tells me that RUMRUNNERS ‘is the one most people have
responded to of my novels’ and that ‘writing about the McGraws is a lot of
fun.’
The McGraws, whilst calling
themselves outlaws not criminals, have made a living driving for the Stanleys, the main criminal gang in their part of the Midwest (mostly Iowa and Illinois.)
Unlike
his father and grandfather Tucker McGraw wants nothing to do with hauling
dubious loads for criminals and is trying to go straight. But
when his father, Webb, vanishes after a job, and with him a truck load of
drugs, the Stanleys want their drugs back or their money – and they want it
from Tucker.
So Tucker - with the help of his grandfather, Calvin -
finds himself sucked
back into the family business and heading down a highway that just might get
him killed.
A
Peterbilt truck, such as Webb drives when he vanishes:
Trucks and truckers have featured in many movies.
In the classic French thriller ‘The Wages of Fear’ (1954) Yves Montand and others take a
(literally) explosive ride in trucks transporting nitro-glycerine over
treacherous roads.
A sticky moment for a truck laden with explosives in ‘The Wages of Fear:’
Kris Kristofferson (on left, below) is a trucker in ‘Convoy’ (1978) whose rebellious spirit causes
him to end up being pursued by the law.
Lone motorist Dennis Weaver is pursued by a monstrous truck
determined to crush him beneath its many wheels in ‘Duel’ (1971.) In this early effort by Steven Spielberg, the truck played
the role later taken up by the predatory shark by ‘Jaws’ – but for me ‘Duel’
is the better, grittier and more suspenseful movie.
Dennis Weaver looks back...
And he’s still being pursued.
Back in
the classic film noir era, truckers involved in crime featured in such movies
as ‘Thieves Highway’
(1949) with Richard Conte
and ‘They drive
by Night’ (1940) with (below from left) Humphrey Bogart and George Raft.
In ‘I Walk Alone’
(1947) Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster (below, left to right) start out as bootleggers transporting
their illegal cargoes by truck.
The vast highways and vast landscapes of the U. S. A. (particularly
the west) lend themselves very naturally to trucker movies. The UK couldn’t
match that scale and had to make do with movies like ‘Hell Drivers,’ a relatively obscure 1957 thriller starring Stanley
Baker.
The illustrious (or soon-to-be-illustrious) cast of ‘Hell Drivers'
It’s most notable for its supporting cast, including
character actors like Herbert Lom, William Hartnell, (the first Dr. Who) Jill
Ireland, Gordon Jackson, Sid James and Alfie Bass. But it also features some up-and-coming
young actors who went on to be major stars on film and TV in the 60s: Patrick
McGoohan, David McCallum and – in one of the smallest parts – the actor who
went on to be the biggest star of the lot: Sean Connery.
From left: Stanley Baker, Sid James, Patrick McGoohan and
Sean Connery
REVIEWS
of RUMRUMMERS:
‘I
stayed up half one night reading Rumrunners… Terrific. Dark magic.’
‘Few
contemporary writers do justice to the noir tradition the way Eric Beetner
does… Beetner just takes the form and cuts his own jagged, raw and utterly
readable path.’
‘Fast and
funny and dark all at once.’
‘Fun
plot + believable characters + witty dialogue + breakneck pace = novel that
knocks your socks off.’
‘Pretty
much the spiritual heir to Elmore Leonard.’
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