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The Devil and the Detective
Private detective Robert James is more interested in chronicling his cases than solving them. Still, his interest is piqued when he receives a late-night phone call from the young and beautiful Elaine Andrews, who just found her much-older husband dead on their couch, a knife in his chest. Or at least that’s probably what happened...
Murder, corruption and betrayal ensue as hapless Bob is drawn into the dark underworld of Elaine and Gerald Andrews—and into the tangled web woven by his own mind. Along the way, he befriends a young grad student/flower delivery driver, Darren, who inadvertently becomes his sidekick: a Watson to his Holmes, or maybe more like a Sancho Panza to his Don Quixote. Or is it the other way around? Either way, Bob and Darren can’t stop drinking, smoking and philosophizing long enough to keep up with the story.
Murder, corruption and betrayal ensue as hapless Bob is drawn into the dark underworld of Elaine and Gerald Andrews—and into the tangled web woven by his own mind. Along the way, he befriends a young grad student/flower delivery driver, Darren, who inadvertently becomes his sidekick: a Watson to his Holmes, or maybe more like a Sancho Panza to his Don Quixote. Or is it the other way around? Either way, Bob and Darren can’t stop drinking, smoking and philosophizing long enough to keep up with the story.
154 pages, Paperback
First published April 19, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 7, 2013
This is pure fun. The premise is 90% of the book, which is a satire of hard-boiled detective fiction. In this case, the detective can't drive so is constantly hitching rides from people, including a college philosophy major who delivers flowers and ends up serving as the detective's sidekick. The detective is also prone to existential rumination, painfully aware at all times of how much he doesn't, and can never, know. Staples of hard-boiled detective fiction, including the beautiful widow whom the detective falls for, the difficult relations between the detective and the police, bad guys hiding in the shadows, and the deceased's attorneys who seem to know more than they are willing to share populate the story. In the end, the mystery isn't solved, but what else could we expect, given the limitations of human knowledge? :)
June 22, 2017
Nothing special here in this short story, unless you enjoy frustrating, unresolved mysteries. I do not. 1 of 10 stars
June 3, 2015
I can't recall when I was so much in two minds about a book.
We start off in territory somewhere that's between Raymond Chandler and Ed McBain in terms of both content and writing style. Bob James, a somewhat ineffective Montreal PI, is called in by the beautiful -- and probably bad -- Elaine, widow of a much older husband whom she's just found murdered in their home. She doesn't show much rue for her husband's death, and indeed Bob is soon in her bed. But the next morning she has vanished. Has she been abducted or is she merely a femme fatale who has used seduction as a means of putting Bob off the trail?
The cops, in the form of Detective Michael O'Meara, resent Bob's presence in the case, and so he undergoes a certain amount of roughing up, in the best hardboiled PI tradition. Along the way, he picks up as sidekick the philosophy student and florists' delivery boy Darren, so it's now as if we had not just Chandler and McBain but someone like Jostein Gaarder on the journey with us.
All of this I'm very much on board with. And part of me is very much on board, too, with the ending of the book -- the philosophical conclusion that we don't always learn all that we set out to, or expect to. Bob discovers much that he didn't know before, but he has to face the fact that he will probably never know for sure who killed Elaine's husband or what has happened to Elaine. In the case of another murder, he knows who did but not why; he'll likely never learn why, and assuredly will never be able to do anything about it.
As I say, as a philosophical conclusion I love this. I came away from the novel very thoughtful and (in a good sense) puzzled. I was also full of admiration for Goldbach for making such a bold stride away from "the rules." At the same time, though, I was (this time not in a good sense) puzzled, because the reason rules often exist is that they're desirable. In other words, while the book's ending was philosophically satisfying, it was far less so as the conclusion of a piece of fiction. About a year ago I read The Luneberg Variation by Paolo Maurensig, which has a similar open-ended finale; somehow Maurensig gets away with it, in fiction terms, whereas I'm not quite sure Goldbach does.
Even so, I'd recommend this book to anyone . . . with the proviso that it's impossible to predict whether an individual reader will love or loathe the conclusion. Either way, though, the book's in general extremely well written, very readable and (in Coach House Books' printed edition at least) absolutely beautifully produced: a book made not just to be read but to be treasured.
We start off in territory somewhere that's between Raymond Chandler and Ed McBain in terms of both content and writing style. Bob James, a somewhat ineffective Montreal PI, is called in by the beautiful -- and probably bad -- Elaine, widow of a much older husband whom she's just found murdered in their home. She doesn't show much rue for her husband's death, and indeed Bob is soon in her bed. But the next morning she has vanished. Has she been abducted or is she merely a femme fatale who has used seduction as a means of putting Bob off the trail?
The cops, in the form of Detective Michael O'Meara, resent Bob's presence in the case, and so he undergoes a certain amount of roughing up, in the best hardboiled PI tradition. Along the way, he picks up as sidekick the philosophy student and florists' delivery boy Darren, so it's now as if we had not just Chandler and McBain but someone like Jostein Gaarder on the journey with us.
All of this I'm very much on board with. And part of me is very much on board, too, with the ending of the book -- the philosophical conclusion that we don't always learn all that we set out to, or expect to. Bob discovers much that he didn't know before, but he has to face the fact that he will probably never know for sure who killed Elaine's husband or what has happened to Elaine. In the case of another murder, he knows who did but not why; he'll likely never learn why, and assuredly will never be able to do anything about it.
As I say, as a philosophical conclusion I love this. I came away from the novel very thoughtful and (in a good sense) puzzled. I was also full of admiration for Goldbach for making such a bold stride away from "the rules." At the same time, though, I was (this time not in a good sense) puzzled, because the reason rules often exist is that they're desirable. In other words, while the book's ending was philosophically satisfying, it was far less so as the conclusion of a piece of fiction. About a year ago I read The Luneberg Variation by Paolo Maurensig, which has a similar open-ended finale; somehow Maurensig gets away with it, in fiction terms, whereas I'm not quite sure Goldbach does.
Even so, I'd recommend this book to anyone . . . with the proviso that it's impossible to predict whether an individual reader will love or loathe the conclusion. Either way, though, the book's in general extremely well written, very readable and (in Coach House Books' printed edition at least) absolutely beautifully produced: a book made not just to be read but to be treasured.
May 21, 2013
Three and a half stars, anyway. Weird little detective story -- revolves around the idea that the detective knows basically nothing, and most of the book is his trying to cope with the fact that he knows nothing. Not only does he not have any real information, he has misinformation, he is lied to, and manipulated. Plus he's a drunk, and on top of that makes some pretty poor judgements. So he has to deal with all that, and what you get is the noir-style first-person narrative of him going through it. And yet, he's not a loser; you like him and root for him. I kinda thought a know-nothing detective was a refreshing change. And really, for all the books I've read that ended abruptly, or for reasons I couldn't fathom, at least this one was honest about it.
June 3, 2023
A great satire noir novel.
April 19, 2013
It's only half a book! Enjoyed it, but it didn't resolve! Maybe that's the point but it left me thoroughly unsatisfied....
May 3, 2022
"The lover-who-committed-suicide-because-he-couldn't-live-without-Elaine story was most certainly bullshit, I thought, and I was irritated with myself for ever believing it, even for a second."
April 17, 2024
The Devil and the Detective by John Goldbach is a noir satire (or maybe a satire about the noir enterprise in the way of Pynchon and other serious fictional writers) which trades on typical detective story elements as it reflects in a meta-fictional way on the nature of detective stories and life-as-mystery philosophizing.
Early on we get the picture; that Bob James knows nothing about anything. It’s a kind of amusing commentary on epistemology by a kind of amusing and lovable guy who is mostly ineffective as a detective:
“Things change as you look at them.”
“I’m sure that’s what she thought, I thought.”
“. . . which of course it most likely was.”
“And you know all the rest.”
“I know nothing.”
“I’m not sure,” is a common refrain. And he never is!
And there are reversals of cliched shamus situations: “I talked and she asked the questions.” And so on.
And tec stories are about endless obfuscating patter: “Crime is law; law is crime.”.
And loser PIs who fall in love all too easily. Bob is approached by the young and (of course) beautiful Elaine Andrews, whose husband Gerald has a knife in his chest.
Or maybe that happened.
Femme fatale? Cherchez la femme?!
Of course James in one evening “falls in love” with Elaine and she disappears.
Bob is in Elaine and Gerald’s web and is also lost in his own thoughts. And then he enlists the help (or is it the other way around) of a grad student flower delivery guy named Darren, who of course becomes Bob’s (philosophical) sidekick, in the way of most tec stories, an oddball Watson to Bob’s oddball Holmes. And not much gets done in the way of solving the crime, with all the smoking and drinking, which is kinda the point, to reverse your expectation of the genre, so let the reader beware who is looking for a tidy fix. It's a joke, folks!
A short, fun ride! (oh and John is a friend. . .)
Early on we get the picture; that Bob James knows nothing about anything. It’s a kind of amusing commentary on epistemology by a kind of amusing and lovable guy who is mostly ineffective as a detective:
“Things change as you look at them.”
“I’m sure that’s what she thought, I thought.”
“. . . which of course it most likely was.”
“And you know all the rest.”
“I know nothing.”
“I’m not sure,” is a common refrain. And he never is!
And there are reversals of cliched shamus situations: “I talked and she asked the questions.” And so on.
And tec stories are about endless obfuscating patter: “Crime is law; law is crime.”.
And loser PIs who fall in love all too easily. Bob is approached by the young and (of course) beautiful Elaine Andrews, whose husband Gerald has a knife in his chest.
Or maybe that happened.
Femme fatale? Cherchez la femme?!
Of course James in one evening “falls in love” with Elaine and she disappears.
Bob is in Elaine and Gerald’s web and is also lost in his own thoughts. And then he enlists the help (or is it the other way around) of a grad student flower delivery guy named Darren, who of course becomes Bob’s (philosophical) sidekick, in the way of most tec stories, an oddball Watson to Bob’s oddball Holmes. And not much gets done in the way of solving the crime, with all the smoking and drinking, which is kinda the point, to reverse your expectation of the genre, so let the reader beware who is looking for a tidy fix. It's a joke, folks!
A short, fun ride! (oh and John is a friend. . .)
August 23, 2018
You know what they say about the Devil - he always calls to collect.
A nice light dockside read, this first person stream of consciousness style detective story meanders a bit before getting down to cases. Montreal private investigator Robert James gets cold call from the younger half of a June/October couple. Her husband's been stabbed to death in the chest, the body's not yet cold and she wants him to solve the murder. Both the local police, the man's lawyers and possibly the wife's former lover are involved.
I found it more of an extended short story than a fully developed book. There's the start of something interesting when James beds his client and then she disappears and there's an interesting intellectual relationship going on between our protagonist and the flower shop delivery man who evolves into a sidekick. However by the end the various threads don't quite come together leaving one to suspect that the author himself wasn't sure what had happened, and the promised humour and meta-discussion are enjoyably written though not exceptional. Additionally, if you are looking for elements of the supernatural you won't find it here - the devil(s) referred to are all of the human kind. I'd give it a finer rating of 3.2/5.
A nice light dockside read, this first person stream of consciousness style detective story meanders a bit before getting down to cases. Montreal private investigator Robert James gets cold call from the younger half of a June/October couple. Her husband's been stabbed to death in the chest, the body's not yet cold and she wants him to solve the murder. Both the local police, the man's lawyers and possibly the wife's former lover are involved.
I found it more of an extended short story than a fully developed book. There's the start of something interesting when James beds his client and then she disappears and there's an interesting intellectual relationship going on between our protagonist and the flower shop delivery man who evolves into a sidekick. However by the end the various threads don't quite come together leaving one to suspect that the author himself wasn't sure what had happened, and the promised humour and meta-discussion are enjoyably written though not exceptional. Additionally, if you are looking for elements of the supernatural you won't find it here - the devil(s) referred to are all of the human kind. I'd give it a finer rating of 3.2/5.
November 10, 2021
Ultimately much of this novel is useless, and that's the point. The main character is a bit of a mess and can't solve the case even when its all laid out in front of him but he somehow manages to be charming through the blunders.
I remember reading this back in college and feeling dissatisfied with the ending and now a few years later I found it a lot more soothing. Its a defeat for sure, but it was never about winning.
I remember reading this back in college and feeling dissatisfied with the ending and now a few years later I found it a lot more soothing. Its a defeat for sure, but it was never about winning.
December 14, 2020
Interesting read for anyone who really likes noir detective stories, without worrying about plot.
December 4, 2022
Spoiler
Ok so is Elaine dead or did the Commit the murder? I think more clues lead to the latter.
Ok so is Elaine dead or did the Commit the murder? I think more clues lead to the latter.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 23, 2013
When I started reading this book I didn't know what to make of the writing. The story is told in first person and reads like one might read the constant spill of thoughts a person has throughout the day. Choppy, repetitive, but otherwise engaging. There was also an entire scene where it told what the characters were saying to each other but never introduced the dialouge. That bothered me. If you're putting your characters in a scene and they are talking why not have them actually talk to each other. I want to be in the scene when I'm presented with one. I don't want to be told about it while it's going on.
The detective, Bob, didn't do a whole lot of detecting and despite what the blurb says he didn't do a lot of philosophizing either. Darren, his side-kick does, but Bob doesn't. Rather, he went from one activity to another without question like a reed floating downriver. He fell in love with his client a little too quickly, in my opinion, but who am I to say this is unbelievable as the man was a drunk and probably lonely. I wouldn't be surprised if the man fell head over heels for any pretty young lady that crossed his path.
What caused me problems in this novel was the constant barrage of "I thought." After every sentence those two words appeared, aggravating me to no end. It's told in first person so I get that he's thinking constantly, I don't need to be reminded of this all the time. The end of the novel came quite suddenly and I was unsatisfied. It was left wide open and I need to know what happens next. A reviewer on Goodreads said, "It's only half a book!" I couldn't agree more.
That being said, once I started reading this book I had a hard time putting it down. I was intrigued by this "detective" and I had to know what was going to happen next. It's a good light read for those looking for something entertaining they can pick up and put down without losing sight of what they had read before.
The detective, Bob, didn't do a whole lot of detecting and despite what the blurb says he didn't do a lot of philosophizing either. Darren, his side-kick does, but Bob doesn't. Rather, he went from one activity to another without question like a reed floating downriver. He fell in love with his client a little too quickly, in my opinion, but who am I to say this is unbelievable as the man was a drunk and probably lonely. I wouldn't be surprised if the man fell head over heels for any pretty young lady that crossed his path.
What caused me problems in this novel was the constant barrage of "I thought." After every sentence those two words appeared, aggravating me to no end. It's told in first person so I get that he's thinking constantly, I don't need to be reminded of this all the time. The end of the novel came quite suddenly and I was unsatisfied. It was left wide open and I need to know what happens next. A reviewer on Goodreads said, "It's only half a book!" I couldn't agree more.
That being said, once I started reading this book I had a hard time putting it down. I was intrigued by this "detective" and I had to know what was going to happen next. It's a good light read for those looking for something entertaining they can pick up and put down without losing sight of what they had read before.
October 5, 2023
I really enjoyed this one. Canadian writer; book set in Montreal. I've tried so hard to get into noir before, mostly Raymond Chandler, and I have trouble. This is the first book I was able to get into noir because it was so palatable. I don't think it's a spoiler to say that the ending didn't resolve anything so that was kind of annoying. Unless I totally missed something... Would recommend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 30, 2015
I really enjoyed this book. The author did a remarkable job with the main character's voice. The dialogue was very well done also. I was hoping for more plot and a more satisfying ending though. Unless, of course, there is to be a sequel?
November 24, 2013
3 out of 5 stars.. Was an interesting read. First mystery book I read...liked the characters...
June 28, 2014
An entertaining read. Unique style and premise.
July 23, 2014
Really fun! Loved the writing style. Some seem to have disliked the ending, but it worked for me.
June 19, 2023
3.5 stars, I enjoyed it but wished the ending was different
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews