The only mystery writer that I read is John D. MacDonald. He's the only one that Stephen King ever praised, and MacDonald contributed an introduction to one of King's short story collections.
MacDonald wrote some 50 novels, and of all them, I've never read a bad one. The last one I read is The Neon Jungle, written in the middle '50's.
Even then, people were howling about the horrors of high school, and how awful the kids were. The novel is dated, but that is part of the fascination of it.
The kids wear black leather jackets, ducktails, and carry switchblades. They smoke "tea" (it took me a minute to figure out what he was talking about), which leads to "horse" (that I knew). MacDonald got that wrong, but it's the only thing misstep he took in the book. Otherwise, it's an absorbing look at high school in the '50's. I enjoyed it, and so will you.
Posted by Bob Wallace, who has a black leather jacket but no ducktail.
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