Just finished 23 SHADES OF BLACK by K.j.a. Wishnia, 1997
(reprinted 2004 Point Blank Press). His first novel, highly
noted because it was self-published then was one of the five
finalists for an Edgar for Best First Novel. Really great
hardboiled stuff, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was
discussed on RARA-AVIS at that time.
In any case, here's a brief summary: Filomena Buscarsela, an
Ecuadorian-American cop in NYC, goes through hell trying to
solve a crime of corporate corruption and murder. When a man
she sees at the scene of a fume accident is then killed at a
construction site owned by the same company, she becomes
suspicious.She learns he is a painter, whose work focused on
exposing the evils of corporate America, and he wrote and
performed material that incriminates Morse, Inc., a large
chemical company. In her investigation, she starts to uncover
connections of the company to organized crime, and they of
course are not happy about this. Her zealous pursuit of a
formidable foe into a nearly impenetrable web of deceit and
violence takes a toll on her personal relationships and
pushes her into alcoholism. The NYC police force is portrayed
believably as a male chauvinist institution in which it is
almost impossible for a woman cop, even a superbly capable
one, to distinguish herself. Ken shows his mastery at
creating and sustaining a wonderfully sympathetic, though
somewhat flawed, character, probably even more sympathetic to
women readers than she was to me. Sort of a female version of
Bruen's Jack Taylor, I think. She is a small person fighting
against the corrupt powers that be, trying to do the right
thing. She is a survivor, who starts out somewhat naive and
has by the end of the novel become very tough, hardboiled. It
is written in first person present, which I found at first to
be a surprising choice but is very believable because it
accurately captures the sense of a person enthusiastically
telling an intensely emotional story. I recommend it, if you
haven't checked it out already.
Best, Bruce
Bruce Makous Author: RIDING THE BRAND
www.brucemakous.com
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