My Review (4 stars out of 5)
An American artist, jazz buff and sci-fi writer lives with his Italian muse in Quebec’s Bohemian enclave of De Lorimier. When his business partner is killed by a bomb, he finds himself in the spotlight as a suspect in the investigation. But hints of French terrorism, the Mafia, and the KGB soon tie him in knots. As the dead bodies pile up, it seems that he may also be on the killer’s list.
Set in Montreal in the winter of 1968, this is book 1 in the Services Rendered series. It gets off to an entertaining start with well-drawn characters in curious settings. But when the hero’s friend Viktor is blown up, things become complicated. Struggling to work out who killed his friend and why, while avoiding being shot, L’Américain sets out to locate part of a musical instrument that might solve the mystery.
This is an intriguing and fairly short read, with some witty and clever writing. One memorable quote describes onlookers as ‘morbid sick puppies with a dark heart for violent melodrama.’ Nice. However, the plot does get rather complex, and I found myself having to re-read certain passages to make sense of them. There’s also an issue with changing tenses, which is irritating as well as confusing. Aside from that (and the use of way too many exclamation marks), it’s an entertaining and enjoyable read.
Colin Garrow 