Bookworm's Book Club!
Author Terrill Lee Lankford’s third novel is a moody mystery set in an earthquake plagued Los Angeles in the mid 1990’s. The earthquake opens the novel, tearing the city a new one in a bare few moments. Development executive and screenwriter Mark Hayes comes through the quake intact, but over the next several days, as aftershocks rumble through the city, Hayes finds his entire existence edging towards a precipice as his life gets complicated by several disparate but interconnected characters, including his neighbor (ex-screenwriter and reformed drunk); his roommate; his work partner; his jackwagon of a boss; and the boss’s girlfriend – a young lovely rumored to be passed around the boss’s circle of film exec friends like a cheap bottle of wine at a high school party. Eventually one of them turns up dead – murdered - and somebody’s responsible. Mark finds himself under police scrutiny, and while he didn’t do the deed – he does have a couple of less-than-savory irons in the fire, so he reluctantly turns amateur sleuth to figure out whodunit.
Lankford is a Hollywood denizen and has been for many moons, and with his insider knowledge of the city, and armed with the hindsight of a story set in 1994 but written ten years later – he turns out a hell of a story. He wrote or contributed to several movies I enjoyed in the 80’s and 90’s, and he brings the same talents to the prose of this novel. Blending some bits of his own screenwriting career into the mix, along with some “guess who/don’t sue” pastiches of some real movie people, Lankford brings the city and its characters to life in a vibrant way. The murder and the mystery are at the center of the plot, but the characters and the insider’s view of the film industry carry it along, ending up a very satisfactory read for those who enjoy such things. So let’s give this one a definite recommendation, and now we can go ahead and get the movie version cast…for Mark, I envision an actor like…
Until next we meet, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!
Great review. I will totally check it out. Don't know why but I enjoy stories about writers. Interestingly, the fictional character Mark Hayes is the name of a friend of mine.
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty wild - you knowing a Mark Hayes! I enjoy stories about writers too!
DeleteWow...just check my local library and they have it! Gonna start reading it today!
ReplyDeleteOh, that's terrific! Let me know what you think!
DeleteSounds like a good old fashioned noir detective novel. Sweet
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly what it is, Maurice - an old school noir novel written in the 21st century and set in the 90's. And it works.
DeleteSounds pretty awesome. Although at first, when you said earthquake plagued LA, I thought it was some sort of post-apocalyptic alternate world of never-ending earthquakes. Hmm...
ReplyDeleteNote to self: write novel about post-apocalyptic world of never-ending earthquakes.
I can totally see where you'd get the post-apocalyptic vibe there, Nigel! I hope you do write that novel, 'cause I'd sure as hell read it!
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