Pulp Poem of the Week

he hit
the floor
like a sack
of guts

     Dave Zeltserman
     Fast Lane
     2000

Pulp Poem of the Week

I tried to give him
the finger,
but I think I was too tired
to lift my hand.

          Dave Zeltserman
          A Killer’s Essence
          2011

Book Review: Dave Zeltserman, A Killer's Essence (2011)

Dave Zeltserman’s A Killer’s Essence put me in mind of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s notion of a Romance. In his preface to The House of the Seven Gables (1851), Hawthorne explained, “When a writer calls his work a Romance, it need hardly be observed that he wishes to claim a certain latitude, both as to its fashion and material, which he would not have felt himself entitled to assume had he professed to be writing a Novel. The latter form of composition is presumed to aim at a very minute fidelity, not merely to the possible, but to the probable and ordinary course of man's experience. The former—while, as a work of art, it must rigidly subject itself to laws, and while it sins unpardonably so far as it may swerve aside from the truth of the human heart—has fairly a right to present that truth under circumstances, to a great extent, of the writer's own choosing or creation. If he think fit, also, he may so manage his atmospherical medium as to bring out or mellow the lights and deepen and enrich the shadows of the picture. He will be wise, no doubt, to make a very moderate use of the privileges here stated, and, especially, to mingle the Marvelous rather as a slight, delicate, and evanescent flavor, than as any portion of the actual substance of the dish offered to the public.” At its core, A Killer’s Essence is a police procedural, which is to say, a Novel. In the Novel’s main plotline, NYC cop Stan Green grasps at threads to catch a serial killer. The evanescent flavor of the Marvelous is provided by Zachary Lynch, a witness to one of the killer’s crimes. Lynch is a semi-recluse with neurological damage that prevents him from seeing faces. Instead, he sees the essence of people’s souls, be they serial killers or cops. As always, Zeltserman gives readers what they expect from a crime novel—and then a little bit more. Grade: B

Book Review: Dave Zeltserman, Fast Lane (2004)

Dave Zeltserman morphs Sheriff Lou Ford into private investigator Johnny Lane with Lou's clichés replaced by Johnny's poppa's folksy aphorisms. The next time you feel like reading The Killer Inside Me, read this instead. Grade: B-

Book Review: Dave Zeltserman, The Dame (2012)

Two entries into the series, it is clear that the novelettes in The Hunted are very much parts of a whole. Thus, I feel odd reviewing them individually, rather as if I were reviewing individual chapters of a book as I went along, but I can say, at the very least, that they are entertaining chapters. With The Dame, we are squarely in Parker-Stark territory, and the reading is quick and good, even if Dan Willis lacks Parker's winning personality. Grade: B

Book Review: Dave Zeltserman, The Hunted (2012)

In Manhunt and other noirboiled digests of the 1950s, unusually long stories, which often had short numbered chapters, were called “novelettes.” If the noirboiled novelette should become popular in the 21st century, it will be because these stories—too short to stand alone as novels, too long for most magazines—have found their perfect home: e-readers. Dave Zeltserman, the hardest-working man in noirboiled, gives the genre a go with The Hunted Series. The first entry in the series details the backstory and early career of hitman Dan Willis. My favorite thing about Zeltserman’s books is that his plots never go exactly where I expect them to, which is a joy when you spend your time rutting endlessly in the same genre. (The most important lesson that Zeltserman learned from Jim Thompson is this: Great writers take chances.) This time out, the unexpected twist nearly crushed my credulity, but I clicked through this novelette fast enough that I will surely read the next in the series. Grade: B-

Book Review: Dave Zeltserman, Killer (2010)

The final installment of Dave Zeltserman’s man-out-of-prison trilogy is the most low-key of the three. When mob hitman Leonard March goes free, he has every reason to believe that he will soon be rubbed out himself—he did, after all, get a reduced sentence by ratting out his boss. So he takes a job as a janitor and waits. The dark joy of these novels, however, is that they never quite go where you think they will. Their episodic plots resist formula. Grade: B-

Pulp Poem of the Week

There was no question

Nola was nice to look at,

and now that she was getting

moodier and quieter,

all the better.

Dave Zeltserman

Pariah

2009

Book Review: Dave Zeltserman, Outsourced (2011)

Dan Wilson is out of work and on the verge of losing his eyesight. With a mortgage to pay and a family to support, he is an ordinary guy desperate for money. He conceives a can’t-miss bank heist, enlists the help of some friends, and then—surprise!—things don’t go exactly as planned. Dave Zeltserman cleverly and effectively engineers the plot with a steady supply of action and surprises. In sum, Outsourced is thoroughly entertaining noir in a traditional vein. Grade: A-

Book Review: Dave Zeltserman, Pariah (2009)

As an example of noir, Dave Zeltserman’s Pariah, the second installment in his man-out-of-prison trilogy, is a cross between Don Tracy’s Round Trip (1934) and Jason Starr’s Fake I.D. (2000). Like Round Trip, the structure of Pariah is episodic. There are several plot elements in the first three-quarters of the novel (including a revenge plot, some family psychodrama, a kidnapping, and a trial), any one of which could have been the foundation of a thriller with a conventional plot arc. But, as in Round Trip, the plot wanders, trading narrative tension for a heightened sense of realism. The major difference between Round Trip and Pariah is that the protagonist of Tracy’s novel, Eddie Magruder, is basically a sympathetic character, while the protagonist of Zeltserman’s novel, Kyle Nevin, is fairly loathsome from the moment the novel begins. Thus, like Jason Starr with Tommy Russo, the unsympathetic protagonist of Fake I.D., Zeltserman takes a chance that he can make readers care enough about the fate of an unlikeable character to keep reading. Combine this risk with the risky plot structure, and Pariah becomes a noir high-wire act. But if Zeltserman gets you across the wire, you will be rewarded at the other side. Grade: B-

5 Quick Questions with Dave Zeltserman

Dave Zeltserman is probably best-known to noirboiled fans for Small Crimes (2008), Pariah (2009), and Killer (2010), his series of novels about men just out of prison. His most recent books include The Caretaker of Lorne Field and 21 Tales (both 2010).

1. What’s the first crime novel that you remember reading?

Well, not counting the Freddy the Detective, I was 13 when I read I, the Jury by Mickey Spillane, and that got me hooked on crime fiction.

2. Which crime novel have you read the most times?

Other than Hammett, I usually don't read any novel more than once. I did read A Hell of a Woman many times, but that was more to study how Jim Thompson did what he did with that book, although it is one of my favorites.

3. Black Mask or Manhunt?

Black Mask. I'm a huge Hammett fan.

4. John D. MacDonald or Ross Macdonald?

Ross Macdonald. I read all the Lew Archer's when I was high school, and early on wrote really bad Lew Archer-type stories until I found my voice. The first incarnation of what eventually became Fast Lane was written as a Lew Archer-like novel.

5. What’s the best novel by Dave Zeltserman?

My best published crime novel is Killer. My best published novel is The Caretaker of Lorne Field. My best novel (although still unsold) is something called Monster.

Book Review: Dave Zeltserman, Small Crimes (2008)

Joe Denton, a bad cop fresh out of prison, never has the chance to even try to go straight. His wrecked life is waiting for him in the persons of Sheriff Dan Pleasant (a former partner in crime) and District Attorney Phil Coakley (the victim of the attempted murder that put Joe in prison). Phil is on the verge of having evidence that will put Dan and Joe in prison for a long stretch, so Dan works to force Joe to solve this problem by whatever means necessary. There is no shortage of plot in Small Crimes, but the narrative is driven moreso by the characters. Sheriff Dan and D.A. Phil are no mysteries, but Joe is a more challenging personality to understand, as are several of the supporting characters in the book: Joe's parents; dying crime boss Manny Vassey; and, most of all, Charlotte Boyd, a nurse in the hospital where Manny is dying. Grade: B+