Paul Little, ex-con, gives his grandfather a private burial in the opening scene of The Science of Paul. Then Paul and Tammy, a woman who loves and cares for him, return to Philadelphia. Paul completes his probation in a few days, and then things will be fine. Right? Of course not. Paul walks out on Tammy, and things almost immediately start to go bad. And then they go worse. And worse. Paul thinks that if he can just get out of Philly and back to his grandfather's farm, he can turn his life around. The question is, will he live long enough to do that. The cops are after him for murder, the bad guy is after him for other reasons, and his probation officer's going to revoke his probation.
While all of this is happening, you might think you're reading a straight-forward crime novel, which you are, but it's also a carefully plotted mystery, with things satisfactorily resolved in the end. Well, maybe Paul's case (couldn't resist that phrase, Willa Cather fans), but the mystery aspects are.
New Pulp Press has another winner here. This is good, hardboiled stuff, and Aaron Philip Clark's a guy to watch. Check it out.
2 comments:
Yep, it's a cracking novel.
Aaron did a beut guest blog over at my place last month.
http://pdbrazill.blogspot.com/2011/01/guest-blog-because-january-is-cold-and.html
It was my privilege to blurb this book. It's a winner.
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