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pennythewanderer's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.5
puzzled_pagan's review
4.0
I love a good story about an accidental detective, so this book being about a weird semi-pro Bono lawyer who gets himself caught up in the weird world of rare book collecting until he's forced to start investigating what's actually going on is extremely my jam.
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Whew this is rough.
I got hyped for this book just by reading the blurb. A literary mystery in mid-aughts NYC? Rock on, brother. And then I read interviews by Dwyer Murphy and got even more pumped. His favorite authors are my favorite authors and his views on crime fiction nine.
And THEN some favorite writers blurbed it, including dropping a Chinatown reference to the plot. So…this rocked right? Yes?
Sigh.
On some level, I’m sure folks will appreciate the metatextual commentary on the genre and the constant vomiting of literary references. People might also appreciate the hangout aspects of this (which I mostly enjoyed) over a complete lack of plot or momentum (which I didn’t).
I just feel like when you try to cram Macdonald and Bolaño and Wharton and Leonard and God knows how many other literary references, you’re putting way too much weight on the simple foundation of noir. Noir should be sparse, it should cut, it should sharpen. This book is bloated and over-referential.
There’s enough meat on the bone, enough New Yorkness that I’m giving this three stars. But barely. I may appreciate this one when I get older. For now, it feels like a missed opportunity.
I got hyped for this book just by reading the blurb. A literary mystery in mid-aughts NYC? Rock on, brother. And then I read interviews by Dwyer Murphy and got even more pumped. His favorite authors are my favorite authors and his views on crime fiction nine.
And THEN some favorite writers blurbed it, including dropping a Chinatown reference to the plot. So…this rocked right? Yes?
Sigh.
On some level, I’m sure folks will appreciate the metatextual commentary on the genre and the constant vomiting of literary references. People might also appreciate the hangout aspects of this (which I mostly enjoyed) over a complete lack of plot or momentum (which I didn’t).
I just feel like when you try to cram Macdonald and Bolaño and Wharton and Leonard and God knows how many other literary references, you’re putting way too much weight on the simple foundation of noir. Noir should be sparse, it should cut, it should sharpen. This book is bloated and over-referential.
There’s enough meat on the bone, enough New Yorkness that I’m giving this three stars. But barely. I may appreciate this one when I get older. For now, it feels like a missed opportunity.
rebelqueen's review against another edition
1.0
This tried way too hard to be a noir crime novel. I know this because it literally told me numerous times. Skip it. Go read Raymond Chandler.
3rian's review against another edition
1.0
This sounded so promising! Sadly, I found it to be a meandering pretentious mess with some impressively irritating characters and endless atmospheric scenes that went nowhere.
ljhind's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kmowery's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
momankara's review against another edition
3.0
The writing is very good, the atmosphere amazing. There is no plotting. That is purposeful by the author, but it is hard to get a crackle out of noir if there are no drivers to the story.
devilstatedan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A beaut new take on the hardboiled crime novel, very readable and an intriguing plot.
Set in modern New York, we follow a disenfranchised lawyer as he turns his back on corporate crime and instead makes a living taking civil cases here and there and serving at he odd shift as a night-lawyer - for out-of-hours misdemeanors...
He unwittingly get caught up in a case involving rare books, a divorce, and eventually a death, working his way through it all with clouded judgement and a niggling feeling that these events are not all they appear.
There's all the tropes of the hardboiled novel but these characters are more rounded, the plot more tempered, and language a little more descriptive. All-in-all I had a great time with it and will read more books featuring this character.
Set in modern New York, we follow a disenfranchised lawyer as he turns his back on corporate crime and instead makes a living taking civil cases here and there and serving at he odd shift as a night-lawyer - for out-of-hours misdemeanors...
He unwittingly get caught up in a case involving rare books, a divorce, and eventually a death, working his way through it all with clouded judgement and a niggling feeling that these events are not all they appear.
There's all the tropes of the hardboiled novel but these characters are more rounded, the plot more tempered, and language a little more descriptive. All-in-all I had a great time with it and will read more books featuring this character.
ncataldo's review against another edition
challenging
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0