Shut Eye by
Adam Baron
pbk out February 99
(Pan)
at £5.99
Convincing British PI's are few and far between and comparisons with
their American counterparts are unflattering. But, as Raymond Chandler
puts it, PI's don't actually exist, at least not in the way they are
portrayed in crime fiction. In walking those mean streets they are
meant to be a catalyst. As they sort out the bad guys the action
bounces off them, sometimes literally. Being convincing isn't the
point: it's about plot and drive (as Russell James puts it).
You'd be excused from thinking, therefore, that Adam Baron is dipping
his toe into dangerous waters but he does succeed, up to a point, in
delivering a satisfying thriller. Billy Rucker is an ex-copper turned
PI (although rather improbably he opted to leave the force because he
was worried about getting fat). Perhaps only ex-coppers have the means
and contacts a PI needs to handle the grief. Searching London's
underbelly for a killer with a nasty line in mutilation he mixes it
with MPs, boy prostitutes (no connection implied) and the usual host
of moderately unpleasant characters. A lot of unpleasant violence is
meted out on him along the way - including a very unpleasant fit up -
and there is enough of a plot to keep the interest. It is well
written. The odd sentimental distraction (in the form of Rucker's
brother who took bullets meant for him) can be forgiven.
You could, if you wanted to, place Rucker somewhere between Timlin's
Sharman - the UK's answer to Mike Hammer - and Milne's literate and
all too human Jenner. This is good gritty stuff. It does all that's
asked of it. There is a series in the making here but it remains to be
seen which way it'll go.
Shut Eye by
Adam Baron