Book Review of Dead Air by Ed Goldberg

E-Book, Uncial Press
To be released on 18 January 2008
ISBN 13: 978-1-60174-035-9
ISBN 10: 1-60174-035-2
 

****A Very Enjoyable Read

Review by Douglas Quinn, Author of Blue Heron Marsh, etal [www.douglasquinn.com]

I'll have to admit that the continuous stream of quips, sayings, quotes and general smart-ass remarks in the first couple of chapters overwhelmed me, but whether they smoothed out or I just got into the flow of it all, from then on I just found myself smiling, chuckling, guffawing and nodding my head in agreement. Ed Goldberg has the biting wit and sarcasm that the best cable TV sound-bite talk show hosts can offer.

However, what I liked the most about this book was the interesting cast of characters. Private Eye Lenny Schneider is a tough yet likable guy who one minute can be tipping brews with friends then, before you know it, smashing in an antagonist's nose and, an hour later, be counseling a drunken ex-ballplayer who has not only lost his wife but his way in life.

On a case, Lenny travels from New York City to Portland, Oregon leaving his ex-girlfriend, ex-wife and street-wise friends where he stays with an old friend, Walter, Walter's moody girlfriend and their gender-confused female roommate. Odder than the roommates are the cast of characters at KOOK, the local left-wing radio station.

In the process of trying to resolve the case that brought him to Portland, Lenny gets himself mixed up in two KOOK-related murders that have implicated his friend, Walter.

Then, into the mix comes an overweight and somewhat irascible cat with the unlikely name of Love. I liked the way Goldberg portrayed the cat, to whom all cat lovers such as myself can relate. You've gotta love a cat who, as the mood hits him, bites the hand that feeds him, then, later, takes chunk of flesh out of his benefactor's attacker.

While reminiscent of the hard-boiled favorites Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, Ed Goldberg has his own unique writing style. He understands that the greatest plot in the world can't hold up if the readers are unable to wrap themselves around an interesting and entertaining cast of characters. With this, Goldberg performs in Sam Spades.