Double Solitaire: a Novel

August 13, 2021

The first in a series of Los Angeles--based mysteries by Nova (All the Dead Yale Men; The Constant Heart) features Quinn Farrell, who has created a niche for himself in Los Angeles as a fixer, someone who makes messes go away. Quinn lives by his own code of ethics as he makes unpleasant issues and excesses disappear for the rich and famous. A movie producer hires Quinn to manage movie actor Terry Peregrine's problem with underage girls. Quinn is expected to keep the actor from going too far for the duration of the filming of his current movie. Then Quinn meets Rose Marie, who works with teenage cancer patients. As he falls in love with Rose Marie and begins to care about her terminally ill patients, Quinn begins to question the direction his life has taken and the way he makes his living. When his client commits a terrible crime that he is expected to overlook, Quinn wrestles with the moral dilemma and works to "fix" the problem while assuring justice is served. VERDICT Good for readers who enjoy the gritty mysteries of James Ellroy or Michael Connelly.--Sandra Knowles, formerly with South Carolina State Lib., Columbia

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September 1, 2021
The first in a Tinseltown-noir series by a veteran novelist. Nova plainly had some fun with this, and the reader likely will as well. This isn't exactly a mystery, because it's apparent early on who the bad guy is. Terry Peregrine is a vacuous, pretty-boy actor with a taste for underage girls. The very first sentence finds protagonist Quinn Farrell sensing that "Terry was thinking about killing the girl from Alaska." Is Farrell the good guy? (Is anyone?) He's a fixer, someone who makes problems go away. He has a vending-machine company that helps him launder cash, and he often seems to have five grand on him to persuade those who present a problem to disappear. The girl from Alaska represents a problem for Terry, and she wants way more than five grand to disappear. Farrell works for the producer of the film that Terry is currently shooting, and that producer's goals may or may not align with Terry's. Much of what plot there is involves these elements--cash, disappearance, pedophilia, the possibility of murder. Farrell has a bit of a stutter, which embarrasses him, and a triggering impulse toward fury, which he does his best to keep under control. He is deeply intuitive, surprisingly philosophical and well-read, and a bit of a romantic. He falls for his neighbor who has just moved in, and her work with teenagers who have terminal cancer gives them both some perspective on life's big issues. Interconnecting subplots feature a python, a potentially rabid raccoon, a pair of Russian bagman thugs, a detective who once arrested Farrell and now occasionally helps him, and more girls who become involved with Terry. The insidious glitter and evil of Los Angeles and the promises and betrayals of Hollywood inevitably loom large, and a dark, bittersweet humor marks the tone. None of the corpses comes as much of a surprise, and there isn't much crime-solving involved, but lively writing and colorful characters keep the reader engaged. Readers introduced to Nova's new hero (is he a hero?) will be eager for his return.

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