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Book Review: The Girl With the Lollipop Eyes by Lucy Leitner

The Girl With The Lollipop Eyes, by Lucy Leitner

Blood Bound Publishing, 2023

ISBN: 9781940250618

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Buy:  Amazon.com

 

 

The back cover advertises this as a “detective adventure in slacker noir.”  I’m not sure what that means, but this type of book works well when read in an overstuffed recliner with a six-pack of wobbly-pops.  It‘s not the story alone that drives this, it’s mainly the characters and overall style.  No further doubt: Leitner has a unique writing style all her own and deserves more recognition.

 

This isn’t a horror novel, it’s a detective novel, in the style of the old Spillane ones.  But it’s written in Leitner’s offbeat, humorous way, and that makes it a lot more entertaining than anything Mickey wrote in the Mike Hammer series.  The book is carried start to finish by wannabe PI Thor Cole, his miscreant sidekicks, and the writing.

 

This is old-fashioned detective fiction, with plenty of pounding the pavement, talking to people for leads, and the occasional fight.  On the surface, there’s not much there.  That’s where Leitner’s skill comes in: she turns a simple plot into an addicting rush of a read.

 

You can’t help but love Thor Cole and his attempts to be a brilliant detective. He lives in a seedy Pittsburgh apartment, and things just never seem to go right.  He gets in trouble with his roommate Brittanie for using household appliances as weapons in fights and not replacing them (this guy should advertise for the George Foreman Grill).  He manages to bash himself in the head with a bicycle in a misguided attempt to prevent bike theft.  Somehow, most of his “detective” work has him winding up at bars and drinking too much.  He’s a perfect folk hero for the neighborhood, and his antics, and constant snarky way of looking at things, are what makes him such an engrossing character.

 

The sleuthing part of the book is simple enough. Cole and company are investigating a hit and run in their trashy neighborhood, and it’s a highly entertaining ride as they smash and crash their way through the case: subtlety is not in their vocabulary.  The case does evolve into a larger plot concerning the whole neighborhood and sleazy developers, but this is really all about the tone and style, and it’s perfect for the characters and neighborhood.  That’s what makes Cole great: he’s the kind of dude that ordinary, blue-collar people will love.  The story itself may not be new, but the writing certainly is, and keeps readers engaged right to the end.

 

Leitner also does a great job bringing Pittsburgh to life: she clearly knows Pennsylvania and its quirks.  You have to be a local to know about beer stores, swill brands like Iron City and Straub, the unofficial Steelers fight song (not a good choice), etc.

 

Bottom line: it’s a don’t miss.  Leitner has already shown a singular voice with her dystopian satires: add “multi-faceted” to the list with this “slacker noir” tale.  Hopefully, Cole will return, and isn’t put out to pasture: who needs a stylish Sonny Crockett for a detective when you have a banged-up, alcohol-chugging Thor Cole? Cole would have whipped him in a fight anyhow.  Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

Posted on March 20, 2024 by , Reply

Book Review: Conquer: Fear of a Black Cat by Edward M. Erdelac

Conquer: Fear of a Black Cat (John Conquer series, book 2) by Edward M. Erdelac

Self-published, 2023

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8856895413

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Buy: Amazon.com

 

 

Forget about those silly excuses for black heroes that Marvel comes up with: if you want a real black hero-you call John Conquer.  Whereas book 1 in the series was a collection of short stories, Conquer gets his own full-length (over 500 pages) novel this time.   The book succeeds on all levels, and hopefully won’t be the last one in the series.  John Conquer is without a doubt one of the most interesting book characters out there today.

 

Set in 1978 Harlem, private investigator John Conquer has finally got a case that may be too much for him.  People are turning up dead all over Harlem with their hands cut off.  For Conquer, this case is personal- one of the victims is the lady who raised him.  What follows is a good detective crime story that races all over the city, from Studio 54, to CBGB’s, to Untermeyer Park, as Conquer tries to put the pieces together.

 

This book is a period piece, and in that aspect, it’s absolutely perfect.  The author did a staggering job of making 1970’s NYC seem real: this seems so true to life you can almost smell the spray from the graffiti on the subways.  The descriptions, the mannerisms, the dialogue: it’s all perfectly true to life.  The book is a phenomenal example of world-building: .

 

The plot itself is a good one. The author again does a fantastic job of mixing voodoo and all sorts of magic into a standard detective story. It’s what gives the Conquer stories their unique flavor.  Sometimes Conquer has to pound the pavement like a normal detective, but often he has voodoo tricks he can use to help solve the case.  One improvement over the last book is this time, some of the lesser-known gods and magic items come with a bit of background, so readers won’t need to make Wikipedia runs.  Some of the characters from the previous stories return. Detective Lou Lazzaroni plays a part, and Conquer is, thankfully, still driving the Cordoba inhabited by the wise-cracking ghost, Pope.  Conquer and Pope make a perfectly mismatched team, especially when they are squabbling about disco.  Some real people from the 1970s also pop up in the story.  David ‘Son of Sam’ Berkowitz plays a part, and there are also appearances by Muhammed Ali, Andy Warhol, and…Donald Trump.  (anti-Trumpers will be ecstatic with Trump’s part)  The gangs from the 1970’s cult classic film The Warriors also pop up in the narrative.  The new characters in the book are quite intriguing, with Conquer’s drunken sort-of security guard Oshkosh being one of the most fun.  For a detective story, this one has a fair amount to keep track of, but the author wisely inserted a recap into the story around page 300 for any readers who might have gotten a bit lost.

 

‘Da bottom line here: this is a fantastic knockout of a story.  You wanna hang with the slickest, baddest cat out there? You’ve gotta read Conquer.  Hopefully, this isn’t the last we’ll see of him.  Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

Posted on December 8, 2023 by , Reply

Book Review: The City by S.C. Mendes

Cover art for The City by S.C Mendes

The City by S.C. Mendes

Blood Bound Books, 2017

ISBN: 9781940250335

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition  (Amazon.com)

 

The City is a well-brewed mix: one part early 1900s detective story, one part horror, and one part insanity.  It’s a potent recipe, and this book sizzles from start to finish, but it’s an extremely disturbing novel as well.  Some of what you read in this book, you may wish you could unread.  Despite that, it’s a powerful story that keeps pulling you along.

 

The book is set in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Max Elliot is the proverbial grizzled vet detective called back to duty for a murder case similar to the one that cost Max his wife and daughter.  The story quickly veers away from the usual, as Max learns of a city (the City, as it’s known) located many miles beneath San Francisco,  accessible only to certain topdwellers, and run by lizard-men called the Mara.  That’s where the case leads him, and where most of the book takes place.  Max finds answers, but he also finds a hell that makes Dante’s Inferno looks like a children’s playground.

 

This book has everything you want: outstanding characters and development, twisting plot, and a fast pace, but it’s the City itself that is the true star of the book.  That’s what will keep readers burning through the pages, wondering what else the City can throw at Max and his allies.  It’s a place of pleasure and pain, where every vice and perversion is available.  It’s somewhat similar to the attitude of the Hellraiser franchise.  Think of the worst things you can, then sit back and read, because the author thought of worse things and used them in the City’s pleasure gallery.  Readers who, (for whatever reason) have a knowledge of ancient torture methods will recognize a few, as the  bronze bull from Roman times makes an appearance.  It’s another world, and a very well thought out one: the location is a character in itself.  This is also where the true ugliness in the book takes place. It’s not the unspeakable atrocities performed on humans (although that’s bad enough) but it’s the people in the city that happily pay to watch such atrocities, often pleasuring themselves at the same time. If you have doubts about the nature of the human race, this won’t help.  The City is a depressing, bleak look at a segment of humanity, and will leave you feeling drained afterwards.

 

Bottom line here: this is phenomenal stuff, but it’s likely to make readers bottom out as well.  There’s no sunshine and roses, no happy endings; this is dark, sunless material.  If you liked Clive Barker at the peak of his storytelling abilities, you will love this. It’s the same wild nightmares on overdrive.  No doubt about it, based on this book, S.C. Mendes is a force to be reckoned with in horror.  Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

Posted on January 19, 2023 by , Reply
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