Zero to the Bone: A Nina Zero Novel

I enjoyed Eversz's first two rather intense noir mystery novels a great deal, but I worried whether extending them into a branded series ("A Nina Zero Novel," the jacket says) might bode ill for the quality of his writing. I'm pleased to say I was wrong. This fifth outing continues the psychological exploration of Nina Zero, Los Angeles paparazza and parolee (manslaughter, for the details of which you need to read the series from the beginning), who used to be plain Mary Ann Baker, nice girl in angora sweaters. Her abusive father, the death of her mother, and the murder of her prostitute sister, however, plus her stay in prison, have turned her into a very different sort of person. This time she gets caught up in a very ugly string of rapes when one of her photo models is strangled. Meanwhile, her juvenile delinquent niece, now fifteen, comes to visit and then to stay, but Nina underestimates the kid's abilities. She also becomes unwilling involved with a homicide cop, and the eventual outcome of that is left ambiguous after the novel's bloody conclusion. Eversz always does a terrific job of blending exploration of the very dark side of L.A. with Nina's still-evolving personality and her relationships with her journalistic partner, her toothless Rottweiler, and her father. The city and its film community are major players in each book, too. The author certainly doesn't crank them out -- the first novel in this series of five was published in 1996 -- but I'm glad he's taking the time to keep them from becoming routine.

I read a review of this book in some publication, and as it sounded like the sort of thing I might like I requested it from my local library. While I waited for it to become available, I pulled out a different Nina Zero novel (Burning Garbo) and read that. I realized that I liked the author's writing so much that I went back to the beginning, found all of the Nina Zero novels and read the series start to finish (Zero to the Bone being the latest.) They were all well worth a read. If you like mystery/crime fiction with strong female protagonists you will like Nina. Her life as a kid was a very tough one. It has not gotten easier as an adult. She is a papparaza who repeatedly finds herself embroiled in various crimes and misdemeanors as part of her job. That's all I'll give away. You need to read it yourself. She is an engaging character and I consider Eversz a very fine discovery,indeed. I'll be anxiously awaiting his next Nina Zero book.

Ex-con Nina Zero a freelance photographer for the tabloid newspaper the Scandal Times, is realizing a dream by having a showing of her photographs in a respectable gallery. The model she used in the photographs never shows up but Nina thinks Christine is just going to be fashionably late. A CD sent to the newspaper that she never viewed turns out to be a snuff film and her co-worker Frank who watched it brings it to the showing for Nina to see. The woman who was killed has a tattoo of Betty Boop on her left shoulder just like the Christine has. A hiker stumbles over Christine's body in the Santa Monica Mountains. Both Nina and Frank decide to follow the story. Nina because she cares and would like to find the killer and Frank because he thinks he can gain much mileage from the murder which has all the ingredients for a sensational story including the darkest side of S & M, where one is almost to the point of death. From the dark world that Christine inhabited and enjoyed, the investigation takes them to the corridors of the Hollywood elite where everyone has a price except for Nina. Robert Eversz is a dark gritty urban noir thriller writer who imbues his characters with the full spectrum of human emotions and reflects that back to the reader who sees them in a disturbing light. The author brings every emotion out of the audience from joy to sorrow and everything in between. Yet this stark novel has its light moments involving Nina's dog Rott and its moving moments (Nina's father trying to reconnect with her). ZERO TO THE BONE is in a class by itself. Harriet Klausner