Harry Dolan (1)

This is a review of the advanced copy “Very Bad Men” by Harry Dolan for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Anthony Lark’s mission is simple: to kill three of the men involved in a fatally botched bank robbery 17 years ago.

He’s already dispatched two of his targets—an impressive feat, considering that one of them, Terry Dawtrey, is serving 30 years in Kinross Prison—when he identifies them both and announces his third, nurse practitioner Sutton Bell, in an anonymous letter to Loogan show more (Bad Things Happen, 2009), who promptly shares it with his ladylove, police detective Elizabeth Waishkey.

The timely intervention of aspiring tabloid reporter Lucy Navarro saves Bell from Lark’s initial attempt and gives Dolan a chance to fill in some back story.

Lark’s motives are obscure, but they have something to do with U.S. Senate candidate Callie Spencer, whose father Harlan was the Chippewa County Sheriff shot and paralyzed in the bank robbery and whose father-in-law, John Casterbridge, is the senator she hopes to succeed.
Lark keeps coming nerve-wrackingly close to killing Bell; Loogan and Elizabeth keep coming heartbreakingly close to catching Lark; and yet the tale still goes on.

To divulge any more about the plot would spoil some of the dozens of surprises Dolan springs. But it’s not too much to say that nearly every cast member, however minor, is complicit in some crime; that nearly everyone, even though they’re all rooted in excruciatingly familiar generic types, gets a chance to reveal unexpected depths; and that Dolan mixes his pitches with an ace’s judgment, steadily complicating Lark’s quest while keeping the psychology of his characters considerably more plausible than in Loogan’s equally baroque debut.

The rare crime novel with something for everyone who reads crime fiction.

This reviewer gave the book 4 out of 5 stars. show less

Harry Dolan had me from the beginning of the book. It starts with David Loogan's memory which sets the tone with terrific ambience - I could feel what kind of character Loogan was going to be from that first moment. I hadn't read Dolan's other book about Loogan but I didn't need to as this story gave me just enough to detail to help me feel comfortable with the original characters.
Loogan is the editor for Gray Streets a mystery magazine where he receives a very interesting notebook - more of show more a manuscript - that starts with "I killed Harry Korman in his apartment on Linden Street" at the very moment Loogan's partner, Elizabeth Waishkey, a police detective finds Harry Korman, indeed dead in his apartment. From there the story goes from one fast-paced clue/red herring to another. On the way Dolan introduces us to some terrific characters, including Sarah, Elizabeth's precocious teenage daughter, a senator, and a beguiling lady reporter and are just a few of the well-developed characters. The end left me breathless after such a roller coaster ride. At first I was dissatisfied with the ending but then I realized that Dolan did a beautiful job tying the end back to the beginning and I was satisfied. show less

The protagonist of Very Bad Men, the second book in Harry Dolan's excellent series, is the editor of a mystery magazine and so his narration is full of asides about publishing:

I have a theory about editing. You can do anything you want with a manuscript, you can rewrite it line by line, as long as your handwriting is very small and very neat. If the pages look tidy, the author'll go along.

and the sort of information one picks up by reading a lot of mysteries:

I read somewhere once that the show more impact of a bullet is usually not enough to knock you down. If it doesn't stop your heart or blow out your knee, or something along those lines, there's no reason for you to fall. But people do anyway, because they think they're supposed to. They've seen too many westerns and cop shows. When the guy in the cowboy hat or the fedora gets shot, he falls over.

So over they go.

I fell...In my defense, he pushed me.

In Very Bad Men, Loogan receives a manuscript telling him a story of a series of murders. But this time it isn't fiction; two of the men in the story have already been killed. Loogan sets out to make sure that the third murder doesn't happen. The plot twists and turns and grows more complicated by the chapter but, while complex, it never runs out of control. And Loogan himself is my favorite kind of hero; kind and ordinary and occasionally misled. show less

Good Things Happen

When I read Stephen King called this "a great f@@king book" I had to give it a try. Now I agree with Mr. King.
Meet David Loogan or at least, the man who goes by that name. He's a quiet man who keeps to himself, spending his days going to movies & people watching. In a cafe, he finds a magazine that prints crime & detective short stories. On a lark, he writes one & take it to the mag office. Then he rewrites it. He's caught dropping off the third version by Tom Kristoll, the show more owner, who ends up offering him a job as an editor. They strike up odd friendship & David meets Laura, Tom's wife. She drags him out to art galleries & initiates an affair.
Then one night Tom calls for a favour. Will David help him bury a body? There's much more to that story but David gives him a hand although he doubts Tom's version of events. Soon after, he ends the affair the same night Tom is sent sailing out his office window.
Local detectives Elizabeth Waishkey & Carter Shan catch the case & as they dig, they find evidence of the affair as well as questions concerning the group of authors who run the magazine. All of them have secrets & Elizabeth and Carter have to give them a harder look when a second body pops up.
Meanwhile, David begins a little detecting of his own. He wants to know the truth about the man he helped Tom bury & how he ended up dead. When a third person is murdered, David is framed & goes on the run.
To say the plot is intricate is an understatement but it never feels muddled or convoluted. The pacing is bang on & once I started, I didn't want to put it down because I genuinely didn't know who-done-it. There are several credible candidates & as past histories and alliances are slowly revealed, you switch from one to another as your choice for killer. It's smart, well thought out & written in a clean, uncluttered prose. The dialogue is tight with a wry humour that shines particularly in conversations between Elizabeth & her daughter & Carter.
David is a compelling & sympathetic character. He's decent, observant & well read. We know from the beginning he's assumed a new name. We also know he doesn't like car parks, doorways or being out after dark. His past is revealed bit by bit as we follow his actions in the present, actions that will result in his past catching up with him.
The characters are well rounded & interesting. Dolan pays homage to writers like Raymond Chandler, not just by producing a cleverly plotted thriller but with references to their old stye noir detective novels.
Elizabeth & David face personal danger as they come at the murders from their own perspectives & it turns out he's not the only one hiding behind a new name. Just when you think you've got it sussed, there are a couple of twists that change everything.
I really enjoyed this. It's so rare to read a detective novel/thriller where you don't see the identity of the killer coming from a mile away. There is a sequel (Very Bad Men) & I will definitely read that one so I can follow these characters a bit longer. show less