Review: Messy, sexy, ruthless and cavalier - Loved it!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 28, 2012
This is the sequel book to Black Shadows. And I'll be frank, I expected it to be the same - and it's not. Black Shadows starts off with pizazz, charm, and old world style straight out of the 40's. It makes you think of (oddly) Who killed Roger Rabbit - because the babes are that hot, the narrative is that suave, you can see the sexy dame, playing the dashing private eye right down to his trembling toes, wrapping him around her gorgeous demure lips every time she speaks, and he's got the rogue of thug, in the style of Dick Tracy.It's old school charm, and when Black Shadows opens, you immediately fall in love with the characters, and the chivalry of Errol Black with the damsel in distress. A Damsel any man would give two fingers off either hand to have all to himself.So, this is what I expected when I opened up the Casablanca Case. Well surprise, this is very different.This follows Errol Black back to Casablanca to solve the murder of his trusted ally and friend Hermeez. This time I felt like Errol had Columbo moments. If he'd walked into the room I would have taken two steps back. He's grubby, sweaty, and tired. He's running up dead end after dead end and chasing his tail.Now make no mistake, this book opens with such a wide open *got your attention now* scene, that you have to keep reading to see just what the heck is going on.And yet as the story unfolds, I have to say it has the exact same flavour in this book as Pulp Fiction. It's ruthless but lovable. The good looking bad guys, the bad looking good guys, the two timing damsel who has everyone in her pockets, and the poor heartbroken broad's left pining for the dead man (including a broad who ain't a broad).Naturally the love interest is married to a great big caloot of a thug, dressed in expensive suits and running the town; every bar has big breasted women with Chanel red lips, and your vision starts morphing between Pulp Fiction, Columbo, and Sin City.That's how this reads. It's got that classic flavour to it. It's a distinctive style. It's unhurried, it's methodical, and the action is messy. There's sex, there's tired detectives getting their aging asses kicked, there's love that won't die no matter how many times they pull the trigger, and it's all set in a world full of glamour hiding a seedy underbelly. I did enjoy the fact that this read like Pulp Fiction (one of my all time favourite movies) - and I have to say that even though the Casablanca Case is no Black Shadows, it stands alone, as a good read that will take you back in time, and leave you pining for a good dose of Butch mingled with 007.Loved it!