SIN PIT by Paul S. Meskil

One of us would die. For the other, there would be Grace. I didn't know what she meant to him but, to me, she was worth all the risk.

Sin Pit was one of those cult pulp paperbacks that were notoriously difficult to find. But Automat.Press has come along and valiantly made it available again in e-book format, so I was stoked to get a crack at reading it! I was disappointed though to find that the book is more of a hard-boiled mystery than the sleaze noir that I hoped for. As a crime mystery, it's fairly enjoyable but at the same time, much of the developments and twists unfortunately were still pretty obvious. I could've done without much of the lagging bits featuring our unlikeable hero Barney Black pounding the pavement looking for clues and instead more of the interesting psychological touches of Barney confronting his hatred for women and himself, and how his infatuation with the aptly-named Randy Harding emphasizes it all.

A tiny warning bell sounded somewhere in my mind —the bell that had always meant danger. This time, I ignored it and told myself nothing mattered but this strange, catlike girl with the midnight eyes.

GRADE: C+