Joseph Hirsch

Michael, at 16 an inveterate drug-abuser, street-wise beyond his years and taken hostage by his pubescent body, has to move in for a couple of weeks with his elderly uncle, a punch-drunk boxing champion, who, however, under a mysterious novel treatment is gradually getting his mental faculties back. It is here that Michael, seemingly for the first time ever, connects with people that are _not_ just out for what they can get: Cliff, uncle Jimmy’s old cut man, Dr. Parks, even Luna, the show more caretaker, with her hidden agenda, seems to be genuinely fond of her charge. And there is, of course, Uncle Jimmy himself: a young man at heart, suddenly waking up in an old body and not liking it one bit.

The story is told in 1st person perspective, from Michael’s point of view. His running commentary on and interpretation of his surroundings and the occurrences are funny, witty, insightful and show his being, despite his world-weary and cynical stance and deprecating views of himself, a kind soul, ultimately not buying into the general greed on display all around him. At some point we learn that Michael knows “The Catcher in the Rye” “like the back of my hand”, which seems very fitting.

A quick read and a gripping and original story. If you are not afraid the odd swear-word, depictions of violent death and explicit descriptions of male, pubescent fantasies, I’d say it’s fit from a mature YA audience upwards. show less

Mr Hirsch presents us with a recovering addict discovering how boring his new and safe life is. Working in a telesales centre he discovers that despite being good at this odd occupation it does nothing for his sense of fulfilment which has been tied to his drug habit and the accompanying precarious lifestyle that he has become accustomed to. His long suffering mother supports him unconditionally but his addict girlfriend and part time sex worker leaves him for a more interesting life just as show more he has plunged himself into a feud with a recalcitrant telesales customer. His life begins to spiral down into a chaos and he relishes the spiral that momentarily puts his life back in the interesting but self-destructive lane.

Hirsch handles his characters deftly and shows us the existential emptiness of the recovering addict's life in normal society. With some skill he gets us to follow along and still to sympathise with difficult people and that is no mean feat. show less

4.5*

Dan Maple meets Thaddeus Smith at a Veteran rehabilitation centre. When Smith disappears, Maple hires PI James Arklow to find him. The peculiarities surrounding why Maple wants to locate the missing man is bizarre, but the generous fee entices the semi-retired PI to put his writing aspirations on hold. When James Bender, a PI wannabe, offers Arklow his services in exchange for a short apprenticeship, we find ourselves caught up in a unique partnership. The well-constructed relationship show more between the protagonist and sidekick allows the reader to bond with both on a personal level. Hirsch has done an outstanding job with both these characters. His secondary characters are solid additions to his cast, and the pacing and introduction of characters is excellent.

Flash Blood unravels against a rich backdrop of beautifully described settings in Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Las Vegas. The descriptive narrative skilfully illustrates settings as dark as Leavenworth Prison and as airy as a snow-capped mountain chalet in Nevada.

Hirsch’s solid research and talent at creating emotional characters and vividly portrayed settings complement his imaginative plot. Although Flash Blood crosses horror and mystery genres, Hirsch’s plotline and premise is well structured. My only issue was the last scene. The characters' behaviour contradicted what Hirsch had shown to the reader throughout the novel. Cutting that final conflict wouldn’t have hindered the summation of the story.

Flash Blood by Joseph Hirsch is an unorthodox mystery with a dash of traditional horror that I would recommend to mystery-thriller buffs. show less

This is a very strong narrative of medieval lore couched in archaic language with blood, gore, grotesque sex, carnage, buggery and wizardly mayhem. The author walks across your imagination with the detritus of castle privies. It is fascinatingly well done but clearly for the “mature” reader.