It's L.A. in the late 1940s. At one time John Ray Horn starred in B westerns. That was before he went to prison for assault. Now he collects debts for Joseph Mad Crow, formerly his faithful Indian sidekick. An old friend calls John Ray about a problem he'd like some help with, but he dies in an apparent suicide before John Ray can really get a handle on things. Naturally John Ray suspects murder (and of course he's right). This leads him to discover, among other things, a box of pornographic photos of young girls, one of whom just happens to be the daughter of Horn's ex-wife. There are real estate scandals, buried secrets, and great post-war period details. David Thompson at Murder by the Book recommended this one to me, and I'm glad he did. I've already bought the sequel. Check it out.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Clea's Moon -- Edward Wright
It's L.A. in the late 1940s. At one time John Ray Horn starred in B westerns. That was before he went to prison for assault. Now he collects debts for Joseph Mad Crow, formerly his faithful Indian sidekick. An old friend calls John Ray about a problem he'd like some help with, but he dies in an apparent suicide before John Ray can really get a handle on things. Naturally John Ray suspects murder (and of course he's right). This leads him to discover, among other things, a box of pornographic photos of young girls, one of whom just happens to be the daughter of Horn's ex-wife. There are real estate scandals, buried secrets, and great post-war period details. David Thompson at Murder by the Book recommended this one to me, and I'm glad he did. I've already bought the sequel. Check it out.
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8 comments:
I just finished this book last week and then went out and bought his second (which won the Shamus) and third.
Judy
Yeah, this is good stuff.
How close is Horn to Bill Ferrel? When does he get his own book by the way?
Horn is a lot more noir than Bill Ferrell, who'll probably never get his own book.
It's about time you got around to it. I recommended it three years ago! Good stuff.
I don't know why you're waiting either. Don't the publishers just snap up everything you put on paper?
I read this when it came out and was floored. The other two in the series "While I Disappear" and "Red Sky Lament" are phenomenal.
From what I understand he seems to be doing better in the UK than over here. God knows why. He captures the B-movie feel of post-war Los Angeles perfectly.
The edition I read was a British paperback. I have the second one in an American pb edition.
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