The Dead Detective by William Heffernan

Classic old-school detective work: I hadn’t realized how much I missed it until I read this new novel from Akashic Press. I’d heard Heffernan was good, and I’m sorry I waited so long to read one of his titles. Everything about this crime novel speaks to the traditional style of ‘whodunit’ mysteries: it has an ensemble cast of police characters (the high-level brass is a bit stereotypical), an intelligent criminal, and a string of intersecting events that complicate the search for the killer. Best of it all, it has a badass detective who isn’t simply a genius, but rather a team-player with a special sensitivity for victims and with insight on human nature.

Harry Doyle is The Dead Detective, a nickname he acquired when his past caught up with his career as a policeman. As a child, his mother attempted to murder him and his brother, and only Harry was able to be resuscitated. Adopted by a policeman, he grew up with understandable hatred for his mother and a desire to help other victims. He appears to sense details that others overlook. He also has a somewhat unique ability, for an accomplished detective, to keep both superiors and underlings happy.

The case in this novel, which I hope is the beginning of a series, is about an infamous female schoolteacher, a pedophile who preyed on a teenage student. Her murder early on is mysterious, as she was supposed to be under house arrest. The location of the crime scene, as well as further murders that may be related all create a twisted web for the detectives to unravel. Harry guides a team to the solution, all the while dealing with the impending parole of his mother (who happens to be intent on finishing her work of killing Harry). This is a smart and, at times, snarky novel that makes you hope Harry Doyle reappears with another case to solve.

That said, I had a few technical difficulties with the book. Small things really, but they did distract me a bit from the narrative in a few places. One was early on when a significant witness is being questioned about her friendship with the victim. Despite the detective's focus, she never asks what or if anything happened to her friend, which didn’t ring true. It seems that at that moment, her response would have been to ask what was going on. Her lack of curiosity struck me as 'off'. The other problem I had was an element of foreshadowing that became too obvious-the author repeats, quite often, that the murderer could be right amongst them. Too much information, and I’m not sure why the novel needed that not-so-subtle clue.  In any case, these distractions are not significant enough to ruin a really great crime story.

Thanks to Zach and Johanna of Akashic Press for the Review Copy.

While this book officially releases October 1, it is for sale at numerous retailers now.

No Space for Further Burials, Feryal Ali Gauhar, Akashic

Afghanistan is seldom the region that inspires happy stories full of contentment and joy.  This novel is no exception:  it's startling and brutal and yet unlike most other stories that have similar themes. What makes it unique is the premise that it begins with, and the way the plot unfolds.  Completely unpredictable, as the storyline you expect changes direction several times.

It begins with a US soldier being captured by rebels in a mountainous region near his base.  It's his own fault,  curiousity got the best of him and he thought it would be safe to explore a bit.  After being taken captive, he's placed in an insane asylum/hospital, a sort of drop-off place for injured civilians, orphaned children, and the mentally ill.  While it previously had a Canadian doctor and nurses caring for these victims, they were gone now, the nurses captured and taken.  Now it's nearly abandoned, cared for by a few Afghans who try to feed and comfort the residents with next to nothing.

The soldier, unnamed, is distraught and eager to be rescued.  His training as an EMT makes him helpful, yet he isn't trained to deal with the horrors he faces with the many inmates.  He tries to adjust to the lack of food, clothing, or even a blanket;  hiding in his cell when the inevitable raids take place.  He finds that, while trained in an 'immersion' program to help soldiers in the region, he really has no idea what the religious and tribal people are really like.

"It's not just a question of not having a decent meal or proper bed to sleep in, or even the knowledge that nothing is certain here except death.  What nags me most are the things we were taught before we arrived in this land, the tenets of war, the rules of engagement.  I keep going over them in my head, the virtues of our coming here, the need to liberate these people, the absolute necessity of enduring freedom.  Enduring.  Freedom.  Two words that don't mean anything to me anymore."

The longer he's there, the likelihood of rescue slims, in fact, it's doubtful his fellow soldiers would even know where to look.  He settles into the surreal environment:  nearly everyone is crippled in some way, including the children.  The soldier learns of religious traditions that harm women, and the senseless hate that includes brutalizing even the most helpless of children and the elderly.  Besides the physical damage (burns, loss of limbs, blindness, and battle scars), many are mentally damaged as well.  This is a region that is so highly volatile that no one family is intact:  death is everywhere and even the youngest inmates are dulled in emotion.  Suicide is an option many consider, in fact, that was the way out the Canadian doctor chose to escape. 

Staying alive, finding food, and digging graves is his new routine.  Without a way to speak with the people, limited only to gestures and scratching in the dirt, he finds himself alone as never before:

"I have come to understand what it means to live inside the landscape of one's own mind, where one can create an entire new world, keeping it secret from others.  And I have also come to understand the silence of these people here, locked up in their own stories of loss and love and longing.  I do not want to intrude into their thoughts, and have learned that the silence between the words they speak carries more than all the words I have ever spoken."

As the story continues, he begins to refer to this strange mixture of people as his tribe.  He begins to change as well, as he accepts his future in the harsh place.  This is where the heart of the story is-who he was and who he is to become.  It's a thoughtful story, but the brutality in points is hard to take.  You are reminded throughout how evil and wicked humans can be to each other, and how fragile life is in any location.  Note:  Reading this may have an effect on how you interpret the nightly newscasts!

            Special thanks to Johanna Ingalls of Akashic Books for the Advanced Review Copy.

Moscow Noir, Akashic Press

Edited by Natalia Smirnova and Julia Goumen

Note: this is not published by the Moscow Chamber of Commerce or Tourist Board.  This is not an exploration of Russian history or a guide to the city.  It is noir.  I state this because while it may be obvious to others, I kept catching myself thinking "this is so stereotypical of Russia...surely not everyone is this bad!"  Oh, back to "noir".  I needed to remind myself of that definition throughout: "crime fiction featuring hard-boiled cynical characters and bleak sleazy settings."  Once I was clear on that, it was easy to understand.

This collection of short stories is random and the stories themselves are incredibly varied.  However, a few things link most of them:  distrust, despair, revenge, and rage.  Physical similarities as well:  snow, night, black sedans, drugs, alcohol, and leather jackets. 
To say life is cheap in this style is redundant.  The Soviet history created characters that are immune to feeling and social conventions.  And if, without intending to, a character does show their softer side? It's guaranteed they aren't going to live long after.  Death is everywhere, as are traitors.  Many characters are cops. No one can be trusted because every underling knows their way to success means eliminating their superiors.  Strangely, money is often in excess, yet having it doesn't buy anyone a way out of the mess.

Many of the stories take place at night, often in the snow.  Train stations, deserted streets and subway tunnels are frequent settings, and most of the characters use drugs or alcohol to numb their emotions.  The anger that should be directed at the failed institutions that created them is instead directed at their fellow man.  The descriptions of the cold weather, the complicated facades of the empty churches standing guard, and the hard scrabble lifestyles are all detailed without slowing down the pace.  The stories move along briskly. 

The book is grouped into sections:  Crime & Punishment, Dead Souls, Fathers & Sons, and War & Peace.  I think my favorite was "Field of a Thousand Corpses" which illuminated the corruptness of the police and their inability to effectively handle the crimes they investigate in any sort of honest way.  Yet there was a sort of tenderness in how one detective tries to train another and advise him on how to fit in.

A word about Akashic Books...they have a series of Noir titles, including Los Angeles, London, etc.  All have a similar vein but illuminate a region in its own unique way.  Their Los Angeles Noir was especially interesting for me, trying to guess the locations that are mentioned since I've been there often. 

Special thanks to Johanna Ingalls of Akashic for the Advance Review Copy.