Just finished Eight-Ball Boogie which is a first book by an
Irish author, Declan Burke. It's right on the border of
hardboiled and noir--see review below for what I mean by
that.
It seems to me that there's a new crop of young noir writers
in the UK putting out some really terrific stuff these days.
Charlie Williams, David Bowker, Keith McCarthy, Chris Haslam,
and now Declan Burke, and I'm sure others who I have not yet
read.
EIGHT-BALL BOOGIE by Declan Burke Sitric/Lilliput
Press/Dufour Editions November 20, 2004
Harry Rigby works as an investigator, the kind who looks for
the bad stuff that's happening so that he can sell the story
to a tabloid, or documents the naughty for a divorce case or
searches for lost objects-definitely not a Sam Spade sort of
PI. His newest client, David Conway, has an easy task for
Harry to perform, which is to observe his wife, Helen, to see
if she is having an affair. From this simple situation, a
tangled web is woven involving both sides of the law in drug
dealing, murder and political tomfoolery. The common element
is that Harry is the convenient fall guy for almost
everything that happens.
Harry's life has been teetering on the brink of disaster for
quite some time, anyway. He's living with a woman who doesn't
love him; they haven't had sex in 14 months and the future
looks just as barren. His black-hearted brother, Gonzo, has
just been released from jail. It's likely that Gonzo will
slip a shank between his ribs when they have their welcome
hug; he's just that kind of guy. The only bright light in
Harry's world is his 4-year-old son, Ben; his love for Ben is
the one thing that keeps him functioning in a world that gets
uglier by the moment.
EIGHT-BALL BOOGIE is right on the line between hardboiled and
noir. Gonzo is an irredeemable sociopath; he screwed the
woman who was Harry's true love just because he knew it would
hurt him. In spite of the gritty world at the center of this
book and the fact that Harry manages to bring some new trade
to the local funeral parlor, there is an air of nobility
about him. The motivation for everything that he does is
protection of his son. He has no self interest in mind; he is
not after money, drugs or fame. He only wants to provide a
secure place for Ben, and that leavens the darkness of the
book with a sense of optimism.
The plot of the book was overly complicated and a bit hard to
follow. At times, I found what was happening to the
protagonist to be rather implausible, particularly the number
of physical injuries he incurred almost without pause. Bullet
in the guts? Ooch, ouch, off to the next adventure. But
despite these weaknesses, this is a book I highly recommend,
a very special book indeed. And that is because of the
Burke's writing ability. He has a way of phrasing things that
is unusual, sometimes humorous, sometimes touching, but
always unique. For example:
"I ghosted back across the street, ducked into the alleyway.
The snow had finally stopped falling, the frosty air causing
the snow to harden, crunch underfoot. It was nearly as cold
as the marble slab in my chest, the one someone was chiseling
my name into, or maybe that was just my heart thumping. The
ache in my side was a blunt knife grinding on stone. My
stomach was churning eggs, and the ulcer was emitting the
kind of high-pitched scream only musically inclined dogs can
hear."
There were segments like this scattered throughout the book,
and I found that although I was engaged by the plot and
characters, I was more anticipating the next wonderful
passage than anything else.
EIGHT-BALL BOOGIE is Declan Burke's first book. As time goes
on, he'll achieve mastery around plot and characterization.
But what he has already in spades is a great gift, the
ability to use language in wonderful and innovative
ways.
Maddy Van Hertbruggen Crime fiction reviewer for:
- I Love a Mystery Newsletter: http://www.iloveamysterynewsletter.com/
- Reviewing the Evidence: http://reviewingtheevidence.com/
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
--------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads.
Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for
free!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/kqIolB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
RARA-AVIS home page: http://www.miskatonic.org/rara-avis/
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rara-avis-l/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email
to:
rara-avis-l-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 25 Nov 2004 EST