Big City, Bad Blood

Sean Chercover is a new voice in crime fiction. From the atmospheric rendering of Chicago to the well drawn characters, Big City Bad Blood is a great debut novel. If you like your mysteries hard-bolied, your writing crisp, the action fast, and surprises galore, this book is for you. Mr. Chercover--I can't wait to read the next one!

The private eye novel is alive and well and living in Chicago. Chercover's hardboiled debut alternately pays homage to and breaks new ground in the gumshoe genre. PI Ray Dudgeon is cut from the same cloth as Spenser, but does so with a realism and verve that breathes new life into the old standbys. Yes, there is drinking, and brawling, and sex, and mob hits, and political corruption, and murder, and the obligatory warehouse torture scene. And yes, Dudgeon is a knight errant with a penchant for violence that gleefully recalls classic Mike Hammer. But there is also a sly sense of humor at play, and Dudgeon's humanity in the face of fear makes him a 3D hero rather than a stereotype. Mix James Crumley with Robert Crais and you've got BIG CITY, BAD BLOOD. I'm looking forward to Chercover's follow-up.

I've tried to write this review three times and I give up. I can't say any better what others have already said except that this is the best new PI novel I've read in ten years. The plot is smart and well-built, the action well paced and vivid, and the rendering of character and setting is spot-on. I really liked protagonist Ray Dudgeon, even when he was messed up, hardheaded, and doing the right thing for the wrong reason (and vice versa) and I couldn't put the book down. If you like hardboiled detective fiction, you must keep your eye on Chercover.

This is one of the best debut novels I've read in over a decade. I rember when I read the first books by Robert Crais, Denis Lehane and Michael Connelly, and I got the same kind of buzz that I got while reading this. Chercover writes about Chicago as only a native can, and he writes about a Chicago you don't see advertised on TV. It's a gritty dark place, and if you are smart you'll have Ray Dudgeon watching your back. Dudgeon is a fromer reporter turned PI working a body gaurd job for a Hollywood location scout. Things quickly get out of hand and he has to make some tough choices. Fast paced and smooth as silk, this does not read like a first novel, it reads like the work of a seasoned pro. I predict big things for Mr. Chercover

This is an outstanding book! I don't usually read detective novels - but this was great, The main character is complex and seems real, and his relationship with his girlfriend covers new ground. It's a dark book, but also funny, with some subtle humour. The story is tense and moves at a fast pace. Once started I had to keep reading. I've been thinking a lot about this book in the few days since I read it.