About the Book
-
Author:
- Katie Henry
- Genres:
- Contemporary
- Mystery
Cover Story: The Stranger
Drinking Buddy: Sam Spade
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (off-screen violence, crude humor)
Talky Talk: Mike Hammer
Bonus Factor: Film Noir
Bromance Status: Why don’t you come up and see me sometime?
Cover Story: The Stranger
While I don’t care for covers which show the main character’s face, I can dig Gideon’s fedora-wearing shadow.
The Deal:
When Gideon was younger, he solved a crime. A real life burglary. Not just as a witness, but he did actual detective work and figured out who stole his neighbor’s jewelry. The police held a little ceremony for him, and he had his picture in the paper and everything. Well, that was all it took. Gideon, partnering with his best friend Lilly, opened his own detective agency. He bought a trench coat and a fedora and took on the persona of a gritty film noir detective.
Unfortunately, the next time he tried to solve a crime he wound up locked on the roof of the high school in a humiliating public spectacle. He quickly learned that the police didn’t really see him as a hero, but as good PR and quickly tired of his antics. Lilly abandoned him for more popular friends, and he gave up solving crimes (but not the wardrobe). He’s now the weird kid who wears a heavy coat in southern California and sits alone at lunch.
But now Lilly is back in his life. She’s on the school paper now, and is trying to break a story about corruption in the city government…including the police who humiliated Gideon. She needs a detective. She needs someone who can find clues. She needs her old partner. Is Gideon down for one more big case?
Drinking Buddy: Sam Spade
Gideon is a phenomenally awkward guy and kind of a joke to his classmates. His father, a professional chef, is threatening Gideon with a job unless he stops spending all his time watching old movies in his room. If Gideon can crack this case, then maybe he could prove to the world he’s not a laughingstock.
And when he joins the school paper as a cover for the investigation, he actually finds a group of people who…like him. When they order food, Gideon passes on the salad because he doesn’t like croutons. So next time they get food, they order the croutons on the side. It’s a simple gesture, but to Gideon, who is used to people literally pushing him aside, it means the world.
Also, Lilly is an intelligent, nice, and good looking girl. They had a falling out a few years ago, but now they’ve both matured. Two old friends, hours of research, dangerous stakeouts, the thrill of the chase…you see where this is going. Except, it totally doesn’t. They just remain good friends. Gideon hooks up with Tess, another newspaper reporter. And I think it’s nice to have a story where a guy and a girl can be buddies without the author forcing more.
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (off-screen violence, crude humor)
So Lilly isn’t just jumping at shadows. Someone is making a big deal about a spate of non-violent crime in the city. Incidents that would result in a warning or a fine are now getting the the full book thrown at them. So what’s up? Are the police angling for more funding? Is someone in the mayor’s office wanting to make the chief look bad? Or is there something bigger going on? And who’s that dead guy?
Talky Talk: Mike Hammer
A bit formulaic, and the romance with Tess came a little too easy, but Mike and Lilly were very likeable. This author has yet to disappoint.
Bonus Factor: Film Noir
Gideon likes the great old film noir detective movies. He has fantasies about capturing the bad guy and looking cool while doing it. And which of us hasn’t fantasized about being Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, or Encyclopedia Brown…but with corpses?
Bromance Status: Why don’t you come up and see me sometime?
I don’t think that’s a noir quote, but Gideon has got me interested in the whole genre.
Literary Matchmaking
The Three Investigators, my childhood role models.
Heretics Anonymous, by the same author, is another good book.
Antony John’s The Other, Better Me is another great book about a junior detective.
