HOPE OF HEAVEN

O'Hara belongs in this section in the face of undisputed sales figures. Appointment in Samarra is still the touchstone for his success, though, quite frankly, he has never approached it since. He still has an accurate ear for dialogue in the somewhat pseudo-smart lingo, and an adroit use of the flash-back method. His narrative is indirect, swift-paced. There is an underlying irony in implied commentary on the passing show. His story has a somewhat unexpected twist at the end. Hard-boiled school, in evening dress rather than underworld, but with the same tempo. The setting — Hollywood — but not the screen world. Not a book for your conservatives, for once again he overplays his innuendo in questionable taste. But he has a following among the young moderns.