Greg Fallis

Greg Fallis's linked story collection has so much voice. The distinct characters of the two PIs come across so fully, so lived in, and neither is Fallis's own voice (as a nonfiction writer). There are particular delights here for photographers/collectors and for Gaelic speakers. My only complaint is that there remain signs of separate publication in the prepublished stories, but I'll forgive Fallis that, knowing the complexities of revising in that scenario, in exchange for the elegance of show more these stories and the charm of the characters. show less

I've just started wallowing in the short story form and came across this book from the excellent Gotham Writer's Workshop author, Greg Fallis. It's an excellent selection, with stories well chosen to complement each other and wonderfully drawn characters.
My favourite things about the book, though, are the plots of the stories. They are unexpected, different from your average whodunnit, and the interaction of Joop Wheeler and Kevin Sweeney as they solve each puzzle is magical to watch.
I love show more an O'Henry ending, and this book is full of them. It's also obviously written by someone who knows the life of a PI, but this knowledge is brought in casually and easily. It doesn't draw attention to itself as it is so quietly competent.
My only complaint is that there aren't enough of these stories. I want more! show less

Greg Fallis’ only novel, like his excellent non-fiction, draws from his years as a private investigator and prison counselor rather than from other writers’ legacies or the extensive theory he must have encountered while earning a PhD in the sociology of justice.

Joop Wheeler and Kevin Sweeney, a team which has since appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, spend the novel traipsing through the Boston-area’s lesbian community. Wheeler is an intensely polite southerner who will show more fall for any woman; Sweeney is a retired cop.

The book unfolds in the first person, with the detectives passing the role of storyteller between them. Their current search is for the facts that can form a coherent story for the defense of an uncooperative and unstable woman charged with killing her lover.

In what should be an example to others in a genre that often sinks into a world of grandiose make-believe, the author relies on well-drawn characters and the eccentricities inherent to their life-like research routine to draw his reader in. show less