<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: The ending will surprise you
Review: A young detective in New York learns that his ex-girlfriend was murdered at a strip club where she had been dancing. As he investigates, he discovers that her life since they broke up was nothing like he thought. Bit by bit he uncovers the truth about her death and about who she really was. When you get to the ending, it's a real shock. Anyone who likes writers like Lawrence Block or Ross Macdonald should read this one!
Rating: 
Summary: solid urban noir
Review: In Manhattan, private investigator John Blake is stunned to learn that Miranda Sugarman was murdered on New Year's Eve on the roof of the Sin Factory, a strip joint. John thinks back to making love with Miranda the night before they graduated high school and she went off to Rianon College in New Mexico. He is further shocked to learn that Miranda was a stripper not a doctor as he always assumed would be.Unable to resist and ignoring the plea of his "assistant" former cop Leo Hauser to butt out, John begins making inquiries at the club and at Rianon College. He runs up against volatile club manager Wayne Lenz and drug dealing owner Murco Khachadurian, two thugs who tell him to stay out of their affairs and their club. Even worse cretins warn John off with his only ally besides reliable Leo being stripper Rachel Firestone. Though John's obsession seems too over the top for a sane person, fans will appreciate this solid urban noir mindful of the Barbara Stanwick movie, Lady of Burlesque. Once the reader moves pass the why he is doing this, they will appreciate a fun Manhattan murder mystery. The key to this tale is the delightful cast (with and without clothing) in which even the miscreants have personalities, albeit nasty ones. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: solid urban noir
Review: In Manhattan, private investigator John Blake is stunned to learn that Miranda Sugarman was murdered on New Year's Eve on the roof of the Sin Factory, a strip joint. John thinks back to making love with Miranda the night before they graduated high school and she went off to Rianon College in New Mexico. He is further shocked to learn that Miranda was a stripper not a doctor as he always assumed would be. Unable to resist and ignoring the plea of his "assistant" former cop Leo Hauser to butt out, John begins making inquiries at the club and at Rianon College. He runs up against volatile club manager Wayne Lenz and drug dealing owner Murco Khachadurian, two thugs who tell him to stay out of their affairs and their club. Even worse cretins warn John off with his only ally besides reliable Leo being stripper Rachel Firestone. Though John's obsession seems too over the top for a sane person, fans will appreciate this solid urban noir mindful of the Barbara Stanwick movie, Lady of Burlesque. Once the reader moves pass the why he is doing this, they will appreciate a fun Manhattan murder mystery. The key to this tale is the delightful cast (with and without clothing) in which even the miscreants have personalities, albeit nasty ones. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Little Girl Lost may Win an Edgar!!
Review: Just nominated for an EDGAR AWARD, Little Girl Lost is an excellent debut novel. Whereas most PI fiction shows us a detective long since hardened by experience, Lost's PI, Blake, is an inexperienced though capable detective. Through the course of this well written tale, we see Blake harden and toughen until a climax which rivals vintage Spillane! The writing is excellent throughout, the plot engaging, the characters well-drawn and momorable, the ending shocking. I give this fine novel my highest recommendation.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Noir with a Modern Twist
Review: Richard Aleas has done something I never thought possible - capture the full spirit of Sam Spade in a modern cel phone, Google searching world. I've always shied away from this type of noir, but Aleas' book had me hooked from page one - a story about a bird that seemed to be (to me, anyway) a nod to the most famous noir bird - The Maltese Falcon.
Fast pace, interesting characters, and a hero's take on life that constantly has me going - yeah, I never thought of it that way, but ain't it the truth.
Hard-boiled detectives and snazzy pulp cover art! Glad to see this style of novel back on the bookshelves.
Cynthia B
Rating:
Summary: Lost and Found
Review: This reader is a devotee of hardboiled crime fiction. Faves include George Pelecanos, Dennis Lehane, Daniel Woodrell, Walter Mosley, and now add Richard Aleas to the list. With Little Girl Lost Aleas mines familiar territory but with his own very unique take. PI John Blake discovers that his high school love, Miranda Sugarman, has been killed...on the roof of a Manhattan strip club...where she worked...as a stripper. Quite a jolt to Blake who'd thought during the ten years since high school that Miranda had most certainly finished her college studies and was a successful eye doctor. Embalmed with a serious need-to-know, Blake sets out to find answers. Who killed Miranda? How did she stray off the path of traditional success? Blake's boss and mentor, Leo, warns him early on "You won't like what you find." More prophetic words have never been spoken. Blake embarks on a journey of discovery and self-discovery. He finds a love interest. He is battered and bruised. He sells his soul to the Devil. And lastly in Aleas' bravo ending, Blake finds out something so shocking, so unbelievable, it throws everything about who he is and what he does as a PI into question. Aleas has star quality, what with his crisp writing, dead-on dialogue, and believable plotting. Find Little Girl Lost.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely terrific read
Review: When the headline "Stripper Murdered" boasts a photo of his ex-girlfriend Miranda Sugarman, John Blake is floored. This is the girl who left their hometown to go off to medical school in Wisconsin to become an eye doctor. What happened that caused her to end up dead on the roof of The Sin Factory? The New York P.I. decides to use his skills to find out.
With the most striking first chapter in recent memory, Little Girl Lost, the debut novel of Richard Aleas (pseudonym of acclaimed writer, editor, and entrepreneur Charles Ardai), starts out strong and keeps up the pace (though I don't know that I'd have given my book the same title as a bestselling celebrity autobiography).
When your central character is a P.I., you've got to make him not like all the others to keep a reader's interest past the crime he's trying to solve. John Blake -- interestingly, given the genre -- is not your typical "tough guy." Instead of running headlong into trouble willy-nilly, he likes to avoid it, but not enough to appear weak. He's like Jackie Chan; he knows he can handle himself, he'd just like to get away with as few bruises as possible (Robert Parker's Spenser also comes to mind). Blake depends on his intelligence and quick wit to get him through. This makes him easier to identify with for a reader with no chance whatsoever of finding himself in such a situation (I hope).
The hero's emotional attachment to the victim recalls Dashiell Hammett's classic The Maltese Falcon and this makes him a more sympathetic character, as well as giving us a voyeuristic view into his conflicting feelings. Sitting idly by, we get to watch as Blake realizes that the Miranda who got herself two bullets in the head on a seedy rooftop on New Year's Eve is much different than the girl he loved ten years ago (as depicted through selective flashbacks).
With help from his boss Leo and a stripper named Rachel Firestone -- who finds that she has a surprising knack for detective work -- Blake descends into the underworld of flesh display and runs into trouble that goes by the names of Wayne Lenz and Murco "Catch" Khachadurian. Along the way, Aleas gives us an insider's view into the day-to-day workings of a private investigator. This attention to detail, a fast-paced plot, a terrific cover from famed illustrator Robert McGinnis (which continues the half-naked-girl-with-a-gun theme of Hard Case Crime's second entry, Fade to Blonde, and was reportedly even more revealing before the publishers had him "pull up her pants"), fascinating characters (who are seldom all that they seem), and Aleas' definite knack for the genre, all combine to make Little Girl Lost an absolutely terrific read.
<< 1 >>
| 
