Losers Live Longer By Russell Atwood
Payton Sherwood is a private eye with a shabby office in New York’s East Village. He was fired five years ago for dereliction of duty by a large agency. So far this year, he has had four cases which barely covered the rent, and last week he borrowed $1,000 from his parents to cover recent expenses. When he is offered a gig for $100 by a retired legendary detective, he gushes.
The “client” asks him to go to a nearby restaurant and see if he can pick up the trail of a tail. The “client” is the victim of a hit-and-run “accident” a few minutes later. Payton feels obligated to follow up on the request, although he has no information about the tail or the target. What follows is a comedy of errors until the denouement.
The author’s descriptions of lower Manhattan are poignant, and Payton’s reminiscences about the 2nd Avenue Deli or Katz’s Delicatessen, or the changing nature of the neighborhoods in lower Manhattan, are impressive. Payton is not a particularly appealing character, and the use of vulgar language, presumably to establish his hard-boiled character, is less than charming. But the plot moves forward in many unexpected ways, and it makes for interesting reading.
