Review: "Turnabout" by Jeremiah Healy

Turnabout
by Jeremiah Healy
Leisure Books, 2005

 

Turnabout—which was originally published by Five Star in 2001—is an appealing, slow-paced, and surprising crime novel by the author of the John Francis Cuddy mystery series. Matthew Langway, a former FBI agent turned Boston private detective, is in a bind. His partner has been siphoning money out of their partnership and, worse, he has been stealing from their clients. So, with a desperate need for cash, Langway reluctantly agrees to investigate the kidnapping of the mentally-handicapped Kenny, the great-grandson of a wealthy former U.S. Army general, Alexander Van Horne. Langway’s reluctance comes from Van Horne’s insistent that the authorities be kept out, but the promise of a $10,000 payday convinces Langway to take the job anyway.
     The estate’s security is top-notch—cameras, guards, alarms, fences, and gates—which leads Langway to think the kidnappers had inside help. A notion supported by the rapacious Van Horne family; every one of them residents of the estate where Kenny lived and with something to gain from the boy’s death.
     Turnabout is fascinating and literate, but its unhurried pacing and dark nature may put some readers off. The thematic focus on the past, particularly old secrets, is reminiscent, while not quite as satisfying, as Ross Macdonald’s Lew Archer books. A similarity that kept me turning the pages until the narrative picked up about a third of the way in. Along the way it becomes clear nothing in Langway’s world is simple and obvious. Everything is suspect. Then the climactic scene—with the surprise of a swinging axe—twists into a marvelous, almost breathtaking, surprise.
     Turnabout is set in the late-1980s and—keep in mind this is all speculation on my part—it was likely written about that same time. Healy (perhaps) was unable to find a publisher, or he simply put the manuscript away and went on to other projects. But then Five Star—known for publishing “trunk novels” by established mystery writers for the library market in the early-2000s—brought Turnabout out in 2001 and a few years later Leisure Books issued a mass market reprint. But no matter Turnabout’s history, I’m glad it had a public life because the characters, the story, and the complex ideas about morality and ethics, or the lack of any, keep dancing long after the final pages are done.

Click here for the paperback at Amazon.

THE PLAGUE OF THIEVES AFFAIR by Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini

Plague of Thieves Affair is the fourth entry in Marcia Muller’s and Bill Pronzini’s historical detective series featuring Sabina Carpenter and John Quincannon. The two spend the novel working on separate cases—Quincannon is looking for the killer of a brew master at a local steam beer brewery, and Carpenter is hired to protect a traveling exhibition of very expensive reticules, handbags, being displayed at a local gallery. Quincannon’s inquiry goes sideways when his suspect is found shot dead behind not one, but two locked doors, and the police rule it a suicide. Quincannon doesn’t agree, and he determines to solve the mystery of both murders.

Meanwhile, back at Carpenter and Quincannon, Professional Detective Services, Sabina is approached with, potentially, the solution to the vexing mystery of the true identity of a man who claims to be Sherlock Holmes. It is vexing because Mr. Holmes has the bad habit—at least in Quincannon’s mind—of dropping in on many of the agency’s cases and, using flawless deductive reasoning, solving them before disappearing again. The estate wants Sabina to find the Sherlock impersonator, whose real name may be Charles P. Fairchild III, so it can determine if he is mentally fit to inherit the estate.

Plague of Thieves Affair is an adept, entertaining, and intriguing whodunit. Its setting is a well-developed late-Nineteenth century San Francisco. There are several descriptions of the business climate, a quarry with little regard for crushing a house or two to get its desired stone is the best, giving the story a sense reality and place. Quincannon is gruff, intelligent, and deeply in love with Sabina—a name as alluring as any in fiction. Sabina is much less gruff, but just as intelligent as John, with an added air of sophistication. The mystery of the Holmes impersonator is the gem of the story and it nicely unravels with the surrounding investigations. The crimes are solved with a combination of wit and intelligent deductive reasoning. It is as readable as it is satisfying.

This review was originally published at Ed Gorman's blog January 30, 2016. It's been a busy few months at my house and I hope to have something new for the blog very soon.

   

CROSSFIRE: THE SCALES OF JUSTICE by John Hegenberger

1988. Eliot Cross is tired of the private detective game and thinking about his exit. His one-man shop, Cross Examinations, in Columbus, Ohio, is less than busy. His elderly mother and estranged father both died the prior month, and the bottle has become more comfort than it should be. His head hurts, too, since taking a knock the previous night after discovering a dead body at roadside. The body disappeared and the police are less than interested in Eliot’s story.

An old flame, Diane Davis, convinces Eliot to take one last job before shuttering the business. It is an industrial espionage case involving the theft of a high tech industrial scale developed by Ms. Davis’ employer Justice Scale Corporation. Eliot takes the job for no reason other than wanting to end his P. I. run with a win. The case, unsurprisingly, is more than it seems and by the end includes a few dead bodies and even circles back to Eliot’s disappearing roadside corpse.

Crossfire: The Scales of Justice is a nicely entertaining private eye novel. Its plot is complicated, interesting, and satisfyingly over-the-top—it includes a blackmail scheme threatening the 1988 Summer Olympics. It is written in a smoothly terse, almost ironic, first person. Eliot is self-deprecating, tough, and attracts women like a film star. The setting is nicely late-1980s, including vintage descriptions of Columbus, cars, and music. It is easy to read, more fun than any Tuesday night on television, and thoroughly enjoyable.    

   

Purchase a copy of Crossfire: The Scales of Justice at Amazon.

Don Pendleton's Joe Copp Novels

Don Pendleton is best known for his men’s adventure series The Executioner.  He created it and wrote, more or less, the first 38 titles in the series before he handed it off to Gold Eagle books and a host of ghost writers.  Mr Pendleton’s later work never found the same success as The Executioner, but he wrote a series of private detective novels featuring an ex-cop tough guy named Joe Copp.

Copp appeared in six novels between 1987 and 1992.  They were published in hardcover by Donald I. Fine, and paperback (except the first) by Harper.  There is something almost juvenile about the stories—black and white themes, hard as nails action, and prose as hard as Mickey Spillane—but the stories are vivid, exciting, and very entertaining. 

Below is a listing of the books in chronological order with the cover scans of the original hardcover and paperback editions of each title, excepting Copp in Deep, which I was unable to find a scan for the hardcover.    

Copp for Hire.  Published by Donald I. Fine in 1987 as a hardcover, and reprinted in mass market by Lynx Books in 1988.

 

Copp on Fire.  Published by Donald I. Fine in 1988 as a hardcover, and reprinted in mass market by Harper Paperbacks in 1989.  Read the Gravetapping review.

Copp in Deep.  Published by Donald I. Fine in 1989 as a hardcover, and reprinted in mass market by Harper Paperbacks in 1990.  If anyone has a scan of the hardcover I would be much obliged for a copy.

Copp in the Dark.  Published by Donald I. Fine in 1990 as a hardcover, and reprinted in mass market by Harper Paperbacks in 1991.

 

Copp on Ice.  Published by Donald I. Fine in 1991 as a hardcover, and reprinted in mass market by Harper Paperbacks in 1992.

 

Copp in Shock.  Published by Donald I. Fine in 1992 as a hardcover, and reprinted in mass market by Harper Paperbacks in 1993.