THE ASPHALT JUNGLE

by W.R. Burnett ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 22, 1949

Equalling his best, Little Caesar, High Sierra, this is a sustained and relentless story of the planning and execution of a foolproof crime, the robbery of a jewelry store in a middle western city which would not a half million take. Getting right down to the raw materials, here is the dossier on all who participated, the gradations of caste among them, the particular talents of each operator, and the human frailties which were to lead to failure. There was Erwin Riemenschneider, the little doctor, just out of the Walls, who contributed the master plan, liked young girls too much; Dix, who packed the heat, used his gun rather than his head; Cobby, the bookie, who put up the spot cash; Emmerich, an eminent lawyer, who was to handle the jewels; Louis Bellini, the toolman, etc. etc. And from the first premonitions to the first wrong moves, this follows through the aftermath of the crime, the dragnet and the chase which ended in death or capture... In its accuracy, its intensity, this is pretty hard to beat.

Pub Date: Aug. 22, 1949

ISBN: 0795300328

Page Count: -

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1949

Categories: FICTION