Pick Up A Pulp [23]: THE BIG CLOCK by Kenneth Fearing

The Big Clock is a book where the concept was better than the execution. 

Originally published in 1946, the book focuses on George Stroud, a senior manager at a publishing firm, married with a young child; the book alludes to him being somewhat of a womanizer with a history of adultery. It's his loose morals that lands him in hot water when the girlfriend of his boss is found brutally murdered moments after he last saw her. 

Sounds like a very good book - perfectly dark and oozing that noir atmosphere I love being enveloped in, and in a way it is a good book but unfortunately there's a lot of filler content which detracts from the pacing - a real let down considering the page count it relatively low (144 pages).

There's a distinct cat and mouse feel to The Big Clock as the world closes in on George as he tries to maintain his innocence while keeping his affair secret. The later stages of the book capture his frenetic scheming to great effect, a real highlight of the book.  

My rating: 3/5 stars. I would recommend this to fans of early American noir. It's a book that reads better if you read slowly and get through big chunks in each sitting.