The premise—a murdered girl appears to a hardened ex-soldier who does enforcement for underworld types and asks him to solve the crime—is a great one. The story set in the 1920s adds some color. The problem for me was the scene hopping without warning and the oddly disjointed way the story was told. I couldn’t keep track of who was speaking to whom about what. Although I wanted to know the outcome, this so frustrated me I quit reading. I think the author’s writing is good, but his ability to tell a cohesive story is lacking.
The Big Farewell
by Dan Leissner
Who murdered the Jazz Baby? A killer becomes a man on a mission! Hard boiled crime fiction with a supernatural twist!
The Twenties roared, and she rode the crest of that wild wave. She was Flaming Youth in all its crazy glory – “Anything goes!”
But how did she die such a lonely death and why? Why was someone so young and beautiful also debauched and damaged?
And why – back from the dead – did she come to him for help? Why him? He had to find out.
A gun for hire embarks on a quest that embroils him with crooked cops and corrupt politicians, ruthless gangsters and the colorful characters of New York City’s decadent demi-monde.
By untangling her lurid past, he resolves the riddle of her death. And in so doing, seeks redemption for them both.
Re-located to the dizzy heights of the Roaring Twenties, this dark murder mystery is a strange re-imagining of the true-life unexplained death of wild child Starr Faithfull in 1931. Written as a part for silent screen icon Louise Brooks.
The Twenties roared, and she rode the crest of that wild wave. She was Flaming Youth in all its crazy glory – “Anything goes!”
But how did she die such a lonely death and why? Why was someone so young and beautiful also debauched and damaged?
And why – back from the dead – did she come to him for help? Why him? He had to find out.
A gun for hire embarks on a quest that embroils him with crooked cops and corrupt politicians, ruthless gangsters and the colorful characters of New York City’s decadent demi-monde.
By untangling her lurid past, he resolves the riddle of her death. And in so doing, seeks redemption for them both.
Re-located to the dizzy heights of the Roaring Twenties, this dark murder mystery is a strange re-imagining of the true-life unexplained death of wild child Starr Faithfull in 1931. Written as a part for silent screen icon Louise Brooks.
Reviews
Odd book
The plot was unique and kept me on edge throughout the book.
Dan Leissner vividly transports the reader to New York in the 1920s to solve a murder that keeps you searching for answers.
Flaming Youth died a tragic death. Her ghost reached out to a large man with a disfigured face from his time on the front during World War I to solve her murder. The same man that her father hired to protect and bring her home the night she disappeared.
After the war, he became the mobster’s go-to guy for enforcement. His size and half of a mutilated face were often enough for intimidation; if not, a baseball bat was his weapon of choice. He became obsessed with finding her killer and how she died.
He encountered many shady and suspicious characters of New York City from the clues that Flaming provided. By learning of her past and fighting his demons from the war, he solves her death. Now he seeks redemption not only for himself but for Flaming Youth too.
Well-written and researched body of work. I highly recommend The Big Farewell.
