Clea's Moon by
Edward Wright
pbk out February 03
(Orion)
at £10.99
This is the current winner of the Crime Writer's Association 'Debut Dagger'
Award and it certainly deserves such a distinction. Naturally a very
'American' book, it is written by a professional journalist who has been an
editor on both the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, so even if a
debut novelist, Edward Wright is certainly no novice at writing.
It is a straight-forward crime story, with no 'whodunnit' aspect and is placed
in the now-popular post-war era, late in the nineteen-forties, with some
interesting accounts of how different LA was in those days, as it was just
emerging into the super-metropolis that it later became.
The story concerns John Ray Horn, a former 'B' Western actor, who has
been to jail for assaulting his boss's son, who caused the death of his screen
hoirse. Blacklisted from the studios and divorced whilst in prison, all he can
find to do is collect debts for his former Indian co-actor, who now runs a
casino. His step-daughter Clea vanishes at the same time that one of his few
remaining friends is murdered and a link emerges in the form of a child
pornography photo, which includes Clea as she was a dozen years earlier.
A straight-forward story emerges, with no flash-backs or gimmicks, as Horn
doggedly pursues various leads, which take him to sleazy nightclubs,
suburbia and out into ranch country.
Not a remarkable book, in spite of the Dagger, but a satisfying read, as it is
so well-written and honest in its style of story-telling.
(
Bernard Knight
ex Home Office Pathologist and author of the highly acclaimed Crowner John series)
