Wednesday, May 20, 2015

A Detective Story with Many Angles

Leonid McGill is having a bad day. On the train from Philly to New York, a beautiful woman sits next to him. They connect, but there's a catch. She's being followed by a man sent by her ex-fiance. In the the elevator leaving Penn station, McGill is forced to save her almost killing the man. For that he connects $1500 and a date with the beautiful woman.

When he get to the office, a man is waiting to see him. Hiram Stent is a vagrant, but he has been offered a cut in the million dollar inheritance if he can locate the missing woman who is to receive the money. Leonid refuses to take the case, and the man is murdered. Now McGill feels honor bound to take the case to get justice for Stent.

These are not his only problems. His wife is in a sanitarium after a suicide attempt. His son, Twill, is out of the office working on a dangerous case of his own. The women in his life all have their own problems.

Mosley has created a compelling character in Leonid McGill. A man with a horrific past, family problems, and love affairs who is able to think about himself and his circumstances with insight and candor. His ruminations were some of the best parts of the book.

The book has several subplots, but it's easy to keep them apart and each adds to the overall story. The background is well described from the seedy sections of New York to the elaborate residences of the rich.

If you're a fan of Chandler and Marlowe, you'll find much to like in Mosley's latest book.


I reviewed this book for the Amazon Vine Program.

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