Red Cat

Starred review from April 30, 2007
Gould’s precise diction, which proved to be surprisingly effective in his narration of Raymond Chandler’s works, is just as satisfying in interpreting Spiegelman’s new John March novel. And why not? Spiegelman has come closer to channeling Chandler than just about any other private eye writer in recent memory. March has a mindset and honor system remarkably similar to Chandler’s Philip Marlowe. These are sleuths who use their brains along with their muscles, and Gould’s careful enunciation reflects that. Through March’s first-person narration, we walk the cold, sleet-slippery mean streets looking into the murder of a beautiful and promiscuous young woman. Gould creates an impressive lineup of characters: dumbing down his voice to become a lovesick bruiser, catching the hollow bravado of an actor in midlife crisis or adding a touch of East Coast snobbery to an assortment of quiet money types. Red Cat is a solid, stylishly written crime yarn, and Gould’s interpretation turns it into a near-classic. Simultaneous release with the Knopf hardcover (Reviews, Nov. 6).

November 6, 2006
At the start of Spiegelman's fine third crime novel to feature New York City PI John March (after Black Maps
and Death's Little Helpers
), March's Wall Street executive brother, David, comes to March for help with a particularly nasty problem. David has been having torrid sex with a woman he met on the Internet who goes by the name of Wren, and now she's threatening to go public with their affair. David stands to lose his wife and his job unless March can find out what's going on. It turns out that Wren's not a blackmailer—she's a performance artist who videotapes men cheating on their wives, then sells the tapes to art collectors. When Wren turns up dead, David becomes the chief suspect. The melancholy March, his personal life in tatters, hovers constantly on the edge of depression, but he loves his work, and it's this passion that keeps him where readers will want him in the future: on the job. Spiegelman doesn't break new ground, but he continues to be one of today's best practitioners of neo-noir. Author tour.