Review: A detective story with an attitude problem
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 17, 2012
Eddie Greene, or "Eddie G.," as he likes to call himself, is a trash-talking 26-year-old who decided one day that he was going a private investigator. His first client, a middle-aged woman named Helen Porson, is murdered shortly after she hires him, and, as the first person on the scene, Eddie is considered a suspect. Unable to trust the cops, he begins his own investigation to clear his name and find the truth.Weekend in Weighton opens with a punch--literally. After ignoring a crime boss' warning to stay away from the Porson murder, Eddie finds himself at the mercy of a ruthless goon. The boss, Jimmy Cartwright, lets him live, presumably because he finds the young man's antics amusing, on the condition that he stop his investigation. But no matter how dangerous the situation gets, no matter how many times he gets beaten up, Eddie keeps poking around.Eddie's first person narrative isn't just full of sarcasm, it has mockery oozing out of its pores and forming a sheen of snarkiness over every scene. Whether describing a dead body or talking to his mother, Eddie continuously shoots off jokes in rapid-fire succession; his mouth is the AK-47 of one-liners. But as more is revealed about his past, one comes to realize that his humor is a defense mechanism. In a rare moment of seriousness, he confesses his insecurities to an old flame.As Eddie delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, he winds up tangling with Weighton's criminal underworld, the fine-and-upstanding mayor, and a pair of scary strangers with the uncanny tendency to turn up wherever there's trouble. The search for answers keeps Eddie moving and the pages turning. Murphy's witty and free-flowing writing is like the breath of life, turning a fictional character into a real and believable person.Weekend in Weighton is a detective story with an attitude problem--a highly entertaining attitude problem. Funny, vivid, and exciting, it's combination of clever dialogues, well-choreographed action scenes, and memorable characters make it an absorbing and enjoyable read.[This is a condensed version of a full review on my blog: zigzagtl dot blogspot dot com]