It's like a motto: you don't read Crumley for plot, you read him for... everything else. It's true. the rhythm of a Crumley novel is utterly unlike that of any other crime novel. The story stops and starts, drifts, twists, turns, wanders, pulls over by the side of the road to light up a doobie and enjoy the stars, then crashes through a bar and wrecks everything and kills everyone. Along the way there are great characters, strange incidents, powerful insights, substance abuse, astonishing violence, poetry and writing as beautiful as anything. Most other crime books are what I read while waiting for the next James Crumley to come along.