New Pulp Press in NYM Again

New Pulp Press has gotten the attention of the folks at New York Magazine again. First, Bad Juju shows up on the approval matrix, and now Dave Zeltserman's 21 Tales has been singled out.

Man out of Prison Sampler

Almost as good as a seafood sampler, Dave Zeltserman has made sample chapters of his three "man out of prison novels" (Small Crimes, Pariah, and Killer) available in PDF format. If you have yet to check out these novels, head on over and download it. You're missing out.

Review of Killer

Here is my long delayed review of Killer. It's the book I was reading when I had the fire. For some reason, I've been unable to pick it up again until recently.

Dave Zeltserman concludes his "Man out of Prison" trilogy with Killer, a much more subdued take on the story than his previous efforts, Small Crimes and Pariah. Where the first two novels were bloody messes all the way through, Killer is a much subtler affair. Leonard March was a hitman for the Lombard crime family for a long time, but when he finally got caught committing some non-murderous crimes, he managed to cut himself a deal with immunity before confessing to twenty-eight paid killings for crime boss Sal Lombard.

For his deal, March gets fourteen years in prison, and when he walks free, he tells himself he's going to go straight and live a quiet, anonymous life. Of course, it's not easy to live a quiet life when you've got a list of enemies as long as your arm, and March doesn't make it any easier on himself by inviting publicity when he foils a liquor store robbery.

Killer, while an entertaining novel, lacks the punch of Pariah. Pariah was as close to perfect as a novel can get, so comparing the two may be unfair. Still, Killer, feels almost perfunctory when compared to either of his previous studies in evil. March isn't as compelling as either Joe Denton or Kyle Nevin, both of whom were real pieces of work, and the story ends a little abruptly. It feels a bit rushed at the end, which is disappointing because so much of the novel is setup. Zeltserman also picks up a couple of plot threads that never really go anywhere, which isn't like him.

As I said, though, Killer is a letdown only when compared to Zeltserman's previous efforts. As an author, you're in a pretty good shape if the only competition you have is yourself. Taken on its own, Killer is still very good. It's just not great, and not a great introduction to Zeltserman's work. It would be possible for a reader to pick up this novel and wonder what all the fuss has been about. Do yourself a favor and read one of the first two novels in this trilogy before approaching Killer.

Book Trailer for Dave Zeltserman's Killer

The trailer for Zeltserman's forthcoming Killer. Look for my review soon.

Win Dave Zeltserman's Killer

And lo, it was a Christmas miracle as angels descended from the heavens and provided a humble blogger with an extra copy of Dave Zeltserman's forthcoming novel Killer, and told him that, since he already had one copy, he should spread the wealth. And, lo, the humble blogger, said, "Why the hell not."

So, here's the deal. You send an email to IndieCrimeatgmaildotcom with "Contest" in the subject line. Include your name and address. I will number the entries in the order in which I receive them. Then, on Dec. 31, I will use Random.org to pick a random number. If your number comes up, I drop a brand new copy of what is sure to be one of the best books of the year in the mail to you.

Good luck and Merry Christmas you sons of bitches.

Review of Bad Karma

Bad Karma (Five Star, 2009), Dave Zeltserman’s follow up to Bad Thoughts, finds the author trying to take a path less traveled in PI novels, as well as produce work that might be less off putting to the casual reader than his man-out-of prison novels, Small Crimes and Pariah, and the yet-to be-published Killer. Zeltserman will probably make his mark on the world of hard boiled fiction with the man-out-of-prison works. Small Crimes was excellent, and Pariah, while it will never replace Catcher in the Rye on high school freshman English reading lists, will stand the test of time.

One cannot, however, fault a working writer for trying to find a commercial outlet, which is what Zeltserman is trying to do with his Bill Shannon novels, by mixing your standard hard-boiled ex-cop PI with a dash of the supernatural. It’s not full on Twilight, with vampires and werewolves, but there is a healthy dose of new-age phenomenon, like lucid dreaming and out-of-body experiences. It is refreshing to see a PI character turning to meditation instead of the bottle after a traumatic experience, but readers’ mileage may vary depending on their tolerance for hippy-dippy talk (not to mention discussion of the relative merits of the Red Sox versus the Yankees).

Still, while Bad Karma is not as good as Zeltserman’s non-series work, there is still a solid PI story at its center. Shannon has relocated to Denver and reconciled with Susan, his ex-wife, when he is hired to investigate the brutal beating death of a couple college students. He also agrees to help a desperate mother try to rescue her daughter from a local cult. True to form, both cases dovetail in the end, and Shannon ends up uncovering a larger conspiracy, and when it comes to problem solving Shannon isn’t exactly a pacifist, his penchant for meditation notwithstanding, so there’s plenty here for fans of the genre.

Rembember Pariah?

Dave Zeltserman's excellent novel Pariah, which I wrote about back in May out of an abundance of enthusiasm, is out this month, so I'm linking to my review again. You really ought not to miss reading this book. Bruce Grossman over at Bookgasm agrees. I think you're going to see a lot of positive reviews for this book.

Zeltserman has a second novel coming out soon, Bad Karma, which is a sequel to Bad Thoughts. My review of that one should be posted soon, so stay tuned.

Review of Pariah

Question: Who do you have to kill to get a book deal?

Answer: A ten-year-old hemophiliac.

At least according to Dave Zeltserman. His latest novel, Pariah (Serpent's Tail, 2009), tells the story of Kyle Nevin, gangster from Southie, who gets released from prison after an eight-year stretch for bank robbery and decides to go after "Red" Mahoney, his former employer and the one who set him up to take a fall. Mahoney has disappeared, however, and Nevin needs money to look for him, so he plans a kidnapping. The kidnapping goes wrong, Nevin is caught, and, due to some prosecutorial shenanigans, gets off scott-free. Nevin's new notoriety leads to a two-book deal with a major publishing house.

Zeltserman's last novel, Small Crimes, featured disgraced cop Joe Denton, who was one of the most loathsome characters to ever crawl out of someoneone's imagination. Nevin is even worse than Denton. Every time you think that he has surely reached bottom and can't possibly behave in a more repugnant fashion, Zeltserman has his anti-hero find a new low. Nevin is genuinely frightening because his actions are entirely rational, and his crimes are plausible. Forget cartoon psychos who skin young women to make designer handbags, Zeltserman has succeeded in bringing a blithely psychopatic character to the page who will chill the blood.

Despite the utter moral bankruptcy of the main character, Pariah is gripping as opposed to repugnant. Zeltserman's writing and plotting are sharp and the plot is immaculately crafted. The only other author writing about such venal characters with such an incisive eye is Jason Starr, and some of Starr's characters are downright cuddly when compared to Zeltserman's. Pariah is a scathing rebuke of society's obsession with fame, and mythologizing of gangsters and the repugnant moral calculus that allows them to victimize innocent people with impunity. Zeltserman points out that we can embrace a monster, but not a dishonest monster. He's the guy who tells a newly engaged woman that her shiny, new diamond ring likely helped finance a pointless, bloody civil war in Africa, and besides, it's just another goddamn rock. It's an ugly thing to say, but it's entirely true, so what're you gonna do?

As it happens, I have a spare copy of Pariah, which is not getting an American release until October, so send an email to IndieCrime-at-gmail dot com, with "Contest" in the subject line and your name and mailing address in the body. I will pick a winner next Sunday. (Winners are picked using a random number generator).

Review of Small Crimes

In 1952, Jim Thompson published The Killer Inside Me, a novel about Lou Ford, a small town sheriff who, while maintaining a personable, if somewhat dim façade, hides the heart of a psychopath. It has earned its place among the classics. Thompson revisited the same situation in Pop. 1,280, with small town Sheriff Nick Corey bearing a strong resemblance in character to Ford. Thompson so defined this little subgenre that in order to avoid being anything but a pale imitation of the original any author who wants to approach it had better have a good twist.

Dave Zeltserman’s Small Crimes (Serpent's Tail, 2008) succeeds in paying homage to Thompson’s work without lapsing into imitation because his dirty cop, Joe Denton, is only fooling himself. Everyone else in the tiny Vermont town where he lives has him all figured out. How could they not? As the story begins Denton is getting out of jail after serving seven years for disfiguring the local district attorney with a letter opener. He walks out the door determined to turn over a new leaf, but no one wants to make it easy for him. The DA, understandably, has a grudge and is trying to get the dying local crime lord to make a deathbed confession that will put Denton in prison forever. The local sheriff wants Denton to take care of either the DA or the crime boss, to avoid the nasty repercussions a confession could bring, and Denton’s own parents are determined to keep him from seeing his two daughters.

Zeltserman makes good use of the first person point of view, constantly challenging the reader to use external cues to try and figure out the extent of Denton’s self deception. It keeps the story interesting. He also keeps the story moving, and it never stops to let the reader catch his breath. As the tension and body count grow, Small Crimes goes from being entertaining to disturbing. Zeltserman gradually lets the reader in on Denton’s secrets, and he goes from being sympathetic to being outright scary. It’s a story that will get under your skin and stay with you long after it ends. Thomspon would be proud.