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False Ransom: The First Mike Chance Novel
A gritty period noir set in 1938 that follows a fugitive conman as he becomes involved in the kidnapping of a mob boss's daughter and ensnared in the Los Angeles underworld.
171 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 4, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 14, 2014
An incredibly well written hard-boiled crime novel!!
'Mike Chance' the utterly ruthless protagonist plows his way through the netherworld of late 1930's Los Angeles.
Mr. Infante's writing is lean and fresh, full of ideas and has an immediate and realistic feel for atmosphere and authenticity of the time period it takes place in. The grit of the late 1930's Los Angeles underworld and the locations and places are palpable and the story crackerjacks along superbly paced and with remarkable efficiency.
Only very rarely and once in many years there comes along a writer (as in the 1970's the tragically short-lived Jean-Patrick Manchette), who creates and writes with such an original and unique urgency and authenticity of life and death so tightly wound and with a true heart of darkness at its center.
Ivan Infante is a one-of-a-kind original talent of the rarest sort.
'Mike Chance' the utterly ruthless protagonist plows his way through the netherworld of late 1930's Los Angeles.
Mr. Infante's writing is lean and fresh, full of ideas and has an immediate and realistic feel for atmosphere and authenticity of the time period it takes place in. The grit of the late 1930's Los Angeles underworld and the locations and places are palpable and the story crackerjacks along superbly paced and with remarkable efficiency.
Only very rarely and once in many years there comes along a writer (as in the 1970's the tragically short-lived Jean-Patrick Manchette), who creates and writes with such an original and unique urgency and authenticity of life and death so tightly wound and with a true heart of darkness at its center.
Ivan Infante is a one-of-a-kind original talent of the rarest sort.
May 6, 2014
Great story. From the beginning I felt as if I'd taken a step back in time. Wonderful ambiance. Superb job Mr. Infante!! I look forward to reading more from you!
April 30, 2014
"False Ransom" is a wonderful throwback to the pulp detective stories of the 30s and 40s. It has the dark, Noir tone and a tough-as-nails, chain smoking, nihilistic detective in its protagonist, Mike Chance.
Like the pulp stories it's drawing upon, "False Ransom" is a quick and easy read, layered in mystery, style and characters you want to down a shot of whiskey with. The plot unravels in ways that's always intriguing, but never predictable. While Infante uses the genre tropes of detective stories, he tackles the more familiar plot mechanics in exciting new ways that will keep you guessing until the the final chapter.
One of my favorite aspects of Infante's novel is its sense of place. He does a lot to place you in late 30s Los Angeles, including rich details that touch upon the history of the city and enrich the story.
Highly recommended for genre, detective and pulp fans. I'm looking forward to read the second entry in the Mike Chance series!
Like the pulp stories it's drawing upon, "False Ransom" is a quick and easy read, layered in mystery, style and characters you want to down a shot of whiskey with. The plot unravels in ways that's always intriguing, but never predictable. While Infante uses the genre tropes of detective stories, he tackles the more familiar plot mechanics in exciting new ways that will keep you guessing until the the final chapter.
One of my favorite aspects of Infante's novel is its sense of place. He does a lot to place you in late 30s Los Angeles, including rich details that touch upon the history of the city and enrich the story.
Highly recommended for genre, detective and pulp fans. I'm looking forward to read the second entry in the Mike Chance series!
February 26, 2015
Brisk pulpy noir with a real atmosphere and sense of place. False Ransom follows outsider Mike Chance as he carves out a niche for himself within the Los Angeles underworld. Infante conjures an L.A. (sorry, Thom Andersen) where the typical hard-boiled morally-conflicted detective would get eaten alive. Chance doesn’t possess a razor-sharp wit. Instead he prefers to brandish an actual razor -- and I'm not sure he'd understand what a moral conflict is. A snake amongst snakes; the fun here is in wallowing in the blood, smoke and grime and watching the gangsters, grifters and crooked cops try to outmanoeuvre each other.
Note: the accent might be wrong, but in my head Doug is played by William Bendix.
Note: the accent might be wrong, but in my head Doug is played by William Bendix.
March 14, 2014
Dark and gritty. A descent into hard-boiled Hell.
March 21, 2017
False Ransom is quite a good debut from Ivan Infante, the rare pulp homage that gets it right: the hardboiled dialogue (replete with '30s slang and turns of phrase), the spare prose, the violent characters, and the grimy locales. Not only does Infante have a clear affinity for the genre, he's smart enough to understand what makes it work and a good enough writer to create a seemingly authentic period flavor without coming across like an imitator.
The book is at its best in its bloody, brutal actions sequences and vivid descriptions of 1930s Los Angeles. It suffers from only two weaknesses: too much talking, and too many spelling/grammar errors. When it comes to talking, Infante has a great ear for tough-guy prose. The issue is not with the way the dialogue is written; it's with how much there is of it. Dialogue scenes tend to go on too long, at times explaining a little too much. Less is more, but at least what there is of it is well-written. As for the spelling/grammar issues, minor issues misused commas or words a spellchecker would miss (like "breathe" when it should be "breath") are frequent enough to be worth mentioning. They didn't hurt my enjoyment of the book or appreciation for Infante's writing, but other readers' mileage may vary.
The book is at its best in its bloody, brutal actions sequences and vivid descriptions of 1930s Los Angeles. It suffers from only two weaknesses: too much talking, and too many spelling/grammar errors. When it comes to talking, Infante has a great ear for tough-guy prose. The issue is not with the way the dialogue is written; it's with how much there is of it. Dialogue scenes tend to go on too long, at times explaining a little too much. Less is more, but at least what there is of it is well-written. As for the spelling/grammar issues, minor issues misused commas or words a spellchecker would miss (like "breathe" when it should be "breath") are frequent enough to be worth mentioning. They didn't hurt my enjoyment of the book or appreciation for Infante's writing, but other readers' mileage may vary.
February 8, 2022
Very good first novel.
November 19, 2018
Reading this is somewhat similar to walking into a Bogart movie - without the falcon, but with all the attitude and atmosphere that creates fabulous "hard-boiled" noir stories. I'm glad I found this one, because I'm certainly going to seek more by this author. L.A. done right - 1930s style!
December 11, 2015
Good read. Enjoyable. Pitch-noir.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews