No one writes about gams like Abbott. ( )

I really wanted to like this book, and the writing is very skillful, but it just never clicked with me, and I was very impatient for it to end. I didn't think it was nearly as big a shock ending as one of the blubbers claimed. ( )

This was possibly the first noir novel I've ever read, and I enjoyed the setting. In particular, I was struck by the fast-paced and witty dialogue that I think is probably inherent to the genre, as I am a huge fan of both Gilmore Girls and Firefly for the same trait. I also enjoyed this story's unique perspective on the murder mystery. Usually, when reading a thriller, the main character is a detective or the victim's loved one, i.e. someone with motive to solve the case. Occasionally, of course, the story is instead told from the perspective of the criminal. This book, however, had the unique distinction of being told from the perspective of a Hollywood PR man, whose job it was to cover up incidents which might make the stars look bad. Because the missing girl was last seen with a couple of very big name actors, he did his part back in the day to cover up everything he knew about that night and keep the cops off the actors' tails. Now, about two years later, he's being pulled back in and wants to learn more about the case while keeping the rest of the world in the dark. I appreciated that chaotic neutral approach to crime-solving.

I only had a few minor complaints about this one, the first being that I wasn't able to follow the characters' conversations in a couple of places. Mainly this is due to the 50's slang combined with the incorporation of characters who were real people in Hollywood at the time. I didn't know who Mickey Cohen was, for one, and in another conversation, it was established that one character had syphilis without ever actually saying it outright, and I could tell I was a page or two behind where I was supposed to be in figuring out what they were trying to say. This might not be a problem for true aficionados of that era or culture, but as someone who doesn't read this stuff often, I felt like the author may have misjudged what common knowledge readers might be coming to the book with.

The other complaint I had was in regards to the protagonist, Hop. On a few occasions, he's described as acting uncharacteristically violent, and it's described as though he isn't in control of it but that it's simply happening. With that element put into a murder mystery, I assumed it would be important in the end, but it actually didn't really end up mattering at all, and I wasn't sure what the author was trying to get at by including it in the first place. ( )

Fairly compelling attempt at noir. Felt like it was running out of steam towards the middle but picked up again towards the end. Awesome cover art. ( )

great read...noir

big ship ( )