Son of Parker: The Joe Kurtz Novels by Dan Simmons

The Joe Kurtz series consists of three novels by Dan Simmons, who is better known for his award-winning science fiction.

Joe Kurtz is a tough-as-nails (or hard-as-nails, I guess) private eye and this violent series seems to be Simmons' attempt to write the hardest-boiled crime fiction ever.

The first book, Hard Case, contains this dedication: "This book is for Richard Stark, who sometimes writes under the wussy pseudonym of Donald Westlake..."

The third book, Hard as Nails, contains the following exchange:

   "I never knew my father, did you?" said Rigby.
    "You know I didn't," said Kurtz.
    "But you told me once that your mother told you that your father was a professional thief or something."
    Kurtz shrugged.  "My mother was a whore.  I didn't see much of her even before the orphanage.  Once when she was drunk, she told me that she thought my old man was a thief, some guy with just one name and that not even his own.  Not a second-story guy, but a real hardcase who would set up serious jobs with a bunch of other pros and then blow town forever.  She said he and she were together for just a week in the late sixties."
    "Must have been preparing for some heist," said Rigby.
    Kurtz smiled.  "She said that he never wanted sex except right after a successful job."

Unfortunately, there will be no more Joe Kurtz novels. 

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