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EVE MISSING
by Ralph Pezzullo
Zumaya Publications, September 2003
310 pages
$22.00
ISBN: 189494237X


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Ralph Pezzullošs debut novel, Eve Missing, is as hard boiled a noir mystery as hard boiled can get. The writing is skilled, crisp, raw. The fast pace is constant and rhythmic.

As a New York City police officer Smokey Annicelli and his partner get caught up in a mess. Smokey is fingered to take the fall and is removed from the force. Befriended by a mysterious, powerful and well-connected man he continues his career as an unlicensed private investigator.

Lina is a young fashion model who Smokey once helped when she was a young, troubled girl. A friendship started and grew. So when Linašs friend, Eve, disappears she asks Smokey for help.

His investigation leads to Danielle Girous, a wealthy and independent businesswoman. Eve worked the streets as a hooker until she met kind hearted Danielle who took in the girl and then called in favors in order to kick off Evešs modeling career. Though the ex-prostitute became quickly successful, it seems it was hard for her to break old habits.

Forget loveršs triangle, a loveršs pentagon is more like it. Smokeyšs investigation leads him on the trail of one mangled love affair another. The women he encounters have low self-esteem and have recently been burned. They are sexy and vulnerable, not to mention aggressive. He forgets the one important rule he learned from his police captain. Never get involved. Easier said than done. When he falls for Danielle, he loses objectivity.

His search for answers leads him down multiple roads. Everyone seems to know more than they are letting on. There is never a lack of clues to keep the scent strong, but he is running out of time. Eve might be dead and just when he is about to discover answers, Lina wants him off the case. He is not sure who to trust.

Like Lawrence Blockšs Matthew Scudder series, Smokey Annicelli is the type of P.I. readers will want to see more of. Hešs gritty and rough, with some sense of morals‹at certain times, anyway. Eve Missing is loaded with action, wild characters, a load of steamy sexual scenes and a carefully plotted mystery. Pezzullo is a welcomed breath of fresh air in a genre filled with many bland stories.

Š 2003 Phillip Tomasso III

Reviewed by Phillip Tomasso III, November 2003

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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