For
most of my life, I didn’t realize I enjoyed detective novels. It should’ve made
sense that I would enjoy them: noir is my favorite film genre. In reviewing
Nelson George’s To Funk and Die in LA last
year for Razorcake,I came to realize how much I enjoy the
genre. I especially like books set in the 1940s, which is the beginning of the
noir genre in film. Those set around L.A.
are even better.
Thus, I found Razorcake co-founder
and columnist Sean Carswell’s latest novel to be a perfect fit, as it checked
all the boxes. A detective story, set in the 1940s in and around Los Angeles? I couldn’t
have been happier.
The chapters go back and forth between the male lead, Jack Chesley, and his
wife, Wilma. Jack comes back from World War II in 1946 after being in a POW
camp in Germany
to find that Wilma died a few years earlier. Wilma’s chapters take place in
1943 and expose the reader to the reasons for her demise. This back and forth
not only gives one a path to follow along with the story, but also gives agency
to a female character and allows her to explain her life instead of having it
done through a male character’s lens. I appreciated that point of view because
it gives the reader an opportunity to see things from a perspective that is
atypical for detective books, which is normally male character dominated.
Detective stories are a new genre for Carswell, but one that he pulls off well.
His prose is tight, as is the dialogue. While some of the typical language of
many detective films and books from the ’40s was used (“dame,” “lugs” as
another name for hired muscle, “kitten” as a name for a cute woman), it wasn’t
heavy-handed.
Carswell’s talent for this genre is surprising and impressive. His ability to
create an environment that is authentic immersed me in the tale. I had an
understanding of the locations and a feel for what was surrounding the
characters. The pace is quick and this is literally one of those times I can
genuinely say I didn’t want to put a book down. Great stuff and highly
recommended. –Kurt Morris (Prospect
Park Books, 2359 Lincoln Ave., Altadena, CA 91001)