"For the first time readers can experience in English translation the masterful thriller considered Manchette's finest, proof positive that the French knew what they were talking about when they labeled this sort of novel 'noir'."
– Starred Review in Publishers Weekly, November 11, 2002

"In France, which long ago embraced American crime fiction, thrillers are referred to 'polars.' And in France the godfather and wizard of polars is Jean-Patrick Manchette.... For Manchette and his generation of writers who followed him, the crime novel is no mere entertainment, but a means to strip bare the failures of society, ripping through veils of appearance, deceit, and manipulation to the greed and violence that are the society's true engines." — The Boston Globe

"There's not a superfluous word or overdone effect in The Prone Gunman, one of the last cool, compact and shockingly original crime novels Manchette left as his legacy to modern noir fiction." — The New York Times Book Review

"This superbly muscular translation of the late French mystery writer Jean-Patrick Manchette's most celebrated work, The Prone Gunman, is the third volume issued [by] City Lights Noir. The series may prove to be the most needed contribution to contemporary fiction by any publisher in a good long while." – The San Francisco Chronicle

"For the first time, readers can experience in English translation the masterful thriller considered Manchette's finest, proof positive that the French knew what they were talking about when they labeled this sort of novel 'noir'." – Starred Review in Publishers Weekly

"Manchette describes his characters with the same wealth of external detail, icily delivered, that he uses for apartment decor or a hi-fi system." – The Village Voice

"This is lean, mean noir fiction that cleverly sends up the tough guy genre while incarnating it perfectly." — Detroit Free Press

"Jean-Patrick Manchette, the French novelist who died in 1995, is no stereotypical thriller writer. His world is external, all action and scheduling, like some off-kilter ‘Mission: Impossible’ episode. English-language fans of thrillers should be grateful to have more of him." —The Wall Street Journal

"The Prone Gunman … demonstrates Manchette’s perfect mastery."
—Robert Deleuse, Brief History of the French Crime Novel

Jean-Patrick Manchette (1942–1995) rescued the French crime novel from the grip of stodgy police procedurals, restoring the noir edge by virtue of his post-1968 leftism. Manchette is a totem to a generation of French mystery writers, and his stories have inspired several films, including Claude Chabrol’s Nada.

James Brook is a poet who has translated works by Guy Debord, Henri Michaux, Gellu Naum, Benjamin Péret, Alberto Savinio, Victor Serge, and Sebastian Reichmann.