Unfaithful Servant

Rating:
Summary: The return of Kyd
Review: It was very exciting to see that Timothy Harris had pulled his L.A. private eye, Thomas Kyd, out of retirement, and "Unfaithful Servant" is even better than his two excellent adventures in the 80s, "Kyd for Hire" and "Goodnight & Goodbye". He's once again offered a large number of fully developed, vivid characters especially Kyd himself and the city of Los Angeles.

This is character driven, p.i. fiction very much in the Raymond Chandler tradition and not the sentimental and insipid who-done-its that have recently been making their way onto the best seller lists. Kyd is very much like Marlowe without sinking into imitation and self-parody as so many have. Like Marlowe, guilt and self-doubt eat away at him, and he is prone to getting beat up.

"Unfaithful Servant" never lags, and Harris' prose remains exciting throughout. Apparently Harris took a break from fiction to write screenplays, and Hollywood provides the background for this novel about the death of a producer, his widow, a major star whose career is about to fade, and his teenage son who forms a close bond with Kyd. The relationship between Kyd and the boy is very moving without ever becoming sentimental, and unlike the sanitized version often found in fiction, the boy feels real and very believable.

Here's hoping that Harris keeps the Kyd series going without taking another lengthy break! With all the detective fiction being published these days, this is the real thing -- the best I've read in years.

Rating:
Summary: The return of Kyd
Review: It was very exciting to see that Timothy Harris had pulled his L.A. private eye, Thomas Kyd, out of retirement, and "Unfaithful Servant" is even better than his two excellent adventures in the 80s, "Kyd for Hire" and "Goodnight & Goodbye". He's once again offered a large number of fully developed, vivid characters especially Kyd himself and the city of Los Angeles.

This is character driven, p.i. fiction very much in the Raymond Chandler tradition and not the sentimental and insipid who-done-its that have recently been making their way onto the best seller lists. Kyd is very much like Marlowe without sinking into imitation and self-parody as so many have. Like Marlowe, guilt and self-doubt eat away at him, and he is prone to getting beat up.

"Unfaithful Servant" never lags, and Harris' prose remains exciting throughout. Apparently Harris took a break from fiction to write screenplays, and Hollywood provides the background for this novel about the death of a producer, his widow, a major star whose career is about to fade, and his teenage son who forms a close bond with Kyd. The relationship between Kyd and the boy is very moving without ever becoming sentimental, and unlike the sanitized version often found in fiction, the boy feels real and very believable.

Here's hoping that Harris keeps the Kyd series going without taking another lengthy break! With all the detective fiction being published these days, this is the real thing -- the best I've read in years.

Rating:
Summary: The Worthy Successor
Review: Private eye Thomas Kyd makes a welcome and very satisfying return in Timothy Harris' new novel. Mr Harris, for my money, is the worthy successor to Raymond Chandler and Ross MacDonald in examining Southern California through the honorable and appropriate prism of detective fiction. For those of us who live here, Mr. Harris' Los Angeles is vividly recognizable in all its ambivalent messy glory; for those who don't, it's an invitation to witness a sun-drenched car wreck where you actually care who survives.

Like Chandler's Marlowe and MacDonald's Archer, Mr. Harris' Thomas Kyd has become not only older and wiser over time, but also even more haunted by his past. Salvation appears in the person of a 14-year-old boy, a surrogate son, who offers at least a glimpse of hope for some kind of future. While the mature Kyd might be more reluctant to pull a gun, inflict a beating, chase a skirt, or crack wise, his observations of people and place are sharper than ever.

While the traditional elements of the genre are solidly on display, what sets this novel apart is the author's ability to always keep Kyd's moral sense in focus - the difference between right and wrong, just and unjust, pathetic and contemptible. Like those other great crime writers, Mr. Harris has a unique talent for tackling serious moral issues without being in the least bit moralizing.

Rating:
Summary: solid Southern California private sleuth
Review: Recovering alcoholic Thomas Kyd has stayed on the wagon for six months, but knows that each moment is a challenge. Fourteen year old Hugo Vine visits the Santa Monica based private sleuth to hire him to investigate his mom and step-father. Thomas refuses to accept the teen as a client because he is underage. Hugo storms out of Thomas' office.

Not long afterward the lawyer to Hugo's mother renowned actress Sally Vine threatens to have Tomas arrested for aiding to the delinquency of a minor. Not concerned by the intimidation, Thomas tells Sally's retinue to go pound sand. However, Sally hires Thomas to keep an eye on her son who she worries is doing illegal things. However, Thomas soon learns that Hugo has deep questions as to whether his mother and his stepfather killed his father. The sleuth plans to learn the truth.

Thomas is an intriguing protagonist who is a combination nurturing hard boiled soul. The who-done-it takes awhile before it surfaces, but once it does it is fun to follow. Much of the early segment of the novel introduces the audience to Thomas. Readers who remain patient for the case to commence will enjoy this solid Southern California private sleuth tale starring a solid lead character and a delightful support cast.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: solid Southern California private sleuth
Review: Recovering alcoholic Thomas Kyd has stayed on the wagon for six months, but knows that each moment is a challenge. Fourteen year old Hugo Vine visits the Santa Monica based private sleuth to hire him to investigate his mom and step-father. Thomas refuses to accept the teen as a client because he is underage. Hugo storms out of Thomas' office.

Not long afterward the lawyer to Hugo's mother renowned actress Sally Vine threatens to have Tomas arrested for aiding to the delinquency of a minor. Not concerned by the intimidation, Thomas tells Sally's retinue to go pound sand. However, Sally hires Thomas to keep an eye on her son who she worries is doing illegal things. However, Thomas soon learns that Hugo has deep questions as to whether his mother and his stepfather killed his father. The sleuth plans to learn the truth.

Thomas is an intriguing protagonist who is a combination nurturing hard boiled soul. The who-done-it takes awhile before it surfaces, but once it does it is fun to follow. Much of the early segment of the novel introduces the audience to Thomas. Readers who remain patient for the case to commence will enjoy this solid Southern California private sleuth tale starring a solid lead character and a delightful support cast.

Harriet Klausner