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Little Ghost
Irving Ash is a private investigator down on his luck. His life's in the gutter and work has dried up. With bills mounting, he's forced to take a job working security detail at a porn studio. He's barely started the job when the porn company's highest earning star, Brandi Dyvine, goes missing. Irving can't resist digging deeper into her disappearance, and trails Brandi through the dive bars and deadly streets of Denver - the Mile High City.
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Published May 1, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 3, 2024
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S LITTLE GHOST ABOUT?
Irving Ash is a Denver PI on rough times. His divorce is about final, this most recent romantic relationship (note the distinction) is over, and thanks to some recent headlines, he's having a hard time getting work. He's about to be evicted from his office, and it probably won't be long before he's out of a home, too. On the plus side, his cat, Cleo, seems to like him.
A friend connects him with a job. Well, not really a friend, an acquaintance. Okay, technically the bartender of his regular stop—Ash calls him an "enabler." This may be out of the goodness of his heart, but it's more likely that he'd like Ash to be able to pay his growing tab. The job is doing security work for Roxie Pictures—a porn studio (the owner, Gordon Rock, describes their work as "art...Beautifully shot videos, made by passionate people for passionate people,"*). Cleo apparently has some qualms about the job, but the pay is good enough he can't pass on it.
* That sentence alone gives you everything you need to know about the character. You can feel the sleeze dripping off of him. The next sentence of his description will make you want to wash your hands before picking the book up again.
It's not too long before Ash finds the studio's biggest star, Brandi Dyvine, in a confrontation with someone. Then she goes missing, potentially kidnapped. Rock's in love with her and is willing to fork over ransom money—Ash talks him into trying to buy some time instead. Ash figures finding and rescuing her is far more likely to result in Dyvine and Rock not being killed at the end of the transaction.
Ash starts combing through the details of Brandi's life—and well, things get messy from there. In the world that Ash finds himself in, women and money are the deadliest combination—and he learns that the hard way.
BROTHER JOHN
Like any good PI who finds themselves near the morally gray areas, Ash has a friend who is far more comfortable in the gray—maybe even the black. The Hawk/Joe Pike/Bubba Rogowski/Mel Frost role.
For Irving Ash, that friend is a man named Brother John. Brother John is the kind of friend you want when things get hard—he's resourceful, dedicated, and willing to go the extra mile. I'm unwilling to say more about him because Ash should be the one to introduce him to you (I'd just ruin it). But I couldn't not say something about him.
So let me say this—I'll be the first backer for a Kickstarter for a novella or two about Brother John before Ash moved to town (or be the first to pre-order). I don't see McDonald doing that, but if he did...
PESKY BRITISHISMS
I really hate to pick at these nits. Truly. But my biggest fear when I heard that McDonald was going to write this was that it was going to sound like someone from the British Isles pretending to be an American. Sadly, that fear was realized.
And I get it—we still owe a debt for Dick Van Dyke's Bert. I'm not sure how much longer we need to atone for this (but it's a while)—and there are several other lesser offenses we need to make up for, too.
But, no one in the US uses a biro to make notes on pages of A4, gets aspirin from a chemist, or plugs an address into a car's sat nav. (there are smaller examples, but let's stick with some of the more egregious ones). Do I—like many/most readers--know what's being said there? Sure. But when I come across something like that it jars me, takes me out of the moment. And I really don't like that when I'm enjoying the moment so much. I was in Ash's head, I was fully invested, and then McDonald slips and throws ice water on my face. Yes, I'm able to get back into the moment, back into Ash's voice, etc.—but this whole experience would've been so much richer if I didn't have to get back into it, but could've just stayed there.
Now, this all goes away if Irving was someone who grew up in England and moved to the States, eventually to Denver, instead of going to University or something along those lines. Then these slips are character moments, not the jarring errors they become as he's a guy from the East Coast who moved to Denver.
Is any of this that big of a deal? Not really. Is it unforgivable? Of course not. Did I lose some appreciation for the novel because of it? Yes. It's something that could've been explained away, or reduced with another editing pass or two. When the rest of the novel is so good, the tiny flaws really stand out.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT LITTLE GHOST?
‘Whoever it is has Brandi, I’m sure of that. So, we hit them, and we hit them hard.’
‘Revenge?’
‘Absolutely.’
‘I love revenge,’ Brother John smirked.
I know I was supposed to think of classic PI types when I read this novel—and I did to an extent. But really what this made me think of more than Chandler or Hammett was Stephen Mack Jones and Walter Mosley's Down the River Unto the Sea.* Both of those were very much in the classic PI mold, but incredibly contemporary, too. That's what Irving Ash felt like to me, a 21st-Century PI, and regular readers know what kind of catnip that is to me.
* I also want to mention Michael Koryta. I'm not sure why, every example I can think of from Koryta fails to match up. But I can't shake the feeling that Little Ghost shares some DNA with something he did or would write.
I saw the bigger elements of the final reveal coming—but not all of them, and the ones I missed were the more important and disturbing ones (if you ask me). So I was able to feel good about myself and be taken unawares at the same time. I really can't ask for more than that. Along the way, McDonald hit me with at least four moments where I couldn't believe I read what was on the page, and had to go back to verify. After the second moment, it became clear to me that McDonald wasn't playing around, no punches were going to be pulled here.
McDonald has crafted a compelling story with a central character that will get you invested and hoping he'll come out on top—even while he's doing things that most of the time you'd find abhorrent. The writing is crisp and terse—McDonald gets his money's worth out of each syllable. Ash is a damaged man, and you can sense it—and you can see when it gets worse, just because the text isn't verbose, doesn't mean you're not going to find a lot of emotion and depth in the scenes. McDonald has given us both.
This says something about his talent. If you gave this to me without an author's name on it and told me it was someone I'd read before, I don't know that McDonald would be in my first five guesses. I think that's true of his DI Erika Piper series, too—I wouldn't have picked the Stonebridge Mystery author for those. So far, that's three distinct voices and styles he's displayed in three subgenres. You've got to wonder a little what he's not capable of at this point.
I strongly encourage PI fans to pick this up—and soon. Maybe if enough of us do it, we can convince him to keep this from being a stand-alone.
---
I’d enjoyed snooping around people’s lives. Poking at their secrets and unearthing dirty little details that earned me my payday. It wasn’t honest work, but it was fun.
Mostly.
The beatings weren’t, and I’d taken a few in my time.
Asked the wrong question to the wrong person. Asked the right question to the wrong person. Wisecracked at an inappropriate time. My crooked nose and the waxy scar on my cheek would be the lasting reminders.
WHAT'S LITTLE GHOST ABOUT?
Irving Ash is a Denver PI on rough times. His divorce is about final, this most recent romantic relationship (note the distinction) is over, and thanks to some recent headlines, he's having a hard time getting work. He's about to be evicted from his office, and it probably won't be long before he's out of a home, too. On the plus side, his cat, Cleo, seems to like him.
A friend connects him with a job. Well, not really a friend, an acquaintance. Okay, technically the bartender of his regular stop—Ash calls him an "enabler." This may be out of the goodness of his heart, but it's more likely that he'd like Ash to be able to pay his growing tab. The job is doing security work for Roxie Pictures—a porn studio (the owner, Gordon Rock, describes their work as "art...Beautifully shot videos, made by passionate people for passionate people,"*). Cleo apparently has some qualms about the job, but the pay is good enough he can't pass on it.
* That sentence alone gives you everything you need to know about the character. You can feel the sleeze dripping off of him. The next sentence of his description will make you want to wash your hands before picking the book up again.
It's not too long before Ash finds the studio's biggest star, Brandi Dyvine, in a confrontation with someone. Then she goes missing, potentially kidnapped. Rock's in love with her and is willing to fork over ransom money—Ash talks him into trying to buy some time instead. Ash figures finding and rescuing her is far more likely to result in Dyvine and Rock not being killed at the end of the transaction.
Ash starts combing through the details of Brandi's life—and well, things get messy from there. In the world that Ash finds himself in, women and money are the deadliest combination—and he learns that the hard way.
BROTHER JOHN
Like any good PI who finds themselves near the morally gray areas, Ash has a friend who is far more comfortable in the gray—maybe even the black. The Hawk/Joe Pike/Bubba Rogowski/Mel Frost role.
For Irving Ash, that friend is a man named Brother John. Brother John is the kind of friend you want when things get hard—he's resourceful, dedicated, and willing to go the extra mile. I'm unwilling to say more about him because Ash should be the one to introduce him to you (I'd just ruin it). But I couldn't not say something about him.
So let me say this—I'll be the first backer for a Kickstarter for a novella or two about Brother John before Ash moved to town (or be the first to pre-order). I don't see McDonald doing that, but if he did...
PESKY BRITISHISMS
I really hate to pick at these nits. Truly. But my biggest fear when I heard that McDonald was going to write this was that it was going to sound like someone from the British Isles pretending to be an American. Sadly, that fear was realized.
And I get it—we still owe a debt for Dick Van Dyke's Bert. I'm not sure how much longer we need to atone for this (but it's a while)—and there are several other lesser offenses we need to make up for, too.
But, no one in the US uses a biro to make notes on pages of A4, gets aspirin from a chemist, or plugs an address into a car's sat nav. (there are smaller examples, but let's stick with some of the more egregious ones). Do I—like many/most readers--know what's being said there? Sure. But when I come across something like that it jars me, takes me out of the moment. And I really don't like that when I'm enjoying the moment so much. I was in Ash's head, I was fully invested, and then McDonald slips and throws ice water on my face. Yes, I'm able to get back into the moment, back into Ash's voice, etc.—but this whole experience would've been so much richer if I didn't have to get back into it, but could've just stayed there.
Now, this all goes away if Irving was someone who grew up in England and moved to the States, eventually to Denver, instead of going to University or something along those lines. Then these slips are character moments, not the jarring errors they become as he's a guy from the East Coast who moved to Denver.
Is any of this that big of a deal? Not really. Is it unforgivable? Of course not. Did I lose some appreciation for the novel because of it? Yes. It's something that could've been explained away, or reduced with another editing pass or two. When the rest of the novel is so good, the tiny flaws really stand out.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT LITTLE GHOST?
‘Whoever it is has Brandi, I’m sure of that. So, we hit them, and we hit them hard.’
‘Revenge?’
‘Absolutely.’
‘I love revenge,’ Brother John smirked.
I know I was supposed to think of classic PI types when I read this novel—and I did to an extent. But really what this made me think of more than Chandler or Hammett was Stephen Mack Jones and Walter Mosley's Down the River Unto the Sea.* Both of those were very much in the classic PI mold, but incredibly contemporary, too. That's what Irving Ash felt like to me, a 21st-Century PI, and regular readers know what kind of catnip that is to me.
* I also want to mention Michael Koryta. I'm not sure why, every example I can think of from Koryta fails to match up. But I can't shake the feeling that Little Ghost shares some DNA with something he did or would write.
I saw the bigger elements of the final reveal coming—but not all of them, and the ones I missed were the more important and disturbing ones (if you ask me). So I was able to feel good about myself and be taken unawares at the same time. I really can't ask for more than that. Along the way, McDonald hit me with at least four moments where I couldn't believe I read what was on the page, and had to go back to verify. After the second moment, it became clear to me that McDonald wasn't playing around, no punches were going to be pulled here.
McDonald has crafted a compelling story with a central character that will get you invested and hoping he'll come out on top—even while he's doing things that most of the time you'd find abhorrent. The writing is crisp and terse—McDonald gets his money's worth out of each syllable. Ash is a damaged man, and you can sense it—and you can see when it gets worse, just because the text isn't verbose, doesn't mean you're not going to find a lot of emotion and depth in the scenes. McDonald has given us both.
This says something about his talent. If you gave this to me without an author's name on it and told me it was someone I'd read before, I don't know that McDonald would be in my first five guesses. I think that's true of his DI Erika Piper series, too—I wouldn't have picked the Stonebridge Mystery author for those. So far, that's three distinct voices and styles he's displayed in three subgenres. You've got to wonder a little what he's not capable of at this point.
I strongly encourage PI fans to pick this up—and soon. Maybe if enough of us do it, we can convince him to keep this from being a stand-alone.
December 10, 2022
Chris McDonald knocks it out if the Noir park with this PI pocket rocket.
Irving Ash is a down on his luck PI hired as a security guard for a nearby film company specialising in the making of adult movies, but when the company’s star goes missing the owner soon hires Irving on to find her.
Irving Ash is a down on his luck PI hired as a security guard for a nearby film company specialising in the making of adult movies, but when the company’s star goes missing the owner soon hires Irving on to find her.
December 2, 2022
Really dark and gritty short story that kept me gripped and entertained throughout. I really enjoyed Chris’ writing style and how I felt that the characters spoke honestly and true to how they would in real life. From the start I felt really connected to Irving and thought his character was great. I was always rooting for him and loved that he had a pet cat to show that actually he might be a hard man but he’s got a softer side. I also really liked the character of Brother John but would have liked to have some more background on him. I do usually prefer a slightly longer novel but the story didn’t lack anything here by being short. I felt everyone was a little trigger happy but that’s a very minor thing and from the outset you know it’s going to be violent! All in all a cracking short story with an interesting plot and a great lead character.
November 29, 2022
This is the kind of book I didn't want to put down. The plot is great, and I loved Irving Ash even if I didn't always agree with his behaviour I found I could empathise with why he'd behaved that way. I didn't see the twist coming at all which was a rather shocking surprise. Very well written, I'd recommend it.
December 19, 2022
Chris McDonald has done it again. Having read his DI Erika Piper series and his Stonebridge cozy crime series. Chris has written a standalone dark noir book. He never fails to impress, his ability to change genre’s and make all of them believable is great. I’m wondering what he will write next. I am anxiously waiting for the next Stonebridge books it feels like forever since the last one. Anyway back to LITTLE GHOST.
Irving Ash is a Private Investigator but business has dried up he is almost divorced and is about to give up his office. He likes his alcohol and realises he needs to cut down on it, he Is in one of his drinking places where the bar owner tells him of a job going as a security guard at a porn studio. He needs the money so what choice does he have. He hasn’t been at the company for long when the company’s biggest earning star Brandi Dyvine goes missing. His boss hires him to find her no matter the cost.
It’s not long before Irving finds himself in the dive bars of Denver. The harder he looks for Brandi the deeper he gets drawn in. Who is following him? It seems like he is not the only one looking for Brandi. He finds himself doing things he never thought he would, and his conscience struggles with that. He enlists the help of an old friend BrotherJohn.
This is a-dark gritty noir novel, with hints of Raymond Chandler’s work. But set in the 21st. Century. I found myself completely engrossed in this and read it from start to finish in one sitting. I like Irving, he seems like a good guy but finds himself caught in a bad situation a couple of times, he struggles with what he had to do, which dhows the reader he does have a conscience unlike some of the other characters.
This is a fast paced read keeping the reader engaged throughout never knowing which way the story is going to go. With several twists and turns along with a satisfying conclusion. I look forward to what comes next.
If this sounds like a good read to you grab yourself a copy from @reddogpress
Irving Ash is a Private Investigator but business has dried up he is almost divorced and is about to give up his office. He likes his alcohol and realises he needs to cut down on it, he Is in one of his drinking places where the bar owner tells him of a job going as a security guard at a porn studio. He needs the money so what choice does he have. He hasn’t been at the company for long when the company’s biggest earning star Brandi Dyvine goes missing. His boss hires him to find her no matter the cost.
It’s not long before Irving finds himself in the dive bars of Denver. The harder he looks for Brandi the deeper he gets drawn in. Who is following him? It seems like he is not the only one looking for Brandi. He finds himself doing things he never thought he would, and his conscience struggles with that. He enlists the help of an old friend BrotherJohn.
This is a-dark gritty noir novel, with hints of Raymond Chandler’s work. But set in the 21st. Century. I found myself completely engrossed in this and read it from start to finish in one sitting. I like Irving, he seems like a good guy but finds himself caught in a bad situation a couple of times, he struggles with what he had to do, which dhows the reader he does have a conscience unlike some of the other characters.
This is a fast paced read keeping the reader engaged throughout never knowing which way the story is going to go. With several twists and turns along with a satisfying conclusion. I look forward to what comes next.
If this sounds like a good read to you grab yourself a copy from @reddogpress
April 2, 2023
4.5*
Ufffff WHAT.A.RIDE!!!!! I didn’t know what to expect from this thriller from Chris McDonald but this was beyond any other PI thriller I’ve ever read!!
I really liked Irving. He’s down on his luck for whatever reason and he’s desperate for cash. So heading in to the porn industry is what he must do…. But not in that respect.. as Irving says “I can assure you no one in their right mind wants to see this on their screens.” 😂 But Irving’s quips do not make this a lighthearted read. No far from it. It’s dark, it’s complex and Irving goes beyond his PI status of locating a missing porn starlet.
McDonald packs a lot in to the 150 odd pages that Little Ghost is. That makes for a pacey read, one to catch your breath and hold onto it right to the final throes. If you’ve read The Stonebridge Mysteries, this is something entirely different. Little Ghost is dark in contrast to these cosy crime novels and it’s brutal in places. A totally different style to my usual crime thrillers. A cracking way to spend a few hours.
Ufffff WHAT.A.RIDE!!!!! I didn’t know what to expect from this thriller from Chris McDonald but this was beyond any other PI thriller I’ve ever read!!
I really liked Irving. He’s down on his luck for whatever reason and he’s desperate for cash. So heading in to the porn industry is what he must do…. But not in that respect.. as Irving says “I can assure you no one in their right mind wants to see this on their screens.” 😂 But Irving’s quips do not make this a lighthearted read. No far from it. It’s dark, it’s complex and Irving goes beyond his PI status of locating a missing porn starlet.
McDonald packs a lot in to the 150 odd pages that Little Ghost is. That makes for a pacey read, one to catch your breath and hold onto it right to the final throes. If you’ve read The Stonebridge Mysteries, this is something entirely different. Little Ghost is dark in contrast to these cosy crime novels and it’s brutal in places. A totally different style to my usual crime thrillers. A cracking way to spend a few hours.
December 27, 2022
I have been a fan of Chris McDonalds since the first Erika Piper novel and was eagerly looking forward to this departure from the more formal police procedural. Once again Chris McDonald has delivered.
Little Ghosts is a slick, taut read, Chris McDonald has a way with his writing where you are instantly drawn in. Introducing us to PI Irving Ash forced by circumstance to take on a security job, a job which is turned on its head, which in turn leads Ash on a chase where the stakes are high. This is where the author shows his skill in creating a plot and narrative which twists and turns sometimes in unexpected ways, taking the reader on a journey, one in which you’re’ never quite sure what the outcome will be
Set against the backdrop of the adult movie industry, the action is slick as time is no friend to Ash, in what becomes a race to uncover the truth, the pace is relentless, the book is sprinkled with moments which you just don’t see coming, here the author shows how to build scenes which leave you breathless as you read, it also shows that he is not afraid to take the story into directions which may not sit easy as you read, however, designed as such to move the plot line forward. Wonderfully atmospheric as the tension is raised and builds towards its climatic ending. This is a gritty crime drama and this is superbly portrayed in the writing
Chris McDonald has always written interesting characters and in Ash and Brother John you have wonderfully formed characters who you can picture in your minds eye. There are interesting scenes between Ash and his cat Cleo which show a different side to his character. In someways Ash comes across as a conflicted person, compassionate, driven to do the right thing, though sometimes his actions may seem to contradict this
The setting of the book works in a way in which i’m not sure had it been anywhere else you would have got the same feel or tone, there is something in the American landscape which lends itself to this type of book
Strongly written, the author has crafted a deft gritty novel, American Noir with a nod to those hard boiled crime novels of the 40’s and 50’s
This maybe a short book in terms of pages but it more than packs a punch in terms of storyine, character and plot. There is a delicious darkness to it
Chris McDonald shows he is an author who can turn his hand to differing forms of the crime genre and handle each with aplomb
5* highly recommend, it is a book which is difficult to put down
Little Ghosts is a slick, taut read, Chris McDonald has a way with his writing where you are instantly drawn in. Introducing us to PI Irving Ash forced by circumstance to take on a security job, a job which is turned on its head, which in turn leads Ash on a chase where the stakes are high. This is where the author shows his skill in creating a plot and narrative which twists and turns sometimes in unexpected ways, taking the reader on a journey, one in which you’re’ never quite sure what the outcome will be
Set against the backdrop of the adult movie industry, the action is slick as time is no friend to Ash, in what becomes a race to uncover the truth, the pace is relentless, the book is sprinkled with moments which you just don’t see coming, here the author shows how to build scenes which leave you breathless as you read, it also shows that he is not afraid to take the story into directions which may not sit easy as you read, however, designed as such to move the plot line forward. Wonderfully atmospheric as the tension is raised and builds towards its climatic ending. This is a gritty crime drama and this is superbly portrayed in the writing
Chris McDonald has always written interesting characters and in Ash and Brother John you have wonderfully formed characters who you can picture in your minds eye. There are interesting scenes between Ash and his cat Cleo which show a different side to his character. In someways Ash comes across as a conflicted person, compassionate, driven to do the right thing, though sometimes his actions may seem to contradict this
The setting of the book works in a way in which i’m not sure had it been anywhere else you would have got the same feel or tone, there is something in the American landscape which lends itself to this type of book
Strongly written, the author has crafted a deft gritty novel, American Noir with a nod to those hard boiled crime novels of the 40’s and 50’s
This maybe a short book in terms of pages but it more than packs a punch in terms of storyine, character and plot. There is a delicious darkness to it
Chris McDonald shows he is an author who can turn his hand to differing forms of the crime genre and handle each with aplomb
5* highly recommend, it is a book which is difficult to put down
March 10, 2023
This little gem was fast-paced and gritty. It was a standalone story that I got lost in and couldn't put down. Awesome story and highly recommended. Left me wishing there was more. A fabulous read.
May 18, 2024
Fun, action-packed pacy read. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews