RARA-AVIS: LA not-noir

From: Mark D. Nevins ( nevins_mark@yahoo.com)
Date: 14 Jul 2007


I'm not going to get into the debate about what noir is/isn't, but to sort-of answer the request I'd recommend Thomas Perry's METZGER'S DOG. I'm going to read the last 40 pages of it literally after I hit "send" here.

This book is my first Perry; it's a fairly literary and highly engaging thriller involving an odd cast of characters (domestic pets as well as humans), the CIA, and an audacious series of high-stakes blackmail gambits. It takes place all over LA (including a scene in Musso and Frank's), and has brought back some fond memories of the 3 years I spent living in that town half-time.

If there are people here with opinions about Perry, this book, or his other books, I'd love to hear them. Based on this one, Perry reads to me a little like Ross Thomas with a splash of Elmore Leonard--which is, of course, not bad company to be in.

Best, Mark Nevins



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