According to the blurb, SIMEON GRIST, hip young Los Angeles private eye, "knows the City of Angels inside and out -- the sex for sale, the chic seductions, the clientele of every bar from downtown L.A. to Venice."Simeon Grist
Created by Timothy Hallinan (1942 --)
According to the blurb, SIMEON GRIST, hip young Los Angeles private eye, "knows the City of Angels inside and out -- the sex for sale, the chic seductions, the clientele of every bar from downtown L.A. to Venice."
Well, not quite. Thirtyish man-about-town Simeon does seem to get around, though, heading out from his place overlooking Topanga Canyon astride his trusty steed (well, broke-down clunker) Alice. No angel, maybe, prone every now and then to some mild substance abuse, and a bit too much self-analysis, and not quite the tough,unflappable truth-seeker he seems to think he is.
A well-received series, although I found the books striving a little too hard to be a jaded nineties version of Chandler. All that glib cynicism gets to be tiring. Too many writers seem to forget that, under that tough guy exterior, Marlowe had a heart of mush.
Still, when Hallinan hits the mark, he hits it solid. He's great at action, and the plots are compellingly intricate. But every one of his novels that I've tracked down could have benefitted from a slightly leaner, meaner approach. As it is, their strengths are almost buried at times. Still, like I said, if you're in the mood for an action-packed 90s take on Chandler, this series will do the trick.
Hallinan, a one-time partner in a Los Angeles public relations firm, pulled the plug on the series in the mid-nineties, but returned with a new character, Bangkok private eye Poke Rafferty in 2007.
NOVELS
Report respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.
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