The David Goodis reading list

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Noir

superfan Lou Boxer shares his favorite Goodis novels for newbies to the genre. Boxer warns that many first editions of these books are expensive and hard to come by, but reprints are readily available of most titles and many can be found in electronic form, too. For those really looking to dig deep, Boxer said Goodis wrote more than 400 stories for pulp magazines under pseudonyms.

Here are some of the most Phillycentric of his titles:

"Of Tender Sin." Actuarial assistant Al Darby has a seemingly perfect life, complete with a loving wife. But when he suspects her of cheating, he is drawn into Philadelphia's dark side in the depths of winter, stalking the memory of a mysterious blonde.

"Down There" a/k/a "Shoot the Piano Player." Eddie was once a classical pianist, playing to audiences at Carnegie Hall. But now he plays for drunks at a sleazy Philly bar. When his brother and a comely waitress enter Eddie's life, it will never be the same. French auteur Francois Truffaut adapted Goodis' novel and moved the setting to Paris. The French have been torchbearers for Goodis' work; the only Goodis biography is in French, Philippe Garnier's "David Goodis: La Cie En Noir Et Blanc" (A Life in Black and White), and a character in Jean-Luc Godard's "Made in the U.S.A." is named after Goodis.

"Dark Passage." Goodis' first novel to become a film, it follows the escape of Vince Parry (played by Humphrey Bogart) from San Quentin prison in search of the man who framed him for his wife's death. He is aided by Irene Janney (played by Bogey's love Lauren Bacall), who wholeheartedly believes in Parry's innocence. Sound familiar? In 1965, Goodis sued the producers of the ABC TV show "The Fugitive" for appropriating his idea. In his deposition, Goodis said that the "nucleus of the plot is exactly the same."

"Black Friday." Hart must navigate a tight criminal network in the depths of a Philadelphia winter to save his own skin. Boxer likes this one for local geography.

"Cassidy's Girl." A huge commercial success for Goodis, this novel follows the titular pilot-turned-bus driver who is caught between his manipulative wife, Mildred, and a frail alcoholic named Doris, who picks him up when he's down. Unfortunately, Mildred's man on the side doesn't take too kindly to Cassidy. For another taste of Goodis' arsenal of manipulative women, check out "Behold this Woman."

- Molly Eichel