Shadow Roll

Sam Russo Mystery #1

by Ki Longfellow

How many gumshoes are dogs? It's 1948. Sam Russo, self-named and self-styled, would follow in the hard-boiled footsteps of Sam Spade, if he was hard-boiled. Up to his hocks in the murders of three young jockeys with both local cops and the track turning a blind eye, Sam is a closer. He's coming home if it kills him. Race horses, a gorgeous sassy dame, the Season at Saratoga, what more could a PI want? To become the "owner" of a dog named Jane who is smarter than he is. Sam is Jane's partner. Sam is the human half who gets the jobs that Jane solves.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Mystery, Fiction, Noir, Historical Fiction, Humor, Murder Mystery

240 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2013

About the author

Ki Longfellow, born on Staten Island, New York, to a French-Irish mother and an Iroquois father, grew up in Hawaii and Marin County, California, but ended up living in France and England for many years. She is the widow of a British national treasure, the complete artist Vivian Stanshall.

In England, she created and sailed the Thekla, a 180 foot Baltic Trader, to the port of Bristol where it became the Old Profanity Showboat. It remains there today as a Bristol landmark. On it, she and Vivian wrote and staged a unique musical for the sheer joy of it. "Stinkfoot, a Comic Opera," garnered a host of delighted, if slightly puzzled, national reviews.

Her first book, "China Blues," was the subject of a bidding war. "China Blues," and her second novel, "Chasing Women," introduced Longfellow to Hollywood... a long hard but ultimately fascinating trip. ("China Blues" was reissued by Eio Books in 2012.)

When Vivian died in 1995, Ki stopped writing, living on Standing Room Only Farm in Vermont. Time may not heal, but it tempers. Eventually Ki began writing again, but her subject became the moment at age 19 that informed her life... a direct experience with the Divine. She chose the figure of Mary Magdalene to tell that tale in her novel "The Secret Magdalene." Nancy Savoca, a brilliant independent film maker (winner of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize with her first film, "True Love") traveled all the way to Vermont to option the book as her next film.

Ki's second book on the Divine Feminine is "Flow Down Like Silver," a novel about the numinous and gifted Hypatia of Alexandria, a tragically ignored historical figure of towering intellect who searched through intellect for what the Magdalene knew in her heart.

In a huge departure from her all she'd written before, Longfellow found herself weaving a tale of supernatural horror called "Houdini Heart." This book was selected by the Horror Writers of America as one of a handful of books to be considered for their 2011 Bram Stoker Award for Best Horror Novel.

In the Spring of 2013 the first three titles of her Sam Russo noir murder mystery series was published by Eio Books: "Shadow Roll," "Good Dog, Bad Dog," and "The Girl in the Next Room." There is a fourth title "Dead on the Rocks" available and there may be more. Or maybe not.

In December, 2013, she released a tale of one woman's attempt to survive lost in the Sonoran Desert: "Walks Away Woman."

She’s at work on the third and last book in her Divine Feminine series. Meant to be one thing, it's become quite another thing. Writers may think they know what they're going to write, but they can be very wrong. This book is "The White Bee".

In late January of 2018 she published the art book, biography, and memoir she'd promised Vivian Stanshall she would one day write for him: "The Illustrated Vivian Stanshall, a Fairytale of Grimm Art".

in the early months of 2018 three more of her books were optioned for Hollywood, one as a high end television mini-series and two as films.

She lives wherever she finds herself. Currently that’s between Somerset, England and Olympia, Washington.

Reviews

[Shannon Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haunt the book racks looking for new mystery series. They're coming at me from all directions. I think there's even a zombie detective, or maybe that's a vampire detective. Gag me with a stake. But here is the real deal. Real period: New York in the late 40s. Mean streets. Murder. Mayhem. And a detective to love and walk with wherever he goes. I LOVE Sam Russo. In the orphanage from hell, no one gave him a name so he named himself. His parents are the people he sees at the movies. He's in love with dead Carol Lombard. He's a horse racing nut. He loves to read exactly what I love to read - classic noir. Only for him, it's fresh off the presses. He wants to be tough. He's a softie. But he's pretty good at acting tough. He's funny. He's sad. He's picked up two sidekicks who could hold a book on their own. I now sit and jones for my next Sam Russo fix.

This is the first one. The others are Good Dog, Bad Dog and The Girl in the Next Room: A Sam Russo Mystery Case 3.

If you're a fan of noir, mystery to baffle, and great writing, walk don't run to amazon or wherever you get your books.

[Tony Alconzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've found a new detective noir hero. Sam is slick and witty. Stuck on Staten Island, longing for Manhattan. He can see the lights from his one room without bath. He wants to be Bogart when Bogart's up on the screen playing Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe. But he's not. Under his hardboil is a soft center. I love the drinking and the smoking without thinking twice about it. I love wearing a hat and a trenchcoat. I love walking the unique streets with the unique Sam Russo, Private Eye. I'm reading the second book now, "Good Dog, Bad Dog". It's as good as the first one. No, it's better because now he has Jane. You're going to love Jane. I hope Longfellow keeps writing these books. I'm hooked.

[Manda Upton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've just run through the first three Sam Russo noir novels (this one, then Good Dog, Bad Dog and then The Girl in the Next Room: A Sam Russo Mystery Case 3) and now I drum my fingers for more. Noir! 1940s! New York, Staten Island, Saratoga Springs! A quirky lead, two fabulous sidekicks. I want more. Lots more. Waiting, Ms Longfellow.

[Geoff Cates · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, this book does it. I am now convinced Longfellow write anything in any style and do it brilliantly. Now devouring the other two. Good Dog, Bad Dog: A Sam Russo Mystery Case 2 and The Girl in the Next Room. Fabulous noir set in late 40s New York City.

[Barkingmad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mix Bogart on the screen playing Spade or Marlowe, add some Marx Brothers and a lot of Carole Lombard, make Asta smart, fierce, funny and prone to humming, and then ask a soft-hearted gumshoe who's named himself Sam Russo to make sense of some great mysteries, and you have a new noir series to die for.

[Helloyoureaderyou · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first in a new series of noir Private Eye cases centered on Sam Russo, a kid from a horror of a Staten Island orphanage right after the Second World War. The mysteries are mysterious (I didn't figure out one of them - so far), the lead is funny and whimsical and self-deprecating whose hero is Bogie up there on the Silver Screen. Over the course of his first mystery he acquires two sidekicks, both of whom could star in books of their own. A TV series of Sam ought be in the making. If nothing else, there must be more Russo and Jane and Mrs. Willingford. I'd do anything for Mrs. Willingford.

[Roger Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

My latest greatest fave rave detective crave. All the stuff I like in a murder mystery. Really mysterious. I never saw the solutions coming. Great lead characters. In this case, there are two besides Sam Russo himself. Both of them have the goods for their own series. Great atmosphere. Staten Island and Manhattan in the late 40s. Sharp sassy dialogue. I eat this stuff up.

[Eddie Mcbride · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've found my latest favorite mystery series. It has all I ask of noir and more. Noir isn't usually funny. The guy is always dark and troubled and plays things close to his chest. Not Sam. Sam is funny and not always sure of himself and gets all his best ideas from the movies or his dog. Love him! More!

[Bookslide · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one did it. I am now a fan of Ki Longfellow. This woman can write anything. Deeply profound spiritual fiction. Fantasy horror. Historical noir. Her Sam Russo series is a total delight. I am in love with Sam and Jane and Mrs. Willingford. Oh, and Holly.

[John Wiley · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolute delight to read, all three of the new Sam Russos. May there be more! On top of being terrific noir and puzzling whodunnits, Sam is funny.

[Maurice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first book because I admire this writer and wanted to see what she'd do with mystery. Got through it in one long exciting night. So I began the next one the very next day. Good Dog, Bad Dog (A Sam Russo Mystery, #2). And then the next. The Girl in the Next Room Basically I read all three in three days. I'd be reading one now if I could. Great stuff. As for Jane, I want her!

[Grabbaread · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm hooked on this series. I want that dog. Jane is something special. All three books are something special.

[Joe Fanticola · Rating 4 out of 5]

This writer can write in any genre. If you like noir mysteries, dogs, a charming disarming Private Eye, and lots of mystery, this is for you.

[Bibbletta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm eating up this new series. Love everything about it. Man, dog, Mrs. Willingford, time, place, talk, cases - the best.

[Xander Rhys · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a new series of witty noir which I devoured in a few sittings. Can't wait for more. It's the time which is fascinating late 1940s, and the place, New York City, but it's the characters who get under your skin. I don't care what they're up to, just being with Sam and his dog Jane (if she's a dog) and Mrs. Willingford. If I could I'd move next door to Sam and hope he liked me. I'd take Jane for walkies anytime he asked. And boy would I like to get close to Mrs. W. This goes for Good Dog, Bad Dog (A Sam Russo Mystery, #2). and The Girl in the Next Room.

[Magpie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love books for all sorts of reasons. One of the best reasons is because I fall in love with the people in them. I don't care what they're doing, I just want to be in their world with them. I've just finished the third book in this new series and am jone-sing for the next one. I love wandering around in boring 1940s Stapleton, Staten Island with Sam Russo. I love his every movie filled thought. I love his dog. If I ever met a real dog like Jane, I'd move out of this apartment immediately to provide a good home for her. I'm not a guy but if I were a guy, I follow Mrs. Willingford wherever she went until she got a restraining order. I read a lot of murder mysteries because most of really like murder mysteries whether we admit it or not. This series absolutely delights me.

[Kenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars.

[Novalibra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I now know whatever genre Longfellow decides to write is going to be terrific. Now she's doing noir murder mysteries. I read them all and they're getting better and better.

[Beanbagbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is right up my dark alley. Everything is just right. I feel like I'm reading a book, a really good book, written in the 40s. I've read all three now (Good Dog, Bad Dog (A Sam Russo Mystery, #2)., The Girl in the Next Room and this one, Shadow Roll (A Sam Russo Mystery, #1).) and each one is a gem. Keep 'em coming, Mrs. Willingford.

[Paul Gefflinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sam Russo, wannabe Private Eye, noir movie buff, pulp fiction reader, lover of horse flesh and horse racing, falls into a case of not one, but three murdered jockeys at his favorite race track in his very first real hard-boiled case. He's much too soft to be hard-boiled but he's trying. I love everything about him. It's 1948. He's still young, been through the war on the Pacific Front, seen a lot of terrible things in his life, but he'll never be bitter or hard-bitten. He's a funny sincere guy with a way about him you can't help but care about. I'm onto my next case. Hope this series just keeps going. He's got me right out of the gate.

[T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. A new and snazzy detective series just when I was in despair. A great private eye (wry funny, not so sure of himself, not gloomy, hardboiled only when he really needs to be), a great time and setting (late 1940s in New York), a gorgeous dame who's probably smarter than he is, and his dog who is smarter than both of them. LOVE IT. Waiting for the next one.

[Huckleberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable take on the pulp noir detective fiction. The story is humorous and yet keeps the story flowing with enough of the classic elements of a Chandler or Hammett novel to make the journey as much of the experience as the final outcome.

Well done, I will definitely read the others in the series.

[Slinky00 · Rating 4 out of 5]

It didn't take long to fall in love with Sam Russo. It took even less time to want to take Jane home. This is modern noir, dark and funny and light and sad. I hope Longfellow writes a lot of Sam Russo. They're terrific.

[Jay Cumberland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series. Want more.

[Winganddare · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this writer. The Secret Magdalene and Flow Down Like Silver: Hypatia of Alexandria are two of the best books I've ever read. When Longfellow crossed over into horror/fantasy I read Houdini Heart and loved it more than I ever thought I would. So when she wrote murder mysteries I went there too. I can tell these are terrific books. They're different and funny and sad and I never saw any of the solutions coming. But mysteries aren't my thing so even though I'll bet Sam Russo is a great series and deserves to be read, I couldn't give him more than three stars which means I liked him, but I didn't love him. I know me though, if Longfellow writes another Sam and Jane, I'll read it. As I said, I love this writer.

[Apageaday · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS SERIES. WANT MORE!

[Mykelleta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joy. A classy new series of noir to read. Witty, wry, puzzling, great times, great atmosphere. Longfellow is making Staten Island a place to savor.

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can only speak for myself, but it isn’t usually the plot or the venue of a novel that “hooks” me. It is whether the author has established an authentic voice for the main character. If I can believe in that character; if I can feel what that character feels; then, I can climb aboard and enjoy the ride.

This is the first of the Sam Russo, private eye, mysteries. I say it’s a mystery, not a “noir.” See Penzler - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/otto-pe...
Sam’s backstory is a tough one of being orphaned; raised in a bizarre and dangerous home for similar kids; running away from Staten Island in the late 1930s; understanding the world through popular radio shows; coming to love horses through time spent at racetracks; being one of the last Army horse soldiers in the Philippines during World War II; and, becoming fixated on being a private eye like Humphrey Bogart.

Shadow Roll is Sam’s first big case, the one to get him out of Staten Island. He gets a ticket to Saratoga to investigate the deaths of three young jockeys who died under strange circumstances. This racetrack is, perhaps, the most storied track in the USA with over 150 years of important races. The Travers Stakes is a premier event and the “important people” of Saratoga want no distractions in the several weeks before the race takes place.

As an investigator, Sam is just getting his footing. He asks himself, “What would Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe do?” That is, until he finds out that the real world works differently than the movies. It helps, in liking this plot, if you like horses and thoroughbred horse racing. Longfellow has done her research and I gained a greater appreciation of the way Americans went wild about horse racing during this era.

Longfellow gets us to believe in her Sam Russo, and care about what happens. The plot could use some tightening, but it is still entertaining and I enjoyed going along with Sam enough to see what happens in his next adventure.

[Socha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably heresy, but I think Sam Russo is as good as Philip Marlowe. Don't hit me. Read this, the opening paragraph of the 3rd Sam Russo book, THE GIRL IN THE NEXT ROOM.

"I was calling on my new neighbor, the goober in room 4-C. 4-C was old Nate’s room before old Nate curled up his toes and died. When the new guy answered my knock, it was like watching a rock roll away from a hole. The rat inside was enormous. He had a glass of something brown
in one hairy paw and a glass of something less brown in the other. I figured one of ‘em was a chaser.
About then his smell came out and punched me right on
the nose.
I stood there, Jane at my side, trying not to inhale. I said,
“Hello. My name is Sam Russo.”
“So?”
“I live in 4-A.”
“So?”
“I wondered… have you seen Holly?”
“Who?”
“The girl in 4-B. That’s the room between us.”
“Girl? Beat it bub, before I give you what for. Or her, if I did see ‘er.” With both hands full and a wet smoke stuck in his wet mouth, there wasn’t much he could do to keep his pants up. They were dungarees: old, encrusted with filth, and slowly sinking.
I thanked a slammed door."

You see what I mean?

[Devin Porter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a terrific series. Glad there were three of them so I could get thoroughly engrossed in the world of Sam Russo. In other hands, Sam's world would be seedy, a dead-end, full of creepy low lives. But through Sam's almost innocent eyes (though he thinks he's cynical), his world is alive and full of wit and color. He's one of those people who can just walk up and say what he thinks. This is good and this is, for a Private Eye, often not so good. It's the late 1940s on Staten Island where Sam was born and raised in an orphanage, one you'd find these says in "American Horror Story." And he's still stuck in a one room dump on some downtown street where he can see Manhattan but he can't afford Manhattan. Over the course of the first three books, his world has widened out into Saratoga Springs, Broadway, Park Avenue, and the hidden places on his home island. He's also acquired really great company. I won't spoil it by describing his growing friendships except to say if this keeps up, Sam Russo and company are going to go places. In my world.