Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout

 

(pb; 1939: sixth book in the forty-six book Nero Wolfe detective series)

 

From the front page

“THE CASE OF THE BUM STEER

“A foolproof bull

“A foolish young man

“A foolhardy blackmailer

“These were but a few of the annoyances waiting for the ponderous frame and quicksilver mind of Nero Wolfe as he ventured upstate to compete in an orchid contest at the Exposition. For a restauranteur had paid an exorbitant price for a prize bull, intending to roast him for a giant barbecue. The furor he caused quickly led to a double murder, and a side case of blackmail for good measure—with the finger of suspicion pointing straight at Wolfe’s sidekick, Archie Goodwin.”

 

Review

Caesar is an especially delightful Wolfe/Goodwin mystery outing, placing Wolfe outside of his cozy milieu (his brownstone building), with an especially fun, bold, hope-she-sticks-around-in-future-books love interest for Goodwin (stunningly beautiful and smart bad girl Lily Rowan). Of course, the sarcastic back-and-forth exchanges between Wolfe and Goodwin are verbal-spar gem-like here, and the murder set-up (poor Clyde Osgood) and Wolfe’s solving of it is impressively simple, direct yet similarly clever. At this point in the series, I’ve come to regard Wolfe and Goodwin as warm-friend-familiar characters, and this, thus far, is one of my favorite Wolfe books, largely because of that last feeling.

Followed by Over My Dead Body (1940).

Escape from New York by Mike McQuay

 

(pb; 1981: movie tie-in, based on John Carpenter and Nick Castle’s screenplay)

 

From the back cover

“1997. In an America ravaged by war and gutted by riots and social collapse, ‘Snake’ Plissken was the deadliest man alive. Ex-soldier, ex-hero, outlaw. Snake was so slippery no trap could catch him, no jail could hold him. Then he was set up, betrayed, captured. They sent him into the ultimate prison: New York City. A penal colony 12 miles long and two miles wide. An urban jungle where men had become things and only the most brutal survived. But they gave him one shot at freedom. Somewhere in that cesspool of humanity was the President of the United States. Snake had twenty-four hours to find him. The rest was easy. He just had to get out alive.”

 

Review

Above-average movie tie-in novels consistently add different, character-expanding elements to their source-film stories. Mike McQuay’s Escape does this, e.g., showing New York police commissioner Bob Hauk’s rarely displayed sensitive side while revealing why he, a Leningrad war vet like Plissken, took the job. Additionally, McQuay details Plissken’s past and why he is the way he is, making Escape a standout, vividly pulpy read. That McQuay is also an excellent character-centric action writer with an in-joke sense of humor further makes Escape, long out of print, a book worth owning, an adaptation that’s as great as its source script/film.

 

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The source film, starring Kurt Russell as Snake Plisskin and Lee Van Cleef as Bob Hauk, was released stateside on July 10, 1981.

Black Evening by David Morrell

 

(pb; 1999: story/novella anthology)

 

From the back cover

“Fear of loss, fear of pain, fear of madness, fear of being trapped, fear of the inescapable, unspeakable horrors that fester deep within the soul. . . No matter who or where they are, fear is always with you, always ready to attack from behind the masks of thought and dream.”

 

Overall review

The sixteen stories in this collection are a mixed bag. Morrell, an excellent novelist, is an okay short story/novella author. His end-twists are solid but telegraphed early on in a Stephen King/Dean Koontz mainstream way. The writing is cinematically vivid, a strength in novels, but sometimes a shortcoming in shorter works, particularly works that depends on twist/shock-value elements.

Standout stories/novellas: “The Partnership,” “Black Evening,” “The Typewriter,” “But at My Back I Always Hear,” “The Storm,” “For These and All My Sins” and “Mumbo Jumbo.”

Worth checking out from the library for those seeking fresh-edge thrills. Worth owning for those looking for touchy-feely, solid if often familiar-finish works.

 

Review, story by story

“The Dripping”: A man, walking through a strangely empty house with an ever-present dripping sound, finds himself in the throes of a nightmare. Solid story, feels like an early, still-figuring-it-out work from a fledgling short-fiction writer.

 

 

“The Partnership”: Competitive business partners grow more so when one of them hires a clever, money-hungry hitman. Great, twisty pulpy tale.

 

 

“Black Evening”: A police chief, a deputy and a doctor investigate a dilapidated house with a stench about it—and discover a horrifying crime scene that’s more than it seems.

Good story, with an end-twist that doesn’t feel feels forced, underwhelming.

 

 

“The Hidden Laughter”: An empty house where children’s laughter is heard reveals deeper, possibly darker secrets. Again, good lead-up with an out-of-nowhere, unearned twist.

 

 

“The Typewriter” (novella): A struggling, broke, wanna-be author (Eric) buys an ugly, odd-shaped typewriter that seems to write publishable work almost on its own, making Eric successful. But, as with many things, there’s a catch. This tale, a blend of Ray Bradbury’s supernatural whimsy and style and an old E.C. comic book, is excellent, one of the best novellas in this collection, and one of the best overall short works I’ve read in a while.

 

 

“But at My Back I Always Hear”: Life gets turned upside-down when a college professor and his family when one of his students (Samantha Perry) becomes obsessed with him and calling him late at night. As the intensity of her stalking becomes more elevated, the professor’s family’s lives become terrifying when something that should be impossible seems all-too-possible. Excellent novella, one that feels like Stephen King’s early, better stories, theme-, tone- and edit-wise.

 

 

“The Storm” (novella): A stormfront, increasing in intensity and consistency, follows a vacationing family as they head home, causing disasters and almost repeatedly killing them—eventually they realize what is likely causing it, but can they stop it in time, without making the situation worse? Another above-average supernatural novella that Stephen King fans might like.

 

 

“For These and All My Sins” (novella): After his car breaks down, a man finds himself in a spooky town with monstrously deformed humans, who are not friendly. Lovecraftian-dread, mood-effective, solid and entertaining throughout, has a Twilight Zone feel to it.

 

 

“Black and Red All Over”: A newspaper delivery boy in a small town tells how the town was stalked by a murderer who targeted newspaper delivery boys. Chatty, overlong, okay work.

 

 

“Mumbo Jumbo” (novella): Two friends join their high school football team and experience their coach’s secret pre-game ritual with his players, a ritual that may or may not change all their lives.

Excellent and engaging coming-of-age read, with a touch of the possibly supernatural and more than a touch of religion-based superstition in it. Somehow this has the feel of a Bruce Springsteen song as well.

 

 

“Dead Image” (novella): Good, hint-of-the-darkly-mystical and intriguing story about a Hollywood, CA screenwriter who discovers a bit actor (Wes Crane) who may be the reincarnation of an iconic, died-young actor (James Deacon, a—you guessed it—a fictionalized version of James Dean) makes a huge career gamble and works with him. . . only to possibly see history repeat itself. Can he stop the (perceived) curse before it strikes again?

 

 

“Orange is for Anguish, Blue for Insanity” (novella): Modern day academic researchers follow the creative and physical trail of a nineteenth century, gone-mad painter (Van Dorn) in hopes of understanding the “secret” draw of his work. Any reader familiar with creepy mystery tales like these can easily figure out where the story’s going, but this well-written EC Comics-esque cautionary tale is entertaining throughout.

 

“The Beautiful Uncut Hair of Graves” (novella): A lawyer, grieving for his recently deceased parents, finds a document in their attic-stored papers that turns his world upside down. Following the trail available to him to their—possibly his—past, the mourning son risks everything to discover truths which may kill him. Solid, if overlong story (even for a grief-paced read), not Morrell’s best work.

 

“The Shrine” (novella): Another story about grief, this time a man mourning his recently killed wife and son, a process complicated by his inheritance of two friends’ property. Like “Beautiful,” it’s overlong but it’s a better piece than “Beautiful.” Liked the familiar but warm, character-true finish, the natural melding of darkness and hope.

The Nested Man by Mark Steensland

 

(pb; 2024)

From the back cover

“Frank Hastane is an anthropology professor attempting to decode a notorious grimoire known as the Atrum Res. Frank’s uprooted this family and responsibilities at Rawlson University, an institution with a checkered past. Soon he begins to discover the terrifying truth about the grimoire, his supervisor at Rawlson, and his own identity and past connection with the book.”

 

Review

The tone and details of Steensland’s latest book, Nested, brings to mind the steady-build paranoia of a 1970s/80s conspiracy thriller crossed with a 1980s/90s supernatural mystery, with a suburban/collegiate cypher of a protagonist whose hazy past comes into nightmarish relief when he gets an enigmatic phone call from a mysterious woman. This ringing of Hastane leads him down a dark, possibly fatal path of self-discovery, one that threatens his family and the world as well.

Nested is an excellent read, one worth owning—it’s tight prose, attention to details (which usually matter in a larger way later in the book), and waste-no-words, steady-build pacing is one of the better conspiracy-fiction books I’ve read in a long while, given to us by the co-screenwriter of Jakob’s Wife (2021; director/co-screenwriter: Travis Stevens) and other worthwhile works.

The Long Kiss Goodnight by Randall Boyll

 

(pb; 1996: movie tie-in novel, based on Shane Black’s screenplay)

From the back cover

“Eight years ago, Samantha Caine, woke up on a beach—two months pregnant—with amnesia. Now it’s eight years later, and the tranquil life she’s built with her new husband Hal and daughter Caitlin is about to shatter.

“Samantha doesn’t remember that she was once the United States government’s most lethal assassin. But Pentecost—a vicious and cunning terrorist leader who was her last assignment—recalls her vividly. After believing she was dead, he has just discovered she’s alive—and he’s sending his people after her.

“When Caitlin was kidnapped by Pentecost’s terrorist group, Samantha has to remember her deadly skills before her family becomes just a memory.”

 

Review

Boyll’s adaptation of filmmaker Shane Black’s whip-smart script crackles with the underlying humor of its source-material script/film, maintaining the fun sense of Black’s over-the-top, memorable action set pieces, character development (and resulting concern this viewer-later-reader felt for key characters) and swift pacing. Not only that, Boyll ups the enjoyment level of Goodnight by including a not-in-the-film chapter about Samantha/Charly’s childhood, how she came by her emotional damage and came to be a government assassin. Goodnight is a great, blast-of-a-read movie tie-in novel, one that answers the question some may ask: why read the book when you can just watch the movie? Worth owning, this, especially for that glimpse into Charly’s memory/psyche and a playful reference to another film actor Samuel L. Jackson (who plays Mitch Henessy in Goodnight) co-starred in.