DRAGONFLY by John Farris

John Farris is best known for his work in the horror genre—The Fury, All Heads Turn When the Hunt Goes By, Son of the Endless Night, etc.—but his body of work is much more varied and broad. His career began at the height of the pulp era and he wrote several very good examples, including Baby Moll, and Harrison High.

It was, however, the horror genre where he truly differentiated his work—he wrote with a keen eye towards culture and mythology. He was an observer and chronicler as much as anything. And he still is.

His work has changed and expanded over the years; from his early pulp-style crime novels, to his horror, to his more recent suspense, and finally to his current batch of hybrid suspense / supernatural novels. No matter where Mr Farris’ work is categorized you can always count on three things: wit, suspense, and more than a touch of humanity.

I recently read a John Farris’ novel titled Dragonfly. It was published in 1995. It is a large-scale suspense novel with a booming plot, flashy and developed characters, and enough twists to make its 500 pages pass far too quickly. It is a version of the Dean Koontz thriller, except where Koontz tends to populate his novels with working class characters Dragonfly is a hothouse of Southern aristocracy in all its contemptible glory.

Dr Joe Bryce is a conman. He makes his living swindling wealthy women of their treasure. His last job had a few loose ends and it didn’t turn out exactly how Joe had hoped. He has a mind to retire, but the dust jacket photograph of a beautiful and bestselling author haunts him until he decides for one more con. The only problem: Nothing is as he expects it.

The plot is so well rendered and designed that the less a reader knows about it, the more enjoyable it will be. The writing is pure in subtle and unobtrusive tones—it is deceivingly simple with a Southern, almost gothic, lilt:

“Joe awoke at the crack of dawn in the beach house, disoriented after a night of heavy sleep, wondering for a few moments just where he was and what he was up to.”

The characters are full-bodied, living, breathing people. Joe is a scoundrel that is not only likable, but, as the novel gains ground, begins a trembling, sorrowful journey of redemption. He is a flawed man in a flawed and harsh world. The setting is beautifully captured by Mr Farris in a muted eloquence—simple and direct with language that is permeated with intelligence and wit.

Dragonfly is one of the best novels I have read in 2009. It is a sound piece of literature with a muscular plot and a humanity that is startling. It is a true masterpiece of suspense. It may remind me of the Dean Koontz thriller, but Dragonfly is all John Farris.

BABY MOLL by John Farris

Peter Mallory is on the verge of obtaining everything he has ever wanted. He owns a business, he is a respected resident of the community, and he is set to marry a beautiful and intelligent woman. He is in a good place, but when an old associate appears at his bait shop Mallory’s past threatens everything he has built.

Mallory was a lieutenant in the Florida Mob when he walked away six years earlier and now the boss wants him back. He doesn’t want to go, but he wants his past to stay where it is and when the boss threatens to share a few details with his fiancée he unwillingly agrees.

When he arrives he finds the Don a shadow of his former self. He has aged and lost control of his own turf. He no longer protects territory from rival gangs and even worse old associates are being murdered one by one. After each murder a news clipping is delivered that tells the story of a murder he and the others committed years earlier. It’s getting to the Don and he needs Mallory to look into it and figure who it is and stop it.

Baby Moll is the best reprint Hard Case Crime has released. It was originally published in 1958 as by Steve Brakeen and while it is very much a product of its era it has lost little of its impact. The story is told with a sparse and economical style that reminded me very much of Michael Crichton’s early John Lange novels, but the mystery and plotting are one step beyond what Crichton was doing in the 1960s.

The characters are perfect—the aging mobster is drawn with a brilliantly nuanced mixture of menace, sorrow, bluster and loss. The supporting cast is an oddball group that Mr. Farris effectively uses to clutter the mystery and build tension. Mallory never quite gets a handle on their motivations or even who a few of them truly are.

The mystery is structured perfectly; it is a balance of hardboiled American mixed with a flavoring of an intricate whodunit with a dash of suspense novel thrown in for good measure. The whodunit is the mystery itself—the diverse cast and their conflicting motives interlaced with the careful release of clues and even a few red herrings to keep both Mallory and the reader off-balance. But it is presented and stylized as a down and dirty hardboiled novel that will appeal to anyone who enjoys an old style suspense novel.

New Hard Case Crime: Baby Moll by John Farris

I have great news. I was snooping over at the Hard Case Crime website this evening and stumbled across a title that has just been announced. The title: Baby Moll. The author: John Farris. I have never read this title, but John Farris is a favorite author of mine, particularly his thrillers.

I vividly remember reading his novel Solar Eclipse one hot August. I spent an exorbitant amount of time that summer on trains, waiting for trains, and generally cursing trains, but Solar Eclipse took my worries away for some 500 pages, and the scary thing is I wasn't ready for it to end. I have since read several of his titles, and I can't wait to get a copy of one of his early novels.

The cover art is terrific, and if you didn't know just by looking it is a Robert McGinnis.

Unfortunately it won't hit bookstores until August 2008. I can wait that long. I'm sure I can.

The description for Baby Moll at the HCC website reads:

Six years after quitting the Florida Mob, Peter Mallory is about to be dragged back in.

Stalked by a vicious killer and losing his hold on power, Mallory’s old boss needs help—the kind of help only a man like Mallory can provide. But behind the walls of the fenced-in island compound he once called home, Mallory is about to find himself surrounded by beautiful women, by temptation, and by danger—and one wrong step could trigger a bloodbath...