Cypress Grove

Like me, you might be both attracted and fatigued by crime novels. Nowhere does the formulaic structure show through as obviously as in this genre. Two I'll-matched partners? Check. Race against time to solve the crime/save the innocent (usually female) victim? Check. Climax with the hero facing off against the villain, usually without a mobile phone? Check.

If you're as weary of these by-the-numbers plots as I am, you may want to sit down with James Sallis. He writes in a recognisable tradition ("Southern Noir", for want of a better term) but his focus is pleasingly on character, atmosphere and beautifully-crafted prose. Cypress Grove proceeds at a pace just sufficient to prevent the novel stalling (which has clearly been a problem for show more some readers), but, in sacrificing the tyranny of a helter-skelter plot, Sallis is able to provide a more sophisticated set of pleasures. Cypress Grove is a highly-recommended piece of old-fashioned craftsmanship. show less

John Turner was leading a low-key life until he heard the Jeep coming down the dirt road to his isolated house. Sheriff Bates needs some big-city police assistance investigating a brutal murder. Turner, former policeman, couldn't say no.

One doesn't read James Sallis solely for the story. One reads him primarily for the literature, how he weaves Turner's past and present into a cohesive whole. As the present unwinds in front of the reader, so does Turner's past in separate chapters.

This is my second Sallis read and I'm planning on going through his entire fiction catalog.

I picked this up after seeing the author's obituary recently. It's interesting enough, a retired cop who killed his partner and spent time in jail is called in by the local sheriff to help solve a murder, the first they'd had for over 30 years. It's all very small town, everyone knows everything about everyone and they deal with it all in their own small town way. I'm not sure why people think this is a good thing. The victim has been found with the body arranged ins a peculiar way, and that proves to be a key to the solution. At this point the sheriff knows he is out of his depth and asks for help.
It is told in both the present, following the investigation and the general life of the town and also in the past, but this jumps about, show more through the cops career as a police man and in prison. This jumped about and at times I wasn't sure if we ere in the past or the present. I did listen to it, so it is possible that this is more evident on paper.
It all ties up in the end, all a little too neatly for both the investigation and his personal life. show less

This is the most eloquently written mystery I've read. Here's a quote, from p. 119
"I've been wondering how you were able to go three months without ever noticing no bills had been paid."
"Point taken." We watch a bat flap across moonlit sky. Scooping up gnats, mosquitoes and moths as it went, no doubt. Joyful is a human word, but it was hard to watch the bat's flight without its coming to mind.

Despite its beauty, it is also a dark book. Nick advised against reading his novels back to back, so I will space them out, but I felt oddly blessed by this one. In the midst of all this darkness - grace.

There are people who insist crime fiction can have no serious literary merit. These people have obviously never read James Sallis' books.

The Story

In CYPRESS GROVE, John Turner is a man who has fled his old life as a former cop and therapist, who did prison time for a mistake he made while on the force. Turner is quietly living in the woods – as far from other people as he can get. Things take a turn, when the sheriff from a small town near Memphis shows up and asks Turner for his help on a murder investigation.

Though it's never entirely clear why the sheriff seeks out Turner's help in particular (apart from the fact that he lacks resources and Turner's there), the loner detective agrees to assist in the case – a brutal ritualistic show more slaying. And, in doing so, Turner must return to the society of people he's been seeking to avoid and confront the violent ghosts from his past.

Read more: http://mysterycrimefiction.suite101.com/article.cfm/cypress_grove_by_james_salli... show less

Some great use of language, but some pretty typical man with a past trying to escape humanity, gets roped into a case, finds companionship, decides to give the world another chance. Even though he’s a tough guy he has refined taste in obscure music and good wine. The case even revolved around a obsession over a mysterious cult film. And that’s when he got around to the case. Is it possible I’m done with noir? I hope not.

I was intrigued by Sallis when I found out he had written Drive. I decided to read this one rather than Drive because I had so recently seen the movie. The book is full of pain but very well written. It grabs you and pulls you through Turner's world. Don't read it if you are melancholy.