Odd Man Out (1945)
F.L. Green
With a new introduction by Adrian McKinty
Book Description
An Irish Republican Army plot goes horribly wrong when its leader, Johnny Murtah, kills an innocent man and is himself gravely wounded. As the police close in on Johnny, his compatriots must make a daring bid to rescue him. But they are not the only ones in pursuit: an impoverished artist, a saintly priest, a sleazy informer, and a beautiful young woman all have their own reasons to be desperate to find him. Meanwhile Johnny wanders the streets injured and alone, trapped in a delirious nightmare, surrounded on all sides by betrayal and faced with the realization that he may die that night with the stain of murder on his soul. The action unfolds over eight hours of a cold Belfast night, with the suspense building towards an explosive conclusion.
Both a critical success and a bestseller, F. L. Green’s masterful thriller Odd Man Out (1945) is best known today as the basis for the classic 1947 film adaptation directed by Carol Reed and starring James Mason. This edition, the first in over 30 years, features a new introduction by Adrian McKinty.
F.L. Green
With a new introduction by Adrian McKinty
Book Description
An Irish Republican Army plot goes horribly wrong when its leader, Johnny Murtah, kills an innocent man and is himself gravely wounded. As the police close in on Johnny, his compatriots must make a daring bid to rescue him. But they are not the only ones in pursuit: an impoverished artist, a saintly priest, a sleazy informer, and a beautiful young woman all have their own reasons to be desperate to find him. Meanwhile Johnny wanders the streets injured and alone, trapped in a delirious nightmare, surrounded on all sides by betrayal and faced with the realization that he may die that night with the stain of murder on his soul. The action unfolds over eight hours of a cold Belfast night, with the suspense building towards an explosive conclusion.
Both a critical success and a bestseller, F. L. Green’s masterful thriller Odd Man Out (1945) is best known today as the basis for the classic 1947 film adaptation directed by Carol Reed and starring James Mason. This edition, the first in over 30 years, features a new introduction by Adrian McKinty.
reviews
‘A spellbinder . . . takes hold before the first shot is fired’ – New York Times
‘Rarely does a tale about pursuers and pursued reach the intensity of fear, uncertainty and apprehension’ – New York World-Telegram
‘Of unusual interest and distinction . . . very moving . . . produces effects of high and painful excitement’ – Spectator
‘Rarely does a tale about pursuers and pursued reach the intensity of fear, uncertainty and apprehension’ – New York World-Telegram
‘Of unusual interest and distinction . . . very moving . . . produces effects of high and painful excitement’ – Spectator
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BOOK DETAILS
ISBN: 194114764X ISBN-13: 978-1941147641 $16.99 US, 272 pp. Trade paper Published 2015 |
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ALSO AVAILABLE THROUGH ONLINE RETAILERS
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Frederick Lawrence Green was born in 1902 in Portsmouth, England. In 1929, he married Irish-born Margaret Edwards and lived with her in Belfast beginning in the mid-1930s. Green’s first novel, Julius Penton, appeared in 1934, but it was his second, On the Night of the Fire (1939), which established his reputation, earning good reviews and being adapted for a film version directed by Brian Desmond Hurst.
Green was fairly prolific in the years that followed, publishing twelve novels between 1940 and 1952, though of these he remains chiefly remembered for Odd Man Out (1945), which spawned a film adaptation in 1947 directed by Carol Reed and starring James Mason.
Green died in Bristol in 1953.
Green was fairly prolific in the years that followed, publishing twelve novels between 1940 and 1952, though of these he remains chiefly remembered for Odd Man Out (1945), which spawned a film adaptation in 1947 directed by Carol Reed and starring James Mason.
Green died in Bristol in 1953.