Rat City (A Jake Rossiter & Miss Jenkins Mystery)

Rating:
Summary: Good Old-Fashioned Hardboiled Fun
Review: For all those fans of the hardboiled private detective books from the 1930s, 40s and 50s, Curt Colbert has introduced us to Jake Rossiter, a private detective cut from the same cloth as Phillip Marlowe, Sam Spade or Mike Hammer. As a fan of all of these types of books, I was extremely pleased to have stumbled upon this book, which looks to be the first of a series.

RAT CITY is a very fast-moving detective story that could very well have been written 40 years ago, except for one important factor. Colbert chose to modernise the dialogue a little by not holding back on the use of profanity. In all other respects, the vernacular matches the time in which it is set. I didn't have a problem with the profanity and can understand that Colbert is writing for a more modern audience, but it could turn people who don't care for extreme language off the book, because it is used quite regularly.

The story starts as any self-respecting PI story worth its salt should, in Jake Rossiter's office. The big difference with this start though is that instead of a gorgeous dame walking into his life, Rossiter is faced with an angry bookie named Big Ed. Not only that, Big Ed introduces himself by firing two shots at Jake, fortunately missing (lucky really, otherwise it would have been an extremely short book). Pure instinct, plus the fact that he was admiring his brand new gun at the time, leads Rossiter to shoot Big Ed in the chest, killing him. Before he dies he manages to utter the name "Gloria".

It's 1947, America is recovering from the ravages of war and Jake Rossiter is a war veteran now working in Seattle, Washington. He has discovered that the country is filled with an extra injection of corruption since the war ended and Seattle is so steeped in it that his pet name for it is Rat City.

His near miss at the start of the story prompts him into an investigation into finding out why someone he had never met before would try to shoot him. It's not long before another man has a crack at killing him and once again, lives long enough before uttering the name "Gloria" with his dying breath. This really grabs his attention because by this stage he has already met Gloria and she didn't appear to be all that keen to do him in.

He soon finds out that Gloria is the least of his problems. In his attempt to find out why he's being targeted Rossiter not only runs up against known gangsters and thugs, he also comes up against a corrupt police force intent on framing him for whatever crime they possibly can. Not surprisingly, as he digs deeper into the case it begins to reveal a dark and widespread cover up involving all sorts of powerful people, not the least are members of that same police force.

So Rossiter works the case for free, but because his life depends on it, he puts every resource he has at his disposal into it. As it turns out, this includes the very faithful, very prim and proper secretary (perhaps a little too often referred to as "his girl Friday") Miss Jenkins. The relationship between Rossiter and Miss Jenkins is delightful with the rough edges of Jake being complemented beautifully by Miss Jenkins' quiet gentleness.

There are two main problems with the story, as far as I am concerned. The first is the aforementioned use of profanity. I thought the dialogue would have rung much more truly if Colbert had have stuck with the more traditional - yet admittedly more moderate - swearwords. Again, I will stress that I have absolutely no problem with strong language, but it detracted from the authenticity of the timeframe in which it was set.

The second problem I had was an idea that Rossiter used to draw out a man who was tailing him. He constructed a sign that he affixed to the back of his car with the intention of enraging his pursuer into some sort of rash action. The sign was unrealistically long and crude and just came across as a very sloppy plot device. I felt it weakened Rossiter as a character to have come up with such a harebrained idea and also weakened the story itself because so much hinged on this subplot.

Notwithstanding the grumpy gripes above, I really enjoyed RAT CITY. It's fast-paced and violent, both with gunplay and face-to-face confrontations. The style is reminiscent enough of the widely popular private detective stories of old to appeal to fans of the hardboiled genre of yesteryear.

Jake Rossiter is a likable protagonist with a healthy hatred of corruption coupled with a strong sense of loyalty and compassion for his clients and friends. That's not to say he doesn't mind the more than occasional snort from the bottle, remember, this is traditional hardboiled fare after all.

Fans of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer books or even Dashiell Hammett's Continental Op should rejoice, there is a new author in town producing detective stories in the style that we love. With twists and turns accompanied by an unceasing supply of violent action, Curt Colbert's debut novel RAT CITY is just good old-fashioned hardboiled fun.

Rating:
Summary: Smoke, streets and old Buicks
Review: I'll never look at Georgetown in the same way again. These are Jake Rossiter's mean streets, dark, dingy, dirty. Big Ed, cops that beat you up---what's going on in '40's Seattle? Not even Rossiter knows for sure! And Oh, that Miss Jenkins--I can see her now. This is a one-sit-read. Bet you can't put it down once you get it going.

Rating:
Summary: Huge Fun !
Review: If somebody gave a writer an assignment "write me a hardboiled private-eye novel set in Seattle in the late 40's. Use all the cliches of the genre", what would come out would be something like "Rat City". it's all here: tough, wisecracking guys who talk about "good joes" and "roscoes" and strengthen their morning coffee with a shot of rotgut whiskey. A devoted secretary. Pneumatic blonde bimbos. Crooked cops. Italian gangsters.

At first it's a little off-putting; the game of "spot the cliche" is fun for a while, but hard to sustain over an entire book. But Colbert's obvious affection for the genre and the energy of his plotting make it all work. I paticularly like the way the characters provide insight into changes in postwar America when they suddenly and unexpectedly break out of the skin of their cliches. You will laugh out loud with delight while reading this book.

Rating:
Summary: Post War II Seattle Blues
Review: Like Walter Moses, Curt Colbert uses the private eye genre to be an observer of changes at a transition period in American history. The book very slowly shows how the Jake Rossiter transforms from the accepted racism and sexism of the day to a more open individual. The book also uses several metaphors to keep the reader from escaping to mindless private eye musings simply for entertainment and zeroes in on the reality of a city that was very blue collar and pre-Microsoft. One huge flaw throughout is the banter and dialogue between Jake and Miss Jenkins his secretary. It was funny at the start of the book but by the middle it was an overused gimmick that bogged down the energy of a compelling tale. Very little character development, however the descriptions of Seattle are precise and accurate.

Rating:
Summary: Move over Sam Spade
Review: Rat City author. Curt Colbert, must have been a voracious reader of late 40's and 50's pulp detective fiction. The hard-boiled slightly tawdry Spillane style of book is given an expert make-over-- improved too.

Set in Seattle circa late 1940's, Rat City is part Spillane,
and part transplanted Chandler (yeah, at times Colbert writes that good). This isn't yet another attempted tribute to hard boiled pulps of yester-year however, it's got a unique setting, interesting characters, a leave you breathless pacing and an all out make no appology style. Private dick Jake Rossiter is part Hammer, part Marlow with a bit of Jim Rockford thrown in. The parts gel together well and create an original character you'll have some empathy and respect for.

There's also some excellent well researched historical detail in Rat City, but don't worry, it doesn't slow things down a bit. Oh and you can forget about this one being politically correct or indulging in a big helping of revisionism--not going to happen. What does happen is that Curt Colbert creates some dimension to his female and minority characters which makes the novel feel fresh and vibrantly alive. Rossiter's gal Friday Miss Jenkins is full of surprises as well. Colbert's not going to soft soap how things could have been back in the late 40's, but he can give his characters the kind of dimension in one novel, it took some pulp detective fiction authors many books to partially accomplish.

If you're looking for the kind of tough and tawdry pulpy detective novel no one writes anymore..well this one's for you.
You'll be hooked within 5 pages. Some of the tough as a three day growth of stubble rat-a-tat tough guy lines are memorable and few fall flat.

I wouldn't have thought it possible to write a novel like this without having the whole thing crash and burn avoiding a jay-walking copy-cat at the intersection of Cliche Avenue and Self Parody Boulevard.

I enjoy being pleasantly surprised. This is a splendid genre book and I'm grateful that Curt Colbert created it. I look forward to the next adventures of Jake Rossiter and Miss Jenkins.
I hope there are several more to come.

Oh yeah I should mention that this isn't a book to start right before your bed-time... you'll find yourself staying up much too late with the thing as it's truly difficult to put it down once you start reading it.

-- Writer, Poet, Critic, Christopher J. Jarmick is the author of the critically acclaimed mystery suspense thriller, The Glass Cocoon (with Serena F. Holder).

Rating:
Summary: Jake takes on the cops
Review: Rat City, with a Seattle setting, is a marvelous read. We rarely read a mystery although we've been big fans of Morse, the British detective of TV. We read Rat City because a fellow poet wrote it. Holy Socrates! What suspense, dialogue and movement. On page one Jake Rossiter takes out (kills) a guy who came into his office to plug him. He didn't even know why the guy was coming after him. "You won't make it," I told him. "You're checking out. Who are you, and why did you try to kill me?" He focused on my ceiling fan and whispered, "Gloria." It was the last thing he ever said. Jake Rossiter undertakes a search to find out why a well-known gangster wanted his head, but he is led into many blind alleys before he comes up with the answers. The story, somewhat reminiscent of Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade series, captures the dialogue and mood of the time of Seattle's corrupt underbelly. You love Rossiter's girl Friday, Miss Jenkins. With this first novel Curt Colbert, a Vietnam veteran, has created a many-faceted character that warrants many more stories. Colbert's writing style and voice keep you turning the pages of this well-written book, which is a real page-turner. (Barb read the book in two days. Couldn't put it down.) We recommend Rat City as a must-read book, even if, like us, you don't usually read mysteries.

Rating:
Summary: Move over Sam Spade
Review: Sam Spade, Mike Hammer, and Travis McGee all three rolled up into one will almost equal one Jake Rossiter. Curt Colbert chose a setting in Seattle when Seattle was wide open and wild after WW2 and he made it work. Curt Colbert's sense of humor and irony are clearly on display through the actions of Jake Rossiter and his conscious - Miss Jenkins. Miss Jenkins can more than handle her own with her boss without him even knowing it. Together they make a team to be reckoned with. Curt Colbert keeps you on the edge of your seat with his very first page and you will not want to take the time to put this excellent novel down. There is a reason why he was a Shamus Award nominee for "Rat City". Read his work and find out for yourself.

Rating:
Summary: Gumshoe resurrection
Review: With the mere stroke of a his pen Curt Colbert has resurrected the late Sam Spade in the form of one Jake Rossiter. Back is the hardboiled gumshoe. Back is the gum snappin' dame. Back is the big Buick Roadmaster. Someone wants Jake dead. To learn why the tough talkin' hard smokin' Private Dick, along with his blonde bombshell assistant, Miss Jenkins, take to the mean streets of the town they call 'the big sleazy', post World War II Seattle.
Colbert has done a masterful job at bringing his late 1940's tale of mystery and suspense to life. With rich and accurate descriptions of post war Seattle and truly memorable characters Colbert's story slinks its way through the back rooms and the back alleys of Seattle's creepiest neighborhood known simply as, Rat City. As a Seattle native I had the pleasure of growing up in the part of Seattle that was known as "Rat City". Curt had described the setting perfectly. For me, Rat City, was a trip back in time and an enjoyable read. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good gumshoe/detective story. Two gumshoes up to Curt Colbert.