PABLO D'STAIR - THIS LETTER TO NORMAN COURT (2011)

Synopsis/blurb.....

When petty crook Trevor English is offered two thousand dollars to deliver a letter across the country, the choice seems fairly simple - money up front, no way he can go wrong.

And when he finds himself in possession of correspondence several parties would pay to get their hands on, the choice seems even simpler - take what he can, while he can, from who he can... and disappear.

this letter to Norman Court is the first installment in Pablo D'Stair's five-novella Trevor English cycle.

Praise for the books by Pablo D'Stair:

"D'Stair is clearly a master. Likely Jean Patrick Manchette reincarnated... " - Matt Phillips, author of Countdown and The Bad Kind of Lucky

My second encounter with D'Stair's work in March and another interesting short novel following on from Man Standing Behind. This Letter to Norman Court introduces us to Trevor English, and is the first of five English books which will be republished by All Due Respect this year.

English is a small time thief and hustler. After lifting the wallet of a man, instead of getting his features rearranged, the victim offers English money to deliver a letter to his brother. With nothing better to do, English agrees to undertake the task.

Honesty is not an attribute English possesses an abundance of. He reads the letter and then hatches his own scheme to blackmail those connected to events revealed by the contents. We follow Trevor's every move and thought processes as he switches from one victim to the next. We witness his avarice and his accumulation of funds and we see the fall-out and destruction his actions has on those he manipulates.

Trevor is not a nice man, nor does he ever pretend to be. He is interesting company though. His actions are always self-serving and not always well thought out. There's no real remorse or any sign that he is unduly affected by the consequences of his behaviour, but somewhat surprisingly I didn't really dislike him. He does know his limitations. Despite enduring the loathing of one of his victims, he has a counter offer of murder for hire on the man who sets the events in the book in motion. A step too far for our man, or is it confirmation he's a coward?

There's an interesting outcome to the book. Trevor is reminded that he isn't the biggest fish in the pond, probably soemthing he knows only too well. Sometimes when you're swimming, you encounter a shark.

I'm quite looking forward to the second instalment - Mister Trot from Tin Street. 

4.5 from 5

Read - March, 2020
Published - 2011 originally (2020 this edition)
Page count - 140
Source - review copy received from Chris at publishers, All Due Respect
Format - paperback

BRIAN GARFIELD - THE MARKSMAN (2000)

Synopsis/blurb.....

"The Marksman" is an original novelette, never published anywhere else, that is a crime and adventure story in the best Brian Garfield tradition - a race against the clock, double- and triple-crosses, and a breathtaking confrontation which makes the ending one you'll never forget.

There's an introduction of a couple of pages in length by the author, which explains that this was originally written as a screenplay of about 105 pages long which would have made a 95 minute movie. The film was never made, which is a disappointment because I would have quite liked to have seen it.

We open with our main character, Radford being observed by several men around him. Radford is a PTSD suffering veteran with not much going for him. I think he's a dishwasher at a diner. He's goaded into a fight which is corroborative evidence for later as to his instability. He gets kidnapped and drugged and is set up as the fall guy after a sniper assassination of a foreign VIP. Radford's time in service was noted for his sharpshooting marksmanship. Fortunately, dumped unconscious at the scene of the crime with his prints on the rifle, he comes to, just in time to escape the building as it is flooded with police looking for the sniper.

The rest of the book sees him trying to escape the box that has been constructed around him, whilst a fugitive from the police. The police are ably assisted by some special agent types, the leader of whom, Colonel Vickers is the controller of the rogue group that has decided it doesn't like the direction America is taking and is performing black-ops killings to force a rethink. Radford is the unwitting patsy being used by them.

I much preferred this tale to the predecessor in this double edition - The Hit. It's tighter, sparcer, more strident and I liked the set-up. There's a sympathetic main character, who is ably assisted by a psychiatrist who doesn't believe him guilty of what he's accused off. The savvy and nous of the lead cop, Commander Clay hunting for him also helps his cause. She's not prepared to fall for Vickers and his BS unless she has incontrovertible evidence to confirm it. I quite liked her assertiveness and independence pushing back against Vickers' manipulations.

I like conspiracy books and plots and schemes and singular victims who while fancying nothing other than a quite life and to be left alone, manage to find the fire within to fight
back against the odds.

I really enjoyed the urgency of the tale, the fast paced action scenes, the conversations and the confrontations and the outcome.

4.5 from 5

Read - March, 2020
Published - 2000
Page count - 100
Source - owned copy
Format - hardback omnibus edition with The Hit

JAKE HINKSON - THE BIG UGLY (2014)

Synopsis/blurb......

Ellie Bennett is an ex-corrections officer who has just served a year inside Eastgate Penitentiary for assaulting a prisoner. She’s only been out for a day when she accepts a strange job offer from the head of a Christian political advocacy group. He wants her to track down a missing ex-con named Alexis. Although no one knows where Alexis has gone, it seems like everyone in Arkansas is looking for her—from a rich televangelist running for Congress to the governor’s dirty tricks man. When Bennett finds the troubled young woman, she has to decide whether to hand her over to the highest bidder or help her escape from the most powerful men in the state.

* * * * *

“Keep an eye on Jake Hinkson. He's taking the notion of the sacred and the profane to an entirely new level in noir.”
—Lou Boxer, co-founder of NoirCon

My third encounter with author Jake Hinkson's work after Hell on Church Street and Saint Homicide were enjoyed back in 2013 and 2014 respectively. It's been a while then.

The Big Ugly is a longer offering than those two previous novellas and I really liked it.

Politics, religion, secrets, money, the hunt for power and control and at the centre of it a missing woman in danger and our main character, an ex-con ex-prison officer Ellie Bennett searching for her. Bennett is trying to put her life back together and get some breathing space from the suffocating environment of her well-meaning extended family. Some easy cash will help. A corrupt parole officer won't.

Quite a busy book, Ellie finds an unusual ally to assist with the search - another ex-con and when she has the answers her less than well meaning benefactors want, the moral fibre to make the right choice for missing-now-found target Alexis and her future, even if it's not an easy one. Complications and consequences ensue, one of them being a memorable encounter with the psychopathic brother of one of the rich and famous involved. 

Some negotiating skills to manage conflict resolution, allied with heart and some kick-ass down and dirty fighting abilities make Ellie Bennett an interesting main character who carries the book.

Pace, setting, story, characters, plenty of action/violence, a satisfying resolution - all present in spades and plus points for me. If I have a disappointment it's that the author seems to have dispensed with his main character after this book. I, for one would have liked to have another outing with her.

4.5 from 5

A couple more from Jake Hinkson sit on the TBR pile - The Deepening Shade and The Posthumous Man. Hopefully it won't be another six years before I read him again.

Read - March, 2020
Published - 2014
Page count - 258
Source - owned copy
Format - Kindle

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - W IS FOR.... WILLEFORD, WALES, WHITE MEAT

On the home straight now, week 23 and W in the frame.

W is for.....

Willeford - Charles Willeford, author of the 5 book Hoke Moseley series, 6 sort of, if you factor in Grimhaven and a lot more besides. I really like his stuff, but I still have a lot of it to get to.

The Shark Infested Custard has been on the TBR pile a while, surely not 27 years though? Must be, as I dimly remember buying it new - Murder One on Charing Cross Road.

The Shark Infested Custard (1993)

They are just four regular guys by the pool: ex-cop Larry 'Fuzz' Dolman, airline pilot Eddie Miller, salesman Don Luchessi and drug company rep Hank Norton. They live in a 'singles only' Miami apartment block. They like regular-guy things: booze, broads, cars, and a good card game.

The Shark-infested Custard is a startlingly amoral update of Dumas' The Three Musketeers set in 1970s Miami. As our four male swingers commit increasingly barbarous crimes it becomes clear that their only guiding principle is not to get caught - by adhering to the 'all for one, one for all' maxim.

Willeford joyfully applies the scalpel to the vacuous heart of male America, where being one of the guys is always going to be more important than mere life and death.


W is for .....

Wales....... 

Dick Francis, Bill James, Desmond Barry, John Williams, Sean Burke, Mike Thomas and a few more besides.

I'll go for Desmond Barry and Robert Lewis

A Bloody Good Friday (2002)

Good Friday, 1977, Merthyr Tydfil. At twenty to midnight a dozen different forces converge - Macky, just out of jail; the gippos and their knives; the Shop Boys, fifty or sixty skinheads in fanatical pursuit of recreational violence; P. C. Phillips, the young copper with something to prove; Mohan Singh, proud owner of the Taj Mahal curry house. The result: mayhem. 'Race Riot Erupts in Valleys Town. Scores Injured.' And witness to it all, Davey Daunt, a spazzy with a leg brace, the only one who knows what really happened. Desmond Barry's highly acclaimed first novel


Robert Lewis - The Last Llanelli Train, first in a three book series from the author and some PI fiction

The Last Llanelli Train (2005)

Robin Llewellyn is a private eye. More or less. Part time really, while he gets on with the full-time job of drinking himself to death on the mean streets of Bristol. He's one step away from the gutter when he gets one last case. A case that smells of money. A woman wants to set her husband up for blackmail. All Robinhas to do is find a hooker to the job, and collect his money. the maybe he'll be back in the game. Orat least have enough to pay for another drink and another bet. If only life that simple. The last Llanelli train drags the private eye novel into the 21st century and some very dark places indeed. Mixing purest noir with some very black comedy, the Last Llanelli train offers an unforgettable portrait of a man at the very end of his tether.





W is for.....

White Meat - a bit of Aussie crime fiction from Peter Corris and the second in the Cliff Hardy series which stretches to over 40 books.

White Meat (1981)

PI Cliff Hardy needs a nice smooth job, something to pay the bills - and keep his glass filled - but this job is anything but smooth

Cliff Hardy is stone broke, which makes it hard to resist a job from the man he's been losing money to. Ted Tarleton is a rich bookie with a beautiful, spoiled daughter who's gone missing, and Ted wants Hardy to find her. Her boyfriend is no help, and Hardy faces opposition from all sides as he delves into the increasingly violent wreckage of Noni's past.


Back next week with some xxxx for you!



Previous Alphabet entries........

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - A IS FOR.... AX, ABBOTT, ABERDEEN

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - B IS FOR ....... BOSTON, BIRD, BONES

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - C IS FOR.........CAPE TOWN, CONFIDENCE MEN, CROSS

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - D IS FOR ....... DETROIT, DISHER, DEAD

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - E IS FOR ....... EDINBURGH, EXCESS, ELLIS

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - F IS FOR ....... FLORIDA, FRANCIS, FLOATERS

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - G IS FOR ....... GALWAY, GUNS, GRAFTON

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - H IS FOR ....... HAMBURG, HAMMETT, HIDDEN RIVER

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - I IS FOR ....... ICE, ICELAND, IZZO

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - J IS FOR ....... JAPAN, JACK CARTER. JELLO SALAD

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - K IS FOR ....... KING, KOREA, KEEPER

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - L IS FOR ........ LE CRIME, LEONARD, LOS ANGELES 

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - M IS FOR ........ MIAMI, MACKAY, MUCHO MOJO 

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - N IS FOR ........ NORWAY, NISBET, NEMESIS

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - O IS FOR ........ OWEN, ONE NIGHT STANDS AND LOST WEEKENDS, OXFORD

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - P IS FOR ........ PARKER, PHILADELPHIA, PAYDIRT

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - R IS FOR ........ RAYMOND, ROGUE COP, RUSSIA

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - S IS FOR ...... SWEDEN, SMITH, SILENT JOE

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - T IS FOR ...... THOMPSON, TEXAS, TOWER

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - U IS FOR ...... UHNAK, UTAH, UNDER THE BRIGHT LIGHTS

CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - V IS FOR ...... VALIN, VEGAS, VOICES

2 BY JOHN GRISHAM

A couple this week from John Grisham.

While I spend a lot of time reading Indie and small press crime fiction, I'm not immune to the pleasure to be taken from reading a heavyweight mainstream author off the best seller lists. I just don't want to read those books all the time.

John Grisham fits that bill. I do enjoy a legal thriller when I actually get around to reading one and it's been many a year since I read one of his. In fact I reckon I have probably seen more film adaptations of his books than I have read them.

The last one I read from him was back in 2011, The Last Juror and I can remember jack about it. Nine years is a long time to be away from something you enjoy.

The Street Lawyer (1998)

Michael was in a hurry. He was scrambling up the ladder at Drake and Sweeney, a giant Washington law firm. He was a rising str, with no time to waste, no time to toss a few coins into the cups of panhandlers, no time for a conscience.

But a violent encounter with a homeless man stopped him cold. Michael survived, his assailant did not. Who was this man? Michael did some digging and found a dirty secret and the secret involved Drake and Sweeney.








The Summons (2002)

Ray Atlee is a professor of law at the university of Virginia who is forty-three and newly single. He has a father, a very sick old man who lives alone in the ancestral home in Clanton, Mississippi; a beloved and powerful official who has towered over local law and politics for many years and is now a recluse.

With the end in sight, Judge Atlee issues a summons to Ray to return home to Clanton, to discuss the details of his estate.

Ray reluctantly heads south. But the meeting does not take place. The Judge dies too soon, and in doing so leaves behind a shocking secret knwon only to Ray.

And perhaps someone else.

APRIL 2020 - ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY - 6 OF THE BEST!

Another dirty half dozen to look forward to.......

... two from Net Galley, 2 from Amazon for the Kindle and a couple of review copies, one from an author, one from the publisher.

Colin Conway - Cozy up to Death (2020) - review copy from author

Cozy mysteries aren't particulalry my thing, but this one apparently is a cozy that isn't cozy. I've had Colin Conway's books on my radar for a while, particularly his collaborations with Frank Zafiro, so I wasn't going to turn down the chance to read a book from his latest series.

Cozy up to Death is the first and is followed by Cozy up to Murder and the forthcoming Cozy up to Blood.

Synopsis/blurb......

A man in hiding. A gang of outlaws searching for retribution. This is no time for cupcakes.

“Colin Conway has written the most unusual hero I've come across in a long time. Both touching and sweet with a razor-sharp edge. This is not your grandma's cozy.”
Libby Klein, Author of the Poppy McAllister Mysteries

Today is Brody Steele’s first day as the new owner of The Red Herring, Pleasant Valley, Maine’s only mystery bookstore. The cute shop has a loyal customer base as well as an ornery cat.

Unfortunately, Brody doesn’t know the first thing about running a legitimate business, he doesn’t want to be in the small town, and he hates cats. On top of all that, he hasn’t read a book since high school.

When a cute woman walks into the store, he thinks his bad luck is about to change. But as she starts asking about the previous owner’s whereabouts, his safe new existence begins to unravel.

For Brody Steele is a man with a secret he must protect at all costs. The U.S. Government has invested a lot to keep it hidden, and his enemies will stop at nothing to expose him.

Does happiness or death await Brody in this charming seaside community?

Nicholas Rhea - Constable on the Hill (1979) - Amazon purchase

Well I surprised myself with this buy, though it was only 99p. I enjoyed the TV series back in the day and very often when I get home from work there are episodes airing on one of the satellite TV channels and when I tune in I still like the series so why not? I probably won't go any further than this as there are about 30 in the series and that's too big a commitment for me. I'm curious to compare and see if the show has the same essence as the books.

Synopsis/blurb.....

THE BOOKS WHICH INSPIRED HEARTBEAT

The brilliantly entertaining and heartwarming books behind the hit 90s TV series Heartbeat. One of the top ten most watched shows of the decade.

In the beautiful North Yorkshire countryside of the 1960s, Constable Nick's roles are as varied as the eccentric villagers.

He handles every encounter with his characteristic humour, humanity and professionalism.

His investigations include the case of a clever pony who keeps escaping, a woman running through town naked, and a pack of Canadian timber wolves hanging out in a bus shelter.

IT’S NOT THE BIG CITY BUT THE YORKSHIRE COUNTRYSIDE IS STILL FULL OF INCIDENT

He soon gets to know all the characters on his beat, from his superior officer Sergeant Blaketon to Claude Jeremiah Greengrass, whose lurcher Alfred lands him with a summons for “allowing a dog to worry livestock on agricultural land.” The ever-resourceful Claude Jeremiah offers the defence that Alfred's victim, a budgie, cannot be described as livestock!

John Farrow - Roar Back (2020) - Net Galley

I have a few of Farrow's Emile Cinq-Mars series on the TBR pile, acquired after enjoying Ball Park last year. I'm not passing up the chance to read the next in the series.

Synopsis/blurb.....

Sergeant-Detective Émile Cinq-Mars fails with a task set to him by his former captain and the consequences look set to spark a gangland war in Montreal.

Montreal, 1978. Newly promoted Sergeant-Detective Émile Cinq-Mars attends the scene of seventeen break-ins at an apartment complex. Nothing more than stolen toasters. Cinq-Mars suspects that the burglaries are a trial run for a bigger heist . . . until he discovers a body pinned to a wall with a machete in one apartment.

When the former captain of Night Patrol, Armand Touton, receives a tip from an undercover informant in the Mafia, Cinq-Mars is ordered to intervene with a prisoner's release: the man must stay behind bars. He fails with the task and the immediate consequences are devastating.

While trying to remedy his failure, solve the mystery of the break-ins and the case of the dead body, a chilling aspect emerges . . . gangland Montreal is bracing for war.

Michael Wiley - Lucky Bones (2020) - Net Galley

Another author I have been meaning to read for a while and haven't yet gotten around to.

Synopsis/blurb....

A case of stolen shoes leads maverick Chicago PI Sam Kelson into something far darker and deeper in the second of this hardhitting crime noir series. "My boyfriend's been stealing my Jimmy Choos." Genevieve Bower has hired private investigator Sam Kelson to recover her stolen shoes from her soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend. The problem is that no one's seen Genevieve's boyfriend for the past two weeks. Events take a disturbing twist when, in his search for the shoes, Kelson comes across a body, shot in the head. A clear-cut case of suicide - or is it? Has Kelson's client been wholly honest with him? What is this case really about? At the same time, an explosion rips through one of the city's public libraries, leaving a friend's nephew critically injured. Could there be a connection? If there is, Kelson's determined to find it. But Kelson's not like other investigators. Taking a bullet in the brain during his former career as a Chicago cop, he suffers from disinhibition: he cannot keep silent or tell lies when questioned - and his involuntary outspokenness is about to lead him into dangerous waters . . .

T.J. Brearton - When He Vanished (2019) - Amazon FREEBIE purchase

A bit of a punt, an Amazon FREEBIE and with nearly 150 positive reviews for it and a page count of under 250 worth a look.


Synopsis/blurb....

WHAT IF YOUR HUSBAND DISAPPEARED AND THE POLICE THOUGHT YOU MIGHT HAVE KILLED HIM?

Jane Gable returns from her shift at the hospital one night to find her two children asleep in bed and her husband gone, his phone and wallet left behind.

John has long been a responsible and dependable man, maintaining a predictable schedule. He is a former alcoholic, and so Jane fears he has relapsed and may be in trouble.

An ‘old friend’ of John’s, Bruce Barnes, turned up on their doorstep the day before his disappearance.

Jane’s son Russ had seen a mysterious blonde woman at the house.

An SUV keeps showing up. Jane feels watched and under threat.

Then John’s abandoned car is found with blood on the steering wheel and Jane fears the worst. And there is a revelation that will make her question her own sanity.

Jane desperately begins investigating on her own. Suspects include her ex-husband, her stepbrother, and the mysterious blonde.

Is she being framed? Can she even trust herself?

HOW FAR WILL SHE GO TO SAVE HER FAMILY?

Joe Edd Morris - The Prison (2019) - copy from Black Rose Publishing

A great cover which captured my attention initially and an intriguing outline. Looks like one I'll enjoy.

Synopsis/blurb.....

"The Prison is an exciting murder mystery led by amateur sleuth Shell Ferguson, who uncovers clues in disarming and lively ways. A brilliant novel!" –Michael Hartnett, bestselling author of The Blue Rat

Shell Ferguson visits his incarcerated grandson Cal with tragic news: his daughter, wife, and grandmother have perished in a fire. Cal must rely on his grandfather to uncover the suspicious circumstances of the blaze, as clues unfold to establish his innocence. Compelling revelations link the fire and Cal’s innocence with domestic terrorism. From plots to blow up Mississippi River bridges to threats on their lives, grandfather and grandson take a series of risks, including Cal’s daring prison escape, in an attempt to save the remnants of their family and southern community so disturbingly infiltrated.

APRIL 2020 - FILMS + TV (HOME VIEWING)

No cinema trips in the month obviously, and not too much in the way of TV enjoyed either surprisingly.

Several reasons for this ...... no.1 son popped home early March for a couple of days to celebrate his and one of his sister's birthdays and ended up staying six weeks. Before his return to The Netherlands yesterday, the remote control was glued to his hands which kind of kyboshed my input into what we might look at. Secondly, I'm not actually locked down. I've carried on working. My job is key apparently. If I told you what it was I might have to kill you..... probably by boring you to death.

Anyway..... four films and one TV show enjoyed

Quiz - ITV Drama series (2020)

A three episode dramatisation of the hoohah surrounding a million pound winner then loser of the ITV quiz show Who Wants to be a Millionaire? I quite liked this one, though I'm not totally convinced of Charles Ingram's guilt. Eye opening in places, particularly the manipulation behind the scenes to get people onto the show. Martin Sheen as Chris Tarrant and Matthew Macfadyen as Ingram were very good.

From Wikipedia......

Quiz tells the extraordinary and sensational story of how Charles Ingram, a former army major in the Royal Engineers, unexpectedly won the £1,000,000 jackpot on the quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in 2001, followed by a criminal trial in which he and his wife were convicted of cheating their way to the success.

American Psycho (2000)

If I was asked to name the worst book I've ever read in my lifetime, American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis would be in my top three easily. I wouldn't even have to think about it. The bar was set low for the film then, but I really enjoyed it. I do like Christian Bale.

From Google....

Patrick Bateman, a wealthy investment banker, hides his psychopathic ego from his friends. Later, his illogical fantasies escalate and he submits to an uncontrollable bloodlust.

The Brothers Grimsby (2016)

One my son selected and it was absolutely hilarious. I'm not Sacha Baron Cohen's biggest fan, but it was funny as fuck...... hilarious, gross, crude, and a bit of action. Not everyone's cup of tea and one even I wouldn't dare watch in front of my mum. Rebel Wilson, Penelope Cruz, Isla Fisher, Ian McShane and Mark Strong also feature.

From Google.....

Dimwitted Nobby (Sacha Baron Cohen) lives in an English fishing town with his loving girlfriend (Rebel Wilson) and nine children. For the last 28 years, he's been searching for his long-lost brother Sebastian (Mark Strong). When the two finally reunite, Nobby finds out that his sibling is a top MI6 agent who's just uncovered a sinister plot. Wrongfully accused and on the run, Sebastian now realizes that he needs Nobby's help to save the world and prove his innocence.

Spenser Confidential (2020)

I've seen this one slated by many on Facebook and Twitter but I really enjoyed it. I think I regarded it as a film in its own right without referencing it against the characters Robert B. Parker created in his books. Books I've read a lot of maybe twenty five years or so ago and really enjoyed before I got a bit tired of them.

From Wikipedia....

Spenser Confidential is a 2020 American action comedy film directed by Peter Berg and with a screenplay by Sean O'Keefe and Brian Helgeland. This film centers the plot of an ex-convict, former Boston police officer, whose task is to take down the Trinitario drug gang after two Boston officers were murdered. It is very loosely based on the novel Wonderland by Ace Atkins, and uses the names of characters created by Robert B. Parker, though the characters portrayed in this film have virtually no resemblance to the characters created by him. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Winston Duke, Alan Arkin, Iliza Shlesinger, Bokeem Woodbine, Donald Cerrone, Marc Maron, and Austin Post and marks the fifth collaboration between Wahlberg and Berg after Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon, Patriots Day, and Mile 22.

The Meyerowitz Stories (2017)

Another one of my son's picks and I enjoyed it well enough - a bit of a family drama. I possibly wouldn't have paid so much attention if it hadn't starred Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller and Dustin Hoffman. Enjoyed but not as much as other films I've seen with all three actors .......eg, Dodgeball, Along Came Polly, Rain Man, The Wedding Singer

From Wikipedia....

The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) is a 2017 American comedy-drama film directed and written by Noah Baumbach. The film stars Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Elizabeth Marvel and Emma Thompson, and follows a group of dysfunctional adult siblings trying to live in the shadow of their father.

The Meyerowitz Stories was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section and also won the Palm Dog award at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. It received positive reviews from critics, who praised Baumbach's script and direction as well as the performances, with Sandler especially singled out for praise. It was released in theaters and on streaming by Netflix on October 13, 2017.