A worthy successor to Chandler? You will likely ask yourself that question while you read through the pages of this novel. You may also choose to judge this book by its cover and take Michael Connelly's front-cover blurb literally. That would be a mistake. A mistake I made. I bought this book as an impulse purchase at my favorite book store (shameless plug: Uncle Edgar's in Minneapolis), by doing just that. Unfortunately, my lofty expectations did not help.
Meet Dick Henry. Ascribed by the book's title, he is a "shortcut man" -- an efficiency expert who doesn't question the need for violence to get results. We witness Henry assisting his Los Angeles clients -- which are fairly run-of-the-mill episodes until Henry is hired by adult film producer Artie Benjamin to find out whether Artie's wife is cheating on him. Things start to get complicated when we discover that Artie's wife is none other than the same femme fatale Dick is currently bedding.
The story proceeds to take a few detours from this point on including a stretch of Dick's past (which was the story's highlight for me), but never quite finds its footing. Despite Shortcut Man's classic noir set-up and attempts to pepper in dark comedy (largely unsuccessful), it's never truly satisfying. Additionally, it introduces an element of sleaze that doesn't quite gel with the narrative. Donald Westlake and Lawrence Block did it better in the 60s with their sleazy, pulp paperbacks before they found their groove in crime fiction. According to the jacket, this is the first installment in a new series. I will wait until the reviews come in before deciding to read the next installment.
Also of note, the author is actually the son of famed Hollywood director Preston Sturges. As a result, there are some elements of Old Los Angeles included that some readers may appreciate (I am one such reader). Back to the book's cover and the question posed -- I am currently reading Raymond Chandler's Red Wind (a short story as part of Otto Penzler's The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps) -- a worthy successor to Chandler, Sturges is unfortunately not.
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