*Shattered, by Richard Neely

Vintage Crime/Black Lizard

1991 (reissue)

0679734988

originally published as 

The Plastic Nightmare

1969

Shattered is a work of noir fiction that begins when Dan Marriott awakes in a hospital. His wife, Judith, is by his side, and he learns that he and Judith had been in a catastrophic car accident.  Judith was thrown clear, but Dan wasn't so lucky. Most of the bones in his body were broken, his face was totally disfigured, and worse yet, he has no memory of who he is. After a series of plastic surgeries, he is ready to leave the hospital and to try to piece together his life. Judith takes him home and begins filling him in on their past life together, but little things Dan finds and remarks people make cause him to realize that something is just not right -- and after a few very strange occurrences, he finds it even more imperative to get to the truth. To say more would wreck the story.

Let's just say that this isn't the best piece of noir I've ever read, nor is it the worst. The plot is a good one, and I never guessed the ending (definitely a nice twist) but everything seems to happen so quickly. There's not a lot of time to really get into the characters, and while the story keeps you reading, it would have been better if it had been a bit more in depth.  However, I liked it well enough to pick up another book by this author -- The Walter Syndrome, highly recommended by several Neely fans.

I'd recommend it to readers of noir fiction.

sidebar: the movie based on this book is on IFC Friday night (4/16) 8:45 pm.  From all accounts it's not so hot, but I plan on watching it anyway.

*The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett

Vintage

0679722645

first published 1930

Try as I might, I could not get the voice of Bogart out of my head while reading this, nor could I not help but see Peter Lorre or Sidney Greenstreet in my mind when their characters entered the plot. My familiarity with the movie version turned out to be a bit  problematic at times, but not to the point where I wanted to chuck it all and pick up another book.

Since the plot is so well known it needs no explanation. It's a classic noir private-eye novel, and Hammett's only novel featuring Sam Spade.  Aside from the storyline, The Maltese Falcon is interesting in terms of its characters. Spade is an enigma, playing things close to the hilt so that at times he's difficult to read. Hammett does not offer any personal insights from Spade's point of view -- there are no inner monologues and no peeks into the detective's brain to tell the reader what he's thinking at any given moment.  He has a love/hate relationship with the police and authority, and protects himself behind an attorney. Throughout the novel the reader has to decide if Spade has any sense of morality at all.  His actions at times -- sleeping with his partner's wife, demanding a share of the ill-gotten gain, throwing in with the bad guys -- all keep the reader guessing right up to the end when all is revealed. Spade is definitely a masculine kind of guy, who probably always gets exactly what he wants.

The supporting characters are well worth a mention, especially Joel Cairo and the three women.  Hammett describes Cairo as effeminate and mincing with a high voice, clutching at perfumed handkerchiefs, implying that he's a homosexual. Effie notes, referring to Cairo upon their first meeting, that "this guy is queer." Cairo makes Spade (who refers to him somewhere else as a fairy) crazy, but also provides some amusement, and he makes a great verbal whipping boy. Then there are the women. The first is the femme fatale Brigid O'Shaughnessy. This woman is one cold cookie - a liar, a schemer and one who will do anything (and I do mean anything) to get what she wants. Nothing is going to stand in her way. She's a strong character, but is not averse to bringing on the tears and the whining when it suits her purpose.  At the same time, she's woefully transparent and Spade knows it, and has no qualms about playing her own game back at her when need dictates. Then there's Iva, the not-so-grieving widow of Miles Archer, with whom Sam has a history in the sack. Expecting that Sam will take Miles' place after his death, she goes after him with a vengeance while he does his best to avoid her.  It's fairly obvious that he dislikes both women (one because she's strong, one because she's weak, both because they're ultimately "feminine") but when it comes to his secretary Effie Perrine, it's rather telling that he says to her at one point "you're a good man, sister." Hmm.

 By the time I finished the novel, the story of the Falcon itself paled in comparison to the characters. Although modern readers may find these people a little over the top and definitely stereotypes, I think you have to put them back into the context of the times. The characters, not the plot, make this book what it is --  a fine work of noir fiction. I liked it and I would definitely recommend it to people who read in that genre.

Author debut: Mania, by Craig Larsen

To make this whole thing perfectly fair, the author contacted me (via goodreads) and asked me if I'd like to read a copy of his book. I didn't turn him down.  I also told him that I'd review it here -- I don't believe a solicitation was made on his end.  As it turns out, this one I happened to like, and I am not just saying that because he sent me a copy. I'm a picky enough reader that  I'm out of the habit of accepting just any book from anyone.  Trust me. I have a pile of ARCs sitting on the floor of my closet that I started to read and put down because they were sooooo bad that I couldn't make it past the first chapter. But that's not the case here.

When I read a suspense/mystery novel, I know I'm into it and liking it when the author keeps me in a state of suspended tension throughout the book. Mania had me so wrapped up that I started it shortly after dinner and didn't stop reading it until I had finished.

Actually, I thought this book was quite a fun read, and consider that this isn't my usual fare, I think that says a lot.


The main character, Nick Wilder, is a photographer for the Seattle Telegraph, and is generally on hand to collect shots other papers can't get.  He was young when his parents died, and came to depend on his brother Sam, with whom he has always been very close. One night after he and Sam were together in downtown Seattle, Nick and Sam are attacked by a rough-looking homeless man. Nick comes out of it with a few injuries, but Sam is dead, Nick's a bit cloudy on what exactly happened, and as you go through the book, he continues to flash back on that episode, as well as others that haunt him. Nick's girlfriend Sara tries to ease his fears but he's still uneasy. There's much more to the novel, but it's hard to summarize without giving away the show.

The dark atmosphere of this novel is reflective of Nick's internal darkness throughout. The author's writing and the level of suspense he creates  will keep you reading. It was fun as a reader to try and piece together events playing out in Nick's mind while trying to figure out what's really going on. Don't let the flashbacks and returns to the present bother you -- they're necessary to the overall story and the author pulls it off  so you shouldn't be confused, although this issue of the flashbacks was what most reviewers tended to complain about. I see that a lot in books with flashbacks -- it's like for some people if the narrative isn't completely linear, they get easily confused.

Overall, a fun read that I can recommend to suspense & mystery readers.

I can highly recommend this novel. If you like to read suspense or mysteries,  this book is one you should not miss.