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THE LAST GIG
by Norman Green
St Martin's Minotaur, February 2009
339 pages
$24.95
ISBN: 0312385420


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Alessandra, "Al" Martillo is, or rather could be, a pretty hard case. She escaped a lousy home and lived on the streets until her uncle found her, rescuing her. She works for a private investigator who used to be a cop. She lives alone, trusts no one, has no real private life, but she's confident and tough and street smart. Alex isn't happy, but who the hell would be in her shoes? However, she's young and there's still time.

While the jacket copy says that Norman Green is the "much-admired author" of four previous crime novels, this is the first book of his that I've read (or even heard of). There is a lot to be said for this book.. It's gritty (yeah, I do hate grit, but this is good grit), moves really well and has a protagonist who, while not exactly engaging, grabs your attention really hard and doesn't let go. The story, which I found a little thin, involves a guy whose shipping business been set up - used by someone unknown to transport opium - and he wants it stopped. He's not exactly clean himself, as is made pretty clear when he hires Al to find out what happened. Successful, legit businessmen usually don't go to a fairly sleazy private eye with an untrained assistant. Ah, who cares? I mean if you're looking for baroque plot, you won't find it here, but you should do fine otherwise.

I don't consider myself a big deal trend-spotter in mystery fiction. There are always trends, and sub-genres coming and going. I distrust trends: I don't like feeling manipulated by trends, so when I see, say home improvement mysteries, or poker mysteries, I quickly head off in another direction. But THE LAST GIG follows in the footsteps of some recent terrifically talented people in offering us a protagonist from the other side. Someone who's had hard times, for whom solving crimes isn't a Jessica Fletcher hobby. The major player in this was the late, talented and remarkable Barbara Seranella. Her Munch Mancini took us to places and to lives most of us will never know. Munch was a survivor, a woman of valor and strength. In recent years, we've seen others. Jen Siler created a couple memorable sleuths who were most definitely from the other side of the tracks. Most recently, Robert Fate's Baby Shark has taken on the job. Norman Green may have added a dimension here with Alex Martillo.

There are some avoidable "first book" errors, which is one reason I was surprised to learn that Green had published several books. I mean, the whole "I've got work to do, I can't lie here in this hospital bed" cliché, a scene I watched with annoyance after Alex was very badly beaten. Don't do that, dammit. I don't care what your after-the-fact explanation is. It's trite and wrong-headed. A couple of those can bring a reader to a screeching halt. Get rid of them and Alessandra Martillo will have a good career.

Reviewed by Andi Shechter, February 2009

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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