FM's ratings:
- Premise 8
- Prose 8
- Plot 9
- Characters 9
- Overall 8
Comments
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- but try to keep it under 3000 words!
Robert
Campbell grew up in Chicago. His writing reflects the style of
writers like Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett which are
typically set in easterly cities like Chicago, Detroit, New York and
so on – and his prose is similar. So it's a little odd to read
dialog purportedly spoken by Californians that display the rhythm,
pace and quirky colloquialisms - like “gazoony” and “schmuck”
- of a Mike Ditka. “What are you?” Twelvetrees asked. “I'm an
investigative consultant.” “Gimme a break. Are you an eye?”
“This isn't nineteen-forty, Mr. Twelvetrees.” “And you're not
Humphrey Bogart. I can see that.” The dialog does, however, read
like the nineteen-forties in many respects. Yet the pacing is
superb, each scene the perfect length, and the pages fly by. The
title itself is a harbinger of a major plot twist, and the characters
are as colorful as any you will find anywhere. Great writing by an
experienced mystery novelist – why have I never heard of him
before?
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