Ray Dudgeon is a disillusioned newspaper reporter turned private detective. His latest case is to protect Bob Loniski. Loniski saw something he shouldn’t have and now he’s a prosecution witness against a suspected member of the Chicago Outfit.
I’m willing to bet that most reviews of Sean Chercover’s justifiably great debut novel, Big City, Bad Blood, are going to start out with different variations of the death of the PI novel. As the genres most recognizable form I doubt it will ever die but it can get stale at times and may need a swift kick in the ass periodically. Well, the PI book is holding its left cheek right now.
Chercover background indicates that he worked for years as a PI. That authenticity is evident on every page. If this book doesn’t win the Shamus award then the system is corrupt and shouldn’t be taken seriously.
When a PI takes on a case in a book the case generally tends to fall into two general categories: The catalyst case and the cross section case. The Catalyst case will seem at first to be almost inconsequential but will eventually start an avalanche of discovery as the rest of the iceberg gets exposed. The Cross section case will lead to an expose of different social, political, economic or even racial strata. The central case in Big City, Bad Blood is of the cross-section variety. It will bring Dudgeon into contact with organized crime families in Chicago, the movie industry in Hollywood and politicians in high offices of power in Washington DC.
Dudgeon has a wild and interesting cast of supporting him. One of which is a tea drinking, Buddhist, fountain pen repair shop owner who is also a master forger. There is also the aging starlet that he meets in Hollywood and what she request of him makes for one of the highlights of the entire book.
This is a high octane PI tale that is firing on all cylinders. The crisp pacing moves the plot swiftly along from one scene to the next. The characterizations are all deft and perfectly executed.
Chercover goes to great lengths to also show us the tightrope that the PI sometimes has to walk. Especially in a town that has such a heavy and deeply rooted organized presence. From the cops to the capos and everyone in between it is essential to his job that he treats everyone with respect. This is illustrative of the moral gray area in which the PI sometimes resides. This high wire act is best illustrated in the scene when Dudgeon goes to the local capo to respectively ask if him taking on a case would in any way conflict with a business that the family may or may not be involved in. Dudgeon doesn’t condone the capos business interests but he inherently understands that he need to play by their rules. This morally ambiguous action brings Dudgeon into direct conflict with his contact in the police. We are more forgiving then the police and understand his motivation of keeping the capo in the loop.
I originally reviewed Big City Bad Blood by Sean Chercover on March 4, 2007
Does sound good.