As a New Yorker, there was much to love in this book--from an author and main character who also clearly love NYC. But as a story? It was weak sauce, punctuated with only a few good moments. It failed as a meaningful mystery, nor did it deliver on any real noir-ish premise. Alas. ( )

This novel follows a down-on-his-heels lawyer living in New York City in a railroad apartment and doing whatever jobs come his way to make ends meet. He's hired by a mysterious woman to see if the husband she's divorcing is trying to sell some valuable legal booklets that belong to her. The money is good and the job is easy, until our protagonist discovers that the woman who hired him was not who she said she was. And so he becomes involved with the woman who was impersonated, someone equally mysterious to him, as he tries to make amends for what he was tricked into doing and to find out who hired him and why.

This is heavily marketed at noir. In descriptions and reviews the terms "hard-boiled" and "homage to noir" are thrown around like confetti. The protagonist sure seems like the kind of detective one found in a classic noir; he's sort of world weary, but also compassionate and in love with the version of New York he lives in, in which the chains stores and luxury apartments have been replaced with colorful neighborhoods full of friendly bars and diners. So by the time I figured out that "noir" was referring only to the stage setting and not at all to the story, which is absolutely cozy in tone, without a hint of danger, I was taken enough with the decor not to mind too much. The main character is a likable guy, who knows a lot of interesting people and just hanging out with him as he wanders around sort of working on solving a case that involves some high level wheeling and dealing, but only marginal amounts of crime, none violent or even menacing (the tensest moment in this novel is our guy sneaking out of a house early to avoid being roped into a fishing trip) is pretty pleasant. There's some nice stuff about old books, some long walks through Manhattan, a few drinks and what is less a conclusion, let alone a climax of any sort, than just the end of the novel, the lawyer's life as he walks away essentially the same as when he walked on stage.

This book was nice. I liked it fine. Noir it ain't. ( )

When a lawyer in New York City leaves his corporate job he decides to free lance and dabble in a little detective work on the side. His first major client is a lady novelist who is suspicious that her much older husband is selling some of her valuable books without her knowledge. This gets the protagonist involved in the world of the antiquarian book market. As the plot develops her husband goes missing and the mystery deepens. A fast moving plot with a unique story line. Worth a look. ( )

Quirky characters and a strong sense of place made this an easy book to love. I felt like I was in NYC and tagging along with the unnamed lawyer as he gets strung along by a motley cast of characters. ( )

Love this main character. Very interesting story and beautifully written. ( )