THEY DON'T DANCE MUCH

THEY DON'T DANCE MUCH, James Ross's only published novel, is a book that has long been admired by writers and connoisseurs of the "hard-boiled" genre. It was first published in 1940 but has been out of print for many years. The new reissue from Mysterious Press brought this wonderful review by Jonathan Yardley of the Washington Post:
"superb ... as tightly controlled as anything by Chandler or Dashiell Hammett"

With an Introduction by Daniel Woodrell Originally published in 1940, this tough, realistic novel exemplifies Depression-era literature in the United States. The setting of is a sleazy North Carolina roadhouse, complete with dance floor, restaurant, gambling room, and cabins rented by the hour. Smut Milligan, the proprietor, seeks money to keep operating and in the process commits a brutal murder. “Establishes Ross's kinship with all true storytellers since Homer, his understanding that all classes – that is, the whole human race – are essentially unimprovable, an eternal mix of meanness and nobility, violence and compassion, horror and humor.” —The Millions