The Austin Chronicle reviews THE SECOND HALF OF THE DOUBLE FEATURE.
“His quartet of decidedly untraditional, insightful, and wickedly funny crime novels cemented Florida’s reputation as a place where the norms of behavior are so out of whack, the criminals almost seem normal — and that is the essence of the world-view you’ll find woven through the 25 short stories and essays in The Second Half of the Double Feature…”
LEO Weekly reviews THE SECOND HALF OF THE DOUBLE FEATURE:
“The Second Half of the Double Feature” is a remarkable piece of writing…The stories in this volume are absolutely delicious. All of Willeford’s trademarks are present; the blacker-than-black humor, the inherently violent characters, the prescience so acute one might suspect the author of being a closeted science fiction fan. To wit, Willeford dishes out riffs on reality TV (“The Listener,” “The First Five in Line”) some 30 years before these ideas were digested and then, er, excreted on television. There are also plenty of short tales of petty criminals and more than enough previously unpublished material to justify a purchase by even the most obsessive Willeford collectors.”
BOOKLIST reviews THE SECOND HALF OF THE DOUBLE FEATURE:
“It’s a title deserving of resurrection, which makes it a fitting moniker for this posthumous collection of short stories and autobiographical sketches (including seven unpublished ones). Willeford…delivers indictments of human nature more wry than withering in stories that explore such weirdly wonderful notions as trying to find a date at a drive-in theater and hosting a Tupperware party for men. But the memoir sections prove most satisfying, as Willeford recounts his Army life just after World War II. A highly decorated tank commander, he eschews war stories for perfectly pitched accounts of soldiers at loose ends that bring to mind the young Hunter S. Thompson. “
