Michael Quinn, former rock star, turned his back on a band on the verge of superstardom twenty-four years ago. Hes spent his life since hiding from everything hed been. When a woman chased by thugs jumps into his car, he tries to help. But this sets in motion a chain of events which turns his life upside down, even more so when his best friend is murdered and the girl disappears. Meanwhile, the thugs are looking for Michael. Only by finding the mystery girl can he hope to get out of a hole thats getting bigger. Now he must confront what he was, what he is now and what he might have been.
I recently discovered this author, literally. I went into a Chapters store where he was signing copies of his new novel. I bought that one (The Fallen One), read it, and really enjoyed it. Since I'm a bit of a binge reader, I scoped out another Blechta book, and chose this one since its musical subject is more akin to the music I enjoy listening to.
It's obvious from the get-go that Blechta has played in rock bands. He has those details spot on, with some very amusing asides. I enjoyed the graphic elements sprinkled throughout the book. That was a very fresh idea. (Loved the review from Melody Maker magazine!)
The two main characters, Michael Quinn (in first person) and Shannon O'Brien (in third) were well-drawn and well-suited to each other. They had good chemistry.
The plot itself is interesting and out of the ordinary. A couple of times things get a bit slow, but the author is a dab hand at action scenes, and when he's doing those (well-spaced) in the story, things can move along at a breakneck speed. Bottom line is I really enjoyed this novel.
My big question is: why aren't these books better known?
What attracted me to this book was (1) it was a mystery and (2) it partly takes place in Toronto. As it turns out, Quinn lives a couple blocks SW of us (if he was real).
I enjoyed the writing style of this author. It was fast-paced and kept my interest. I'd recommend this book and am looking forward to reading others by this author.
Loved it. Recognized Toronto which il ways fun. The hero was a bit dim. Imagine if you are being chased by villains, that you decide to go out anyway. However, the pace is fast with lots of wrinkles and I pretty much read it nonstop.