First Feature (An Anthony Carrick mystery)
by Jason Blacker
CreateSpace
Copyright © May 2011
ISBN: 978-1461136927
302 Pages
$14.95 Paperback
$4.95 Kindle
Whiskey connoisseur, art zealot and to top it all off, a private eye with enough quips and one liners to fuel the next twenty James Bond film scripts. Anthony Carrick is an ex- LAPD cop turned private eye and artist. His wife has left and taken the kid with her, now only his faithful feline companion is around to hear his musings. Some would say Carrick has become a bitter man. Not far from the truth, Carrick is quite the cynical character but it doesn’t stop him exuding a sort of reluctant charm and wit.
When a prestigious Hollywood producer is beaten savagely to death, presumably with his own Oscar the case falls to Carrick’s hands. He must unveil the murderer and their motives before the press get their noses in on the case and tarnish and possibly destroy the reputation of Universal, the company that the murder victim worked for.
Carrick finds himself in the middle of a Hollywood he never knew existed, murky and unforgiving, it will eat you up and spit you out into the gutter, or in Carrick’s case, into a coffin. The diverse troupe of characters gives him a lot to consider, it’s as the blurb of the actual book reads:
Carrick juggles with Drug addled neophytes, nymphomaniacs and the Mafia…
Each and every suspect could have an ulterior motive and plenty to gain from the murder of the Hollywood mogul, after all, a half billion dollar estate is up for grabs.
Dark and shadowy, this book has much to offer. The plot feints from left to right and back to left, keeping you on your toes. The word ‘typical’ shouldn’t be used in the same sentence as the title ‘First Feature’. Damn, I’m now a hypocrite. However, this is not to say that it’s a masterpiece because although not far off I still have a bone to pick with it. The plot may keep you on your toes but it’s too slow to be a ‘nail-biting’, sorta like a car driven by a learning driver, fast most of the time but stalls occasionally. I haven’t read many murder mystery books in the past few years and I expected the book to have a bit more of a twist but maybe I’m just hard to please and like Anthony Carrick himself, I’m quite cynical.
If some things were shaved off, like the unnecessary character socializing scenes and perhaps a character or two, then it would be a smooth ride. However, a smooth ride isn’t always particularly interesting. For want of a better and less worn out cliché phrase, this book is the definition of gritty and witty. Easy to get into, gets you hooked on the first page and finally a murder mystery book that manages to combine humor and luridness together. If you don’ get it, you’re sadly missing out.
