So what's the state of the new wave, contemporary mystery? It's niddy-gritty. It's stripped-down, moving fast, landing neat. It's fueled by the ghost of Chandler, shooting straight for the glitzy heart of LaLa Land and the megabuck big screen.
Well, why not? Who doesn't know the twenty-first century is busy, busy? No time, patience, or interest in a slow read. Not even time for a little 1990's fin-de-siecle: graphic sex or explicit mayhem (a la Val McDermid). Don't even think about philosophical digressions (John D.), literary excellence (Caleb Carr), or tinkering with genre-bending (Ian Pears). We're talking Elmore Leonard step-children (Lee Child, Michael Connelly). We're talking Nouveau Noir Mystery: it is to the genre what Madonna is to Garbo.
If this sounds like a pan for Eversz's "Burning Garbo," it's not. Eversz is good, wickedly good. Just for starters, he's concocted a character with grit and originality, packing more moxie than a murder of crows. Another Sam Spade knock-off? More like a La Femme Nikita come-along: yeek, she's a girl! Not just any girl either.
Well, why not? Who doesn't know the twenty-first century is busy, busy? No time, patience, or interest in a slow read. Not even time for a little 1990's fin-de-siecle: graphic sex or explicit mayhem (a la Val McDermid). Don't even think about philosophical digressions (John D.), literary excellence (Caleb Carr), or tinkering with genre-bending (Ian Pears). We're talking Elmore Leonard step-children (Lee Child, Michael Connelly). We're talking Nouveau Noir Mystery: it is to the genre what Madonna is to Garbo.
If this sounds like a pan for Eversz's "Burning Garbo," it's not. Eversz is good, wickedly good. Just for starters, he's concocted a character with grit and originality, packing more moxie than a murder of crows. Another Sam Spade knock-off? More like a La Femme Nikita come-along: yeek, she's a girl! Not just any girl either.
Once-demure Mary Alice Baker has survived a prison term for manslaughter, risen from the ashes of her former life, parlayed her talent for photography, and reinvented herself as Nina Zero--paparazzi for a scandal sheet.
Not into character-driven mysteries? Not a problem-let's talk action. Take a sang froid ex-con assigned to photograph a reclusive Garbo-like movie star: she's knocked unconscious but nevertheless escapes a fast-moving California brush fire; outmaneuvers a conniving alcoholic cop set for blood; survives a trailer bulldozed over a cliff while she's inside; and just by the skin of her teeth, escapes an evil dentist set to pull all thirty-two of her pearly whites-sans Novocain. This story moves.
So maybe the ending's a little too ingenuous. So maybe the Chandler influence occasionally spins a little out of control ("my brain swirled like a goldfish in a plastic bag"). Still, these days, when authenticity in a mystery is as rare as a Garbo smile, picking up a book like "Burning Garbo" that gives good weight isn't the worst way to wait for the next Incarnation.
Not into character-driven mysteries? Not a problem-let's talk action. Take a sang froid ex-con assigned to photograph a reclusive Garbo-like movie star: she's knocked unconscious but nevertheless escapes a fast-moving California brush fire; outmaneuvers a conniving alcoholic cop set for blood; survives a trailer bulldozed over a cliff while she's inside; and just by the skin of her teeth, escapes an evil dentist set to pull all thirty-two of her pearly whites-sans Novocain. This story moves.
So maybe the ending's a little too ingenuous. So maybe the Chandler influence occasionally spins a little out of control ("my brain swirled like a goldfish in a plastic bag"). Still, these days, when authenticity in a mystery is as rare as a Garbo smile, picking up a book like "Burning Garbo" that gives good weight isn't the worst way to wait for the next Incarnation.
