It's entirely possible that this author is not for you - he
is not at
all like Chandler, Cain, Thompson, etc. More likely one could
argue an
affinity with writers like John O'Hara and Erskine Caldwell
(perhaps
also with Simenon, now that I think about it).
Whatever they are, the Balzic (now Carlucci) books are not
mysteries in
the traditional sense, let alone "police procedurals". Balzic
follow no
"procedure", is no hero, is only as honest as he can be
(which means, he
dodges the law frequently), and doesn't always or even
frequently
"solve" his cases.
So one could ask in what sense Constantine's work is "genre
writing"
(and if so, what is the genre?). His writing is remarkably
free of the
cliches of the crime genre. Most of his effort goes
into
characterization, atmosphere, and dialogue. The crimes are
more than
incidental but not exactly central to his books. An extreme
example of
this is the wonderfully weird "Bottom Liner Blues", in which
an aging
Balzic doesn't even try very hard to do anything about the
possibly
criminal doings he investigates (so to speak).
I like Constantine for the same reasons I adore Norbert
Davis:
unconventional use of the genre (mockery in the case of
Davis; an excuse
to tell stories about a typical American small town, in the
case of
Constantine); perfect control of timing and language;
surprises that are
not "prefabricated" as in most mysteries; an eye for unusual
crimes and
characters.
I suggest "The man who liked slow tomatoes" and "Joey's Case"
to John;
perhaps he'll develop a taste for K.C. Granted, we don't all
like the
same things, so I may end up in John's shit list for
eternity. Caveat
emptor.
Best regards to all, and please excuse the verbosity that
crept in (did
I really write that? Hell, I really should retire...)
Mario Taboada
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