Mar
12
2005

Drop Dead, My Lovely

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A great bit of fun from humor writer Ellis Weiner. The protagonist, Pete Ingalls, has had a terrible accident at the bookstore where he works; he comes back to consciousness believing he's a private eye in the mold of Marlowe, Archer, and Spade. So he dumps his job, sets up shop as a PI, and before you know it has a couple of cases that are way over his head.

To his great credit, Weiner avoids crude parody. He has a great ear for the tough-guy wisecracks, cynical observations, and bemused inner monologues from the classics; he manages to make them both amusing to the reader and respectful to their source. Neat trick.


Last Modified 2024-02-04 5:20 AM EDT