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jjmann3's review against another edition
3.0
Noir-ish detective novels are a lot of fun to read. This book included, even though the careful reader knows the ending 60 or so pages in.
twilliamson's review against another edition
4.0
Little Girl Lost, published in 2004 by Charles Ardai under his pseudonym, is a great novel. It has all the seediness of a proper pulp detective novel, but also blends in a more modern sensibility of character drama and narrative flair. In fact, the book has some beautifully written sequences relying as much on a readerly sense of nostalgia for a past unrecoverable as it does on the suspenseful plot common to detective novels.
The plot, though, is probably the book's weakest area, as it feels like Ardai only introduces information about the setting when it becomes convenient to the book, and so much of the narrator's constant figuring and "detecting" seems to serve to hide the fact that the "twist" of the novel is so utterly predictable.
The book's sexual politics, though, are at least fairly interesting; there's a femme fatale and a male detective, and yet much of the book illustrates just how fragile the male detective is (emotionally and physically) and how powerful the femme fatale can be. This is not to say that the book is some feminist masterpiece; on the contrary, the novel's overarching structure reiterates traditional gender roles, but its complications are at least welcome in a genre dominated by rigid gender archetypes.
It's really the narrative "flashbacks," though, that I find most compelling through the novel, and the noir craftsmanship is worth the read. It's a fine read, and another great addition to the Hard Case Crime print.
The plot, though, is probably the book's weakest area, as it feels like Ardai only introduces information about the setting when it becomes convenient to the book, and so much of the narrator's constant figuring and "detecting" seems to serve to hide the fact that the "twist" of the novel is so utterly predictable.
The book's sexual politics, though, are at least fairly interesting; there's a femme fatale and a male detective, and yet much of the book illustrates just how fragile the male detective is (emotionally and physically) and how powerful the femme fatale can be. This is not to say that the book is some feminist masterpiece; on the contrary, the novel's overarching structure reiterates traditional gender roles, but its complications are at least welcome in a genre dominated by rigid gender archetypes.
It's really the narrative "flashbacks," though, that I find most compelling through the novel, and the noir craftsmanship is worth the read. It's a fine read, and another great addition to the Hard Case Crime print.
haf59's review against another edition
4.0
Well-written, gripping, brutal mystery. Strippers, drugs, betrayal, NYC, memories. Private detective. Innocence lost. Really pretty damn good. Can't say how mysterious the mystery is in the end, but ... it's a good read. And a very nice cover, too.
kurtwombat's review against another edition
3.0
I have wanted to try a selection from the HARD CASE CRIME pulp novel series for most of the decade that they have been around. For the uninitiated, this imprint created in 2004 prints new (including the most recent entry by Stephen King) and reprints classic examples of crime thrillers ( so far including Lawrence Block, Earl Stanley Gardner, Donald Westlake, Ed McBain & Harlan Ellison. My first foray into the series was LITTLE GIRL LOST by Richard Aleas who created the imprint. The story moves well and is fairly well populated with interesting characters. The main character is of course a detective but unlike most novels of this genre where virtually everyone is world weary, Aleas’ PI John Blake is still wet behind the ears. His lack of experience is why he takes on a case that more than likely will just lead to heartache. His relative youth allows for the reader and the detective to learn certain life lessons together as the plot unspools. This was played with at first but was not followed up with very successfully the rest of the way. The plot has sufficient twists and turns to keep the pages turning but about half way through I knew who the killer was. Was kinda waiting around to see how the situation would be wrapped up. Some similarity to a classic, THE MALTESE FALCON. On the whole it was a solid read but it wasn’t always the story that drew me back. Sometimes it was just the feel of the book and the lurid quality to the cover. The HARD CASE CRIME series creates original pulp inspired art for the covers…art work that I relish. Even the shape of the book seems smaller on the whole than other paperbacks…a reminder of the basic blue collar ready to discard nature of the books the series wishes to emulate. I will be collecting new covers.
ramsfan1963's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-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
4.5
Wonderfully dark and twisted, a murder mystery that lead one way, then turns another. I thought I knew who the killer was, I even thought it might be the MC girlfriend, but the ending was a surprise.
I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.
I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.
ale_ire's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
jimfox14's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
thestarman's review against another edition
VERDICT: Passing grade, as far as the hard-boiled detective genre goes.
Twisty but not unpredictable. Not bad, but not something I'd read again. I admit to just skimming the middle 50% of the book, as I had pretty much figured out the whodunit and didn't care about the in-between parts much.
Twisty but not unpredictable. Not bad, but not something I'd read again. I admit to just skimming the middle 50% of the book, as I had pretty much figured out the whodunit and didn't care about the in-between parts much.
kegriese1's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0