A review by booksaremysuperpower
Gone to Dust by Matt Goldman
4.0
On one hand, this book does read as your typical Raymond Chandler-esque hardboiled detective story, but on the other, Nils Shapiro is breath of fresh air for the genre. He's sensitive, slightly messy emotionally, and never cool or uncaring. Nor does he seem armed to hilt with any particular set of skills besides doggedness.
I really enjoyed this and it got so that I had a hard time putting it down. It's a fast-paced read with engaging side characters, and Goldman's sense of place is outstanding. Minnesota is an untapped location of wonders for a mystery novel. I've never been to Minneapolis, but now he's made me want to take a trip and explore.
The story is occasionally laugh out loud funny, which I didn't expect. For example, after discovering that his home (or, "shitbox") has been broken into he finds himself lamenting over the sorry state of his slashed furniture in comparison to his ex-wife's lavish furnishings: "Life, even for chairs, is unfair." I kept giggling so much at that line that I had to come back to it again and again.
I have some quibbles, of course. I did feel as though the victim, Maggie Sommerville, remained rather flat on the page and not much of a driving source of anxiety and pain for any of the characters seeking justice for her murder. And were any of her family seeking justice for her murder, for that matter? Her newly found long lost daughter Ainsley Bell seemed to be one of the only people who cared, besides her best friend Beth, and even Ainsley goes on with her life not fully invested, in my opinion, on the state of Nils investigation. We never even got a glimpse of Maggie's other children. She's described as "lovely and kind" but not one of the stories told by those who knew her really expressed this.
The long soliloquy at the end of the book where Nils lays it all out to the killer about how the murder went down feels like a well-worn trope. I hate those long paragraphs of explanation in mysteries, either by the killer or the detective, and would rather the author take the time to have Nils go through the actual "Aha!" moments of solving the crime, versus having it be revealed in hindsight.
But overall, I was HERE for this book and this character and can't wait to dive into its sequel.
I really enjoyed this and it got so that I had a hard time putting it down. It's a fast-paced read with engaging side characters, and Goldman's sense of place is outstanding. Minnesota is an untapped location of wonders for a mystery novel. I've never been to Minneapolis, but now he's made me want to take a trip and explore.
The story is occasionally laugh out loud funny, which I didn't expect. For example, after discovering that his home (or, "shitbox") has been broken into he finds himself lamenting over the sorry state of his slashed furniture in comparison to his ex-wife's lavish furnishings: "Life, even for chairs, is unfair." I kept giggling so much at that line that I had to come back to it again and again.
I have some quibbles, of course. I did feel as though the victim, Maggie Sommerville, remained rather flat on the page and not much of a driving source of anxiety and pain for any of the characters seeking justice for her murder. And were any of her family seeking justice for her murder, for that matter? Her newly found long lost daughter Ainsley Bell seemed to be one of the only people who cared, besides her best friend Beth, and even Ainsley goes on with her life not fully invested, in my opinion, on the state of Nils investigation. We never even got a glimpse of Maggie's other children. She's described as "lovely and kind" but not one of the stories told by those who knew her really expressed this.
The long soliloquy at the end of the book where Nils lays it all out to the killer about how the murder went down feels like a well-worn trope. I hate those long paragraphs of explanation in mysteries, either by the killer or the detective, and would rather the author take the time to have Nils go through the actual "Aha!" moments of solving the crime, versus having it be revealed in hindsight.
But overall, I was HERE for this book and this character and can't wait to dive into its sequel.