Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Shadow Boxer by Eddie Muller


(hb; 2003: second book in the Billy Nichols series)

From the inside flap

“. . .in Shadow Boxer, Billy is back on the beat for the San Francisco Inquirer. But his problems are hardly behind him. A man’s in jail, accused of murder. But did he do it? By aiding a beguiling woman, Billy stumbles on evidence that could exonerate the defendant, who only months before was one of the town’s top fight promoters. One big problem─the victim was Billy’s secret lover, and he has not desire to help set her killer free.

“But once his reporter’s instincts kick in, Billy can’t let go of a twisting trail of suspense  that stetches from Tenderloin fight clubs to Marina district mansions, from mountain retreats to the Hall of Justice. He squares off with an intriguing cast of characters: a bombastic novelties promoter, a former colleague turned muckraking lawyer, a society doyenne on the skids, a crooked booze distributor, a shifty deputy DA, an opera-crooning pugilist, a homespun abortionist, a crafty and celebrated defense attorney, a murderous stalker─and the unfathomable Virginia Wagner, a leggy legal secretary with many more secrets than just the gun in her handbag.”


Review

Shadow, like its prequel The Distance, is a vivid, immersive and distinctly-San Francisco novel that brings together the best pulp elements, character archetypes with its quick-twist plotting. What is especially joyous and masterful about this work is its well-foreshadowed and sequel friendly twist-finish. Shadow is a darker-in-tone, worthy continuation of one of my all-time favorite set-in-1940s pulp tales.

Additional note: The author, in a June 8, 2017 Facebook post wrote: “Little known tidbit: The character Gloria Grahame plays in [the 1947] film Crossfire was the basis for Virginia Wagner in my novel Shadow Boxer. Actually, the character is an amalgation of Grahame’s onscreen roles, why I chose ‘Ginny Wagner’ as her name because I like to think that character moved to San Francisco and left Paul Kelly far behind.”


No comments: