Today I hold it in my hands; it came by UPS. Yes, on 1
November 2006 the hardboiled imprint Point Blank Press is
bringing back out my first book, 1978's "Cocaine & Blue
Eyes." I know most of you never heard of it, most mystery
fans never did, but I might be able to give you four good
reasons why you might want to stock a few copies to give as
Christmas presents..
The reasons ...
Here is Ross Macdonald's old (1978) blurb for that same
book:
"Fred Zackel's first novel reminds me of the young Dashiell
Hammett's work, not because it is an imitation, but because
it is not. It is a powerful and original book made from the
lives and languages of the people who live in San Francisco
today."
Here is Loren Estleman's new (2006) blurb for that same
book:
"The American private eye story was in the Dumpster when Fred
Zackel fished it out at the point of a gun. He revived the
form, electrified readers and critics, and started the
juggernaut that shoved aside the paperback romance to
establish the mystery as the most popular category in the
world. Finally, the generation that grew up since COCAINE AND
BLUE EYES has the chance to meet Michael Brennan. An event
like this ought to have a national holiday connected with
it."
--Loren D. Estleman, author of NICOTINE KISS
(Loren's such a fuckin' sweetheart! Full of shit, but such a
sweetheart.)
Here is Tom Nolan's new (2006) blurb for that same
book:
"The American private-eye novel enjoyed a resurgence in the
1970s, and Fred Zackel's "Cocaine and Blue Eyes" was a unique
part of that literary blossoming. Set in the Bay Area of
Northern California, this fast-moving 1978 novel speeds
through an eventful Christmas and New Year's season with all
the energy of a classic genre bursting with new life. From
page one, it's clear the book's author is a born
story-teller, one who brings a personal vision to the
templates of the past.
"Cocaine
and Blue Eyes" - the tough tale of a semi-pro detective
hunting high and low in San Francisco society for a missing
person who maybe isn't missing, on behalf of a client who is
without a doubt dead - evokes some of the tone and terrain of
Dashiell Hammett, some of the seductive cadences of Raymond
Chandler, and some of the poetic flashes of Ross Macdonald
(who enthusiastically supported its publication). What seems
most Zackel's own is the sensibility of
investigator-protagonist Michael Brennen: a man coming up
through the underside, to find his own moral center.
"Fred
Zackel's novel reads today with the same raw vigor as when it
was written. If some of its slang, social-sexual attitudes,
and pharmacological lore now ring out of date, such jarring
notes only validate the book's integrity as an honest
time-machine: a beat-up-cab-ride back some 30 years to when
parking-meters took pennies, cigarettes were smoked in
restaurants, cocaine was thought to be neither addictive nor
fatal; and when - then as now - "Only the lucky solve
cases."
--
Tom Nolan, author of "Ross Macdonald: A Biography"
(Tom, I'm still trying to find that moral center. I know it
wasn't in that bar we just got home from. Nice bar,
though.)
The Time magazine review from November 28, 1978, said:
"Drugs and thugs, a missing person and a backchatting
investigator also dominate Cocaine and Blue Eyes. Fred
Zackel's sprightly first novel, set mostly in the San
Francisco Bay Area, combines the story of a Pacific Heights
dynasty, corporate shenanigans, Chinatown gangs, a spectrum
of sex, aging flower children, Mafia money and the houseboat
life in Sausalito. The result is as nerve-rattling as a
full-throttle auto chase from Grant Avenue to Fisherman's
Wharf."
Oh, and there is even a fifth reason. The murderer who found
it in an airport paperback rack and decided to make a movie
of it.
"Cocaine and Blues Eyes" was made into a so-so 1983 NBC
made-for-TV movie co-produced by and starring O. J. Simpson.
Say what you want, but his check cleared; in 1983 that's all
anybody cared about. Which explains why you also never see it
on television.
Want a sixth reason? The editor at Coward, McCann in 1978 who
fell in love with it, bought it and published it was Joseph
Kanon, who retired to write thrillers.
What follows is the info from the catalog. It will be
available in the US and UK.
Wildside Press LLC Imprint: Point Blank ISBN/SKU: 0809562138
ISBN Complete: 0-8095-6213-8 Title: Cocaine and Blue Eyes
Publication Date: 11/1/2006 Language: English Book
Description (formally called "Annotation"):
Contributors:
Last Name First Middle Role
1: Zackel Fred Author Order Types:
Galley
Proof
Short Run Other Title
Information:
Large Text Edition: N ISBN/SKU:
0809562138 ISBN Complete: 0-8095-6213-8 Book Type: 5.5 x 8.5
in or 216 x 140 mm (Demy 8vo) Perfect Bound Page Count:
264
I am new to all this promotion biz. But, thank you, Lord, for
this glass of wine. Best wishes to you and yours.
Sincerely,
Fred Zackel
RARA-AVIS home page: http://www.miskatonic.org/rara-avis/
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