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Last of the Independents: Vancouver Noir
Winner of the Unhanged Arthur Award for Best Unpublished First Crime Novel, 2012
Twenty-nine-year-old Michael Drayton runs a private investigation agency in Vancouver that specializes in missing persons — only, as Mike has discovered, some missing people stay with you. Still haunted by the unsolved disappearance of a young girl, Mike is hired to find the vanished son of a local junk merchant. However, he quickly discovers that the case has been damaged by a crooked private eye and dismissed by a disinterested justice system. Worse, the only viable lead involves a drug-addicted car thief with gang connections.
As the stakes rise, Mike attempts to balance his search for the junk merchant's son with a more profitable case involving a necrophile and a funeral home, while simultaneously struggling to keep a disreputable psychic from bilking the mother of a missing girl.
338 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2014
11 people are currently reading
346 people want to read
About the author
Sam Wiebe
22 books178 followersSam Wiebe is the author of CUT YOU DOWN, INVISIBLE DEAD, and LAST OF THE INDEPENDENTS. He lives in Vancouver.
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July 18, 2019This book is signed by Sam Wiebe.
August 8, 2016
A fun, fast read for fans of classic PI tales told with a contemporary sensibility. Despite having lived in Vancouver for much of my life, this was really the first genre novel I read entirely set in the city. I felt oddly exposed by my constant recognition of streets and music venues, and now I wonder how people who live in New York must feel when so many books are set in their city.
Sam Wiebe's characters feel real, their flaws not superimposed but rather integral to who they are and why they do the things they do. The prose is quick and fluid, the pace feels fast without relying on the usual tricks of the trade. His protagonist, Michael Drayton, is a good companion to go investigating with.
Although billed as "Vancouver Noir", the first two acts felt much more light-hearted to me and the better for it. I'm a big fan of noir detective novels, but they can feel artificial and overly self-involved sometimes. That wasn't the case here--I kept following along simply because each turn in the case compelled me. It's in the final act that the book truly becomes noir in style and plot. Drayton starts making decisions that didn't quite jibe with the character I'd been following along until then, and everything goes to hell fairly quickly. I think that would have been fine for me, but the ending felt a bit rushed and I found myself feeling like I was missing a couple of chapters. Again, this might have been a stylistic choice, but it wasn't as satisfying as the rest of the book for me.
Overall a good mystery, well-told and with engaging characters. I'll be checking out more of Sam Wiebe's books.
Sam Wiebe's characters feel real, their flaws not superimposed but rather integral to who they are and why they do the things they do. The prose is quick and fluid, the pace feels fast without relying on the usual tricks of the trade. His protagonist, Michael Drayton, is a good companion to go investigating with.
Although billed as "Vancouver Noir", the first two acts felt much more light-hearted to me and the better for it. I'm a big fan of noir detective novels, but they can feel artificial and overly self-involved sometimes. That wasn't the case here--I kept following along simply because each turn in the case compelled me. It's in the final act that the book truly becomes noir in style and plot. Drayton starts making decisions that didn't quite jibe with the character I'd been following along until then, and everything goes to hell fairly quickly. I think that would have been fine for me, but the ending felt a bit rushed and I found myself feeling like I was missing a couple of chapters. Again, this might have been a stylistic choice, but it wasn't as satisfying as the rest of the book for me.
Overall a good mystery, well-told and with engaging characters. I'll be checking out more of Sam Wiebe's books.
June 25, 2019
Not for me. Made it to 86 pages. Two things here that did work for me. First opening with necrophilia is a tough pull to endear the reader to the character, the author and the story. It might be that I arrested someone for it back when I was a young cop, first and only time I'd ever heard of it. Truly the most despicable crime.
Second: There are too many space breaks. Each time there is a break it creates a speed bump that has the potential to toss the reader out of the fictive dream. That's what happened here from me. These speed bumps also detracted from the forward motion of the story.
I do enjoy the voice and have already purchased the author's next book and it is on the TBR pile.
David Putnam author of the Bruno Johnson series.
Second: There are too many space breaks. Each time there is a break it creates a speed bump that has the potential to toss the reader out of the fictive dream. That's what happened here from me. These speed bumps also detracted from the forward motion of the story.
I do enjoy the voice and have already purchased the author's next book and it is on the TBR pile.
David Putnam author of the Bruno Johnson series.
December 28, 2014
I was familiar with Sam Wiebe's work through his sharp short story, "Gallows Point". So I was pleased to hear that he had a novel out, and today, just a couple of days after picking up the book, I ate it up on a long train ride.
It's very good in every way. Character development is strong, starting with the hero, Drayton, and moving right on down the line. Everybody's motivation rings true. The Vancouver atmosphere is a big plus. But most of all, the compelling storyline keeps you on the hook, and the road to the resolution has a good many twists without feeling labored or contrived.
You could consider "Last of the Independents" to be a Canadian cousin of "Gone, Baby, Gone".
It's very good in every way. Character development is strong, starting with the hero, Drayton, and moving right on down the line. Everybody's motivation rings true. The Vancouver atmosphere is a big plus. But most of all, the compelling storyline keeps you on the hook, and the road to the resolution has a good many twists without feeling labored or contrived.
You could consider "Last of the Independents" to be a Canadian cousin of "Gone, Baby, Gone".
June 3, 2014
Buy this book and read it. Sam Wiebe is an excellent new voice on the scene.
September 15, 2014
One caveat: I know Sam Wiebe personally. He was my student when I was a TA at SFU in the Fall 2008 term. I haven't seen much of him in the intervening years, and this is the first of his writing I've experienced since marking his assignments six years ago. Reading is part of my job description, and this is not the first time I've read something written by someone I know; I do my best to remove my subjectivity, just as I ask my students to do. Now my review:
This is the debut novel of Vancouver writer Sam Wiebe, and the first in his proposed Vancouver Noir series following the cases of Michael Drayton, former Vancouver Police (VPD) officer and current independent private-eye. Independents was the unanimous winner of the Unhanged Edgar Award in 2012, an award given for the best unpublished mystery novel in Canada. Fortunately for us, Dundurn picked up Wiebe’s book, and we can now settle down to an evening or two of highly entertaining modern noir.
Drayton is a private detective, the self-proclaimed "Last of the Independents." This is likely an homage to The Pretenders 1994 album, which fits right in with Drayton's age and type - 29, and a bit of an outsider. His friends and his work are completely indivisible - they either work for him, or are his work. Drayton's life is complex, and nothing about him is easy. He's sympathetic yet flawed, honest to a fault, hard as nails, yet unable to euthanize his direly ill dog.
Drayton's personality is where the novel absolutely shines. He's a true warrior on the streets, if a reluctant one. Never claiming to be more than he is, his well-developed sense of justice and a clear understanding that the world isn't divided up into Manichean black and white means that he can easily shift between the worlds of official Vancouver and its darker alleyways, speaking the language he needs to be able to deal with cops, bosses, and bagmen. No rose-colored glasses on Drayton's eyes - he sees all the world's shades of gray. And despite his sense of honor and justice, when facing his own heart of darkness, Drayton can - and does - make the difficult decisions that define a person.
I think that terms like "tour-de-force" and "triumph" are bandied about far too easily in reviews, especially by those looking to get their copy on the front of a book or magazine. I've never used those terms myself, but here I think they do apply - Wiebe's debut novel shows a masterful touch, an awareness of the giants whose shoulders he is standing upon, and a great deal of promise for his new Vancouver Noir series. I look forward to reading more of Michael Drayton's investigations in the future.
This is the debut novel of Vancouver writer Sam Wiebe, and the first in his proposed Vancouver Noir series following the cases of Michael Drayton, former Vancouver Police (VPD) officer and current independent private-eye. Independents was the unanimous winner of the Unhanged Edgar Award in 2012, an award given for the best unpublished mystery novel in Canada. Fortunately for us, Dundurn picked up Wiebe’s book, and we can now settle down to an evening or two of highly entertaining modern noir.
Drayton is a private detective, the self-proclaimed "Last of the Independents." This is likely an homage to The Pretenders 1994 album, which fits right in with Drayton's age and type - 29, and a bit of an outsider. His friends and his work are completely indivisible - they either work for him, or are his work. Drayton's life is complex, and nothing about him is easy. He's sympathetic yet flawed, honest to a fault, hard as nails, yet unable to euthanize his direly ill dog.
Drayton's personality is where the novel absolutely shines. He's a true warrior on the streets, if a reluctant one. Never claiming to be more than he is, his well-developed sense of justice and a clear understanding that the world isn't divided up into Manichean black and white means that he can easily shift between the worlds of official Vancouver and its darker alleyways, speaking the language he needs to be able to deal with cops, bosses, and bagmen. No rose-colored glasses on Drayton's eyes - he sees all the world's shades of gray. And despite his sense of honor and justice, when facing his own heart of darkness, Drayton can - and does - make the difficult decisions that define a person.
I think that terms like "tour-de-force" and "triumph" are bandied about far too easily in reviews, especially by those looking to get their copy on the front of a book or magazine. I've never used those terms myself, but here I think they do apply - Wiebe's debut novel shows a masterful touch, an awareness of the giants whose shoulders he is standing upon, and a great deal of promise for his new Vancouver Noir series. I look forward to reading more of Michael Drayton's investigations in the future.
December 31, 2014
A few things about this that really irritated me about this book, being that it is set where I live & closely tied to my job:
1. The protagonist is only 29, yet he supposedly has already had a career with the police long enough to open a PI agency, which he's also been doing for a few years. If he had been at least in his 30's I'd have found this more believable, because then he'd have been likely to at least spent a few years in detectives, not just on the beat.
2. When the protagonist visits a small town, the Coroner is cited as not only performing an autopsy, but the autopsy is taking place in the basement of the small police detachment. NOPE. The Coroner never does autopsies. That's for pathologists, OR medical examiners. Unless, somehow, the Coroner is also a doctor, which is not a requirement in the province of BC. Secondly, almost all autopsies that are required on Vancouver Island are brought to Vancouver proper as we are not equipped to handle them here. ESPECIALLY if they are a forensic and not a medical autopsy.
Aside from the little details I noticed that, honestly, if I didn't know any better I'd have shrugged off, this was a fairly well-written, solid Noir novel. The ending was nice and dark, which I loved, though the author didn't really elaborate too much on whether Mike had uncovered a serial killer or just a one-off situation, which I'd have liked to know more about. I think this is Wiebe's first novel, and it'll be interesting to see what he follows up with, especially if it's in the same genre.
1. The protagonist is only 29, yet he supposedly has already had a career with the police long enough to open a PI agency, which he's also been doing for a few years. If he had been at least in his 30's I'd have found this more believable, because then he'd have been likely to at least spent a few years in detectives, not just on the beat.
2. When the protagonist visits a small town, the Coroner is cited as not only performing an autopsy, but the autopsy is taking place in the basement of the small police detachment. NOPE. The Coroner never does autopsies. That's for pathologists, OR medical examiners. Unless, somehow, the Coroner is also a doctor, which is not a requirement in the province of BC. Secondly, almost all autopsies that are required on Vancouver Island are brought to Vancouver proper as we are not equipped to handle them here. ESPECIALLY if they are a forensic and not a medical autopsy.
Aside from the little details I noticed that, honestly, if I didn't know any better I'd have shrugged off, this was a fairly well-written, solid Noir novel. The ending was nice and dark, which I loved, though the author didn't really elaborate too much on whether Mike had uncovered a serial killer or just a one-off situation, which I'd have liked to know more about. I think this is Wiebe's first novel, and it'll be interesting to see what he follows up with, especially if it's in the same genre.
June 10, 2016
Winner of the 2012 Unhanged Arthur Award, Sam Wiebe delivers a shockingly gritty, moving crime novel, “Last of the Independents.”
Vancouver-based private investigator Michael Drayton, 29, specializes in missing persons. When Drayton’s most recent client, Clifford Szabo, approaches him about Szabo’s missing son, Django James, Drayton is uncertain about taking the local junk merchant’s case.
Szabo tells Drayton that on the day he visited a pawn shop, leaving Django inside the running car, unknown assailants kidnapped Django. After listening to Szabo’s fishy story, Drayton finally accepts the man’s offer and sets out to find the young boy.
As Drayton investigates Django’s disappearance around town, Drayton learns immediately that this is not going to be an easy mission. He searches for answers by talking to a psychic, car thieves and drug addicts. The list of people with whom Drayton speaks supplies him with bad leads and steers Drayton down dead-end streets. With no hope for finding the junk merchant’s son, the investigation takes a sharp turn, and Drayton is propelled into a peculiar case involving a necrophile and a funeral home.
Delving deeper into the case only raises the stakes, and Drayton finds himself traveling along sometimes-deadly streets to uncover the truth behind the boy’s disappearance.
Wildly entertaining, emotionally haunting and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, “Last of the Independents” is a knockout debut performance by a promising new talent.
Vancouver-based private investigator Michael Drayton, 29, specializes in missing persons. When Drayton’s most recent client, Clifford Szabo, approaches him about Szabo’s missing son, Django James, Drayton is uncertain about taking the local junk merchant’s case.
Szabo tells Drayton that on the day he visited a pawn shop, leaving Django inside the running car, unknown assailants kidnapped Django. After listening to Szabo’s fishy story, Drayton finally accepts the man’s offer and sets out to find the young boy.
As Drayton investigates Django’s disappearance around town, Drayton learns immediately that this is not going to be an easy mission. He searches for answers by talking to a psychic, car thieves and drug addicts. The list of people with whom Drayton speaks supplies him with bad leads and steers Drayton down dead-end streets. With no hope for finding the junk merchant’s son, the investigation takes a sharp turn, and Drayton is propelled into a peculiar case involving a necrophile and a funeral home.
Delving deeper into the case only raises the stakes, and Drayton finds himself traveling along sometimes-deadly streets to uncover the truth behind the boy’s disappearance.
Wildly entertaining, emotionally haunting and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, “Last of the Independents” is a knockout debut performance by a promising new talent.
November 29, 2014
A pleasure to read, with strong plot and characterization. It likes to call back to old noir tropes without actually treading on too much familiar ground. In a way, I found it stepped away from the noir genre to make something of its own. The main character, Mike Drayton, I would classify hardly as hardboiled, bordering on softboiled at times, though this, I feel, is just how I would picture a Canadian Lit interpretation of noir. Overall, I'd say this book is definitely worth the read.
February 8, 2015
Once you read the opening lines of Sam Wiebe’s smart debut novel, Last of the Independents, there’s no turning back. You’re in it to the end. Sam Wiebe brings a new voice to the noir genre; often dark, but with laugh out loud humor and characters that stay with you well after you finish reading. You don’t have to be a fan of crime fiction to love this book. It’s a definite must read.
December 9, 2014
Funny and engaging, a great read. I don't often read crime fiction, but I really enjoyed this book and couldn't put this book down! Interesting characters and well-paced plot. It also really captures the feel of the pacific north-west. Highly recommended.
March 22, 2014
Really enjoyed this book. A grate mystery and a real page turner. Shame I was unable to give it five stars if I could would give it ten.
November 2, 2014
An excellent outing by a new crime writer in Vancouver! Gritty, yet appropriately light in the right places. Noir, Vancouver version. Loved it!
December 7, 2014
Hard to put down modern day noir thriller set in Vancouver. Great read! Look forward to more from this author.
May 1, 2015
A definite page turner! The setting and characters absorb the reader... And the ending was fantastic! (Do not want to give anything away!) Can't wait to read what this author does next!
April 10, 2017
Entertaining, fresh take on the noir genre, with clear prose, vivid characters and a realistic Vancouver setting.
February 10, 2017
I forced myself to finish this book. The overwhelming number of errors made it incredibly challenging to finish. Here are a couple of the most glaring ones.
- The "berets in her black hair" instead of "barrettes" (one is a hat, one is a hair clip).
- Saying Walnut Grove is part of Fort Langley (Both are part of the Township of Langley)
- "She was wearing a checkered skirt with a leotard below that, and a zipped-up bomber jacket that concealed her top." (How would you know she was wearing a leotard under her clothes if she was wearing a skirt and jacket? And why would she be wearing one -- is she going to gymnastics?)
- "When I opened my door it brushed a thick pile of wet leaves away from the curb. " (If you're getting out of the driver's side door you can't be next to the curb.)
- "a small town north of Nanaimo called Prosper's Point" (doesn't exist - why make up a town when this is supposed to have a local Vancouver feel)
- Why does everyone have a handgun? (While I get that criminals have guns, several non-criminal characters also possess handguns... This is Canada...)
- "held my Glock 31....the automatic felt like a toy" (this gun is a semi-automatic not automatic)
- repeated use of the word "shylock" by different characters (Perhaps not an error, but this derogatory term makes no sense in the context it is used - character described is Spanish - which makes the use of this offensive word completely unnecessary)
On top of this there are grammatical errors and typos throughout.
It is really challenging to immerse yourself in a book when there are so many errors. It feels like I read the rough draft because the author/editor couldn't be bothered to edit and write a good copy. I resent the lack of care put into this book.
- The "berets in her black hair" instead of "barrettes" (one is a hat, one is a hair clip).
- Saying Walnut Grove is part of Fort Langley (Both are part of the Township of Langley)
- "She was wearing a checkered skirt with a leotard below that, and a zipped-up bomber jacket that concealed her top." (How would you know she was wearing a leotard under her clothes if she was wearing a skirt and jacket? And why would she be wearing one -- is she going to gymnastics?)
- "When I opened my door it brushed a thick pile of wet leaves away from the curb. " (If you're getting out of the driver's side door you can't be next to the curb.)
- "a small town north of Nanaimo called Prosper's Point" (doesn't exist - why make up a town when this is supposed to have a local Vancouver feel)
- Why does everyone have a handgun? (While I get that criminals have guns, several non-criminal characters also possess handguns... This is Canada...)
- "held my Glock 31....the automatic felt like a toy" (this gun is a semi-automatic not automatic)
- repeated use of the word "shylock" by different characters (Perhaps not an error, but this derogatory term makes no sense in the context it is used - character described is Spanish - which makes the use of this offensive word completely unnecessary)
On top of this there are grammatical errors and typos throughout.
It is really challenging to immerse yourself in a book when there are so many errors. It feels like I read the rough draft because the author/editor couldn't be bothered to edit and write a good copy. I resent the lack of care put into this book.
November 9, 2014
Very, very good. I loved all the local places and there were some conversations between characters where I snorted out loud with laughter. Really enjoyable.
I do wish I hadn't read that epilogue though. That's going to stick with me for a long time.
I do wish I hadn't read that epilogue though. That's going to stick with me for a long time.
April 18, 2018
A fresh and enjoyable read. Always compelling, some times funny, some times hard-breaking, with a strong dash of realism and plenty of interesting characters and situations to carry the reader to the end. A great PI story and noir-style mystery. Well done!
October 23, 2014
Excellent debut. Sam Wiebe updates Sam Spade.
June 12, 2017
The Last of the Independents is like a really good curry. I loved it, but others may find it too spicy.
January 19, 2019
Loved it!
February 17, 2014
A multi layered thriller that will keep you racing through the pages.intense&chilling.
December 23, 2015
Received a copy of Last of the Independents by Sam Wiebe through the First Reads Giveaway program in exchange for an honest review
A man born into a family that thrives on fighting a cities crimes and injustices has taken his conservative disposition and has transformed it into a more modern day, millennial approach to policing.Ex-Vancouver police detective Michael Drayton has decided to open up his own private investigation agency in hopes of staying in the game while shirking the bureaucratic burdens and red tape that come with the territory. Mike has said it himself that he hates authority even though he used to be a person of that ilk, he needs the freedom to go away at any time for a refresher without being reprimanded by a superior. Mike was at his most comfortable when he was bending the rules in order to obtain a confession from supposed criminals or getting justice for clients and their respective families. Hastings Investigation Services is located in an office he rented and has established a firm he opened in Vancouver that specializes in missing persons, but by all accounts in this book he is willing to take on the most vile of cases. Being a more action-oriented person with an old-fashioned approach to investigation he is not naive to the fact that he needs more new-age and modern support in order to provide a better service for his clients.
Mike has hired on a college student Katherine Hough on a "come in when your available basis" to provide clerical work, database investigation, and social media expertise. She is a closet feminist and is angered by the antiquated notion that she is a secretary, so for her sake Mike refers to her as a junior partner of the agency, which meets her approval. The last member of the team is Ben Loeb. About two and a half years ago Mike was hired to work on a missing persons case of a little nine-year-old girl named Cynthia. The problem was that Cynthia went missing five years ago. Mike didn't dismiss the idea of him handling the case, but made no bones about it with the family that the success rate of finding Cynthia was slim and none. Ben is Cynthia's brother and with their mother Mrs.Loeb, Mike has worked exhaustively to this day in trying to find an answer for this cold case. Over the course of the thirty months Mike has been on the case, Ben has spent a lot of time at the office with Mike. Ben was drawn to the office as a means to stay close to his sister, connect with her spirit wherever it may be, or even as a "Fortress of Solitude" during the chaos that the day-to-day could bring. During this time Ben has become a celebrated video game writer and has used his expertise into helping Mike with anything he can provide of service, not to mention his supreme acting skills. In my opinion Ben deserved some more attention in the book. He was an underrated character that brought an interesting perspective to the story. He was a gaming and film nerd, that was physically on the heavy side. He provided some comic relief and was able to apply a learned stoicism in the face of imminent death. He was a good student that didn't fit the description of a private investigator but learned from examples in his experiences with Mike.
The story centers on a twelve-year-old child named Django James Szabo who recently went missing outside of a downtown pawn shop. His father Cliff Szabo is a professional seller of junk goods, but one man's junk is another person's treasure. Cliff would take his son out of school once a month to give him a lesson in the real world. During one of these impromptu take your child to work day's, Cliff's car with his son in it vanished out of thin air. Some believe he was abducted, some people believe he drove away to get away from his father, some believe it was a carjacking gone wrong. Mike is hired on to continue the investigation, but he soon realizes that there are a lot of chefs in the kitchen, and he will have to work with the people he was desperately trying to get away from.
With my experiences reading books in the noir genre, Michael Drayton shares some common characteristics with some of my favourites. Some characteristics I find are too hardened by life's injustices or are too hurt to have trust in others. Mike lives on the lighter side of the extreme. He prefers to be a lone wolf that answers to no one but his paying clients, he is charitable with his time and money to the impoverished, he is a dog lover that will go the extra mile to demonstrate it, he has a short-fuse, he is a connoisseur of older music ignorant to what's in the Top40, he is unforgiving when crossed, and lives a relatively clean life... In the end I found him to be a tried, tested, and true noir investgator. This book will fit comfortably with the other noir novels that are currently taking up residence on your bookshelves. The author does a tremendous job in letting the reader experience the vast beauty as well as the unseemly aspects that Vancouver has to offer. My main problem with this novel was that it didn't stand out from the crowd it merely just fit in.
"One of my grandpa's favorite sayings: 'When you've only got a hammer you treat every problem as a nail.' Sometimes your options aren't limited by your tools so much as by the mindset you bring to them. But that doesn't mean that mindset is necessarily wrong. Sometimes the problem really does call for a big tucking hammer blow."
A man born into a family that thrives on fighting a cities crimes and injustices has taken his conservative disposition and has transformed it into a more modern day, millennial approach to policing.Ex-Vancouver police detective Michael Drayton has decided to open up his own private investigation agency in hopes of staying in the game while shirking the bureaucratic burdens and red tape that come with the territory. Mike has said it himself that he hates authority even though he used to be a person of that ilk, he needs the freedom to go away at any time for a refresher without being reprimanded by a superior. Mike was at his most comfortable when he was bending the rules in order to obtain a confession from supposed criminals or getting justice for clients and their respective families. Hastings Investigation Services is located in an office he rented and has established a firm he opened in Vancouver that specializes in missing persons, but by all accounts in this book he is willing to take on the most vile of cases. Being a more action-oriented person with an old-fashioned approach to investigation he is not naive to the fact that he needs more new-age and modern support in order to provide a better service for his clients.
Mike has hired on a college student Katherine Hough on a "come in when your available basis" to provide clerical work, database investigation, and social media expertise. She is a closet feminist and is angered by the antiquated notion that she is a secretary, so for her sake Mike refers to her as a junior partner of the agency, which meets her approval. The last member of the team is Ben Loeb. About two and a half years ago Mike was hired to work on a missing persons case of a little nine-year-old girl named Cynthia. The problem was that Cynthia went missing five years ago. Mike didn't dismiss the idea of him handling the case, but made no bones about it with the family that the success rate of finding Cynthia was slim and none. Ben is Cynthia's brother and with their mother Mrs.Loeb, Mike has worked exhaustively to this day in trying to find an answer for this cold case. Over the course of the thirty months Mike has been on the case, Ben has spent a lot of time at the office with Mike. Ben was drawn to the office as a means to stay close to his sister, connect with her spirit wherever it may be, or even as a "Fortress of Solitude" during the chaos that the day-to-day could bring. During this time Ben has become a celebrated video game writer and has used his expertise into helping Mike with anything he can provide of service, not to mention his supreme acting skills. In my opinion Ben deserved some more attention in the book. He was an underrated character that brought an interesting perspective to the story. He was a gaming and film nerd, that was physically on the heavy side. He provided some comic relief and was able to apply a learned stoicism in the face of imminent death. He was a good student that didn't fit the description of a private investigator but learned from examples in his experiences with Mike.
" 'All right, but say we flip the polarity. What'd you rather be, horribly in debt or have everybody hate your guts?'
'I'm already in debt.'
'Say it was a choice between insurmountable, crushing poverty, and being as hated as Hitler.'
'Debt, probably. Least with a good name I can earn.'
'But that's my point,' Ben said. 'If you're the kind of person who doesn't care what they're famous for as long as they get moved to the head of the chow line, that's one thing. But if we're talking about reputation - people knowing your name stands for something, rather than just knowing your name - that's a fame that's worth something.'
The story centers on a twelve-year-old child named Django James Szabo who recently went missing outside of a downtown pawn shop. His father Cliff Szabo is a professional seller of junk goods, but one man's junk is another person's treasure. Cliff would take his son out of school once a month to give him a lesson in the real world. During one of these impromptu take your child to work day's, Cliff's car with his son in it vanished out of thin air. Some believe he was abducted, some people believe he drove away to get away from his father, some believe it was a carjacking gone wrong. Mike is hired on to continue the investigation, but he soon realizes that there are a lot of chefs in the kitchen, and he will have to work with the people he was desperately trying to get away from.
"Sometimes after seeing an ex you think, 'Thank God I dodged that bullet.' Sometimes it starts a pain in your guts because she looks so beautiful, so at peace. That wrenching of the innards is the knowledge that her happiness is predicated on not being with you. What I felt was a loss without longing. Sometimes you reread a favorite book, particularly one you treasured when you were young. You meet the same golden characters who utter the same witty banter and jump through the same startling and pity-evoking hoops. The book's brilliance hasn't diminished on rereading, but you are different. You've moved outside the circumference, and you know that as much as you may admire it, you will never recapture the feeling that the book was translating yourself to you as you read. So that even knowing it by heart, it feels strange. That was the feeling she evoked: we were beyond each other now, and contentedly so."
With my experiences reading books in the noir genre, Michael Drayton shares some common characteristics with some of my favourites. Some characteristics I find are too hardened by life's injustices or are too hurt to have trust in others. Mike lives on the lighter side of the extreme. He prefers to be a lone wolf that answers to no one but his paying clients, he is charitable with his time and money to the impoverished, he is a dog lover that will go the extra mile to demonstrate it, he has a short-fuse, he is a connoisseur of older music ignorant to what's in the Top40, he is unforgiving when crossed, and lives a relatively clean life... In the end I found him to be a tried, tested, and true noir investgator. This book will fit comfortably with the other noir novels that are currently taking up residence on your bookshelves. The author does a tremendous job in letting the reader experience the vast beauty as well as the unseemly aspects that Vancouver has to offer. My main problem with this novel was that it didn't stand out from the crowd it merely just fit in.
"Blindness from affection is still blindness."
April 25, 2022
Sam Wiebe is a very good author and Last of the Independents (2014) is a really good first novel. It's an old school P.I. tale taking place in modern Vancouver. The book starts off in P.I. Mike Drayton's crappy 2nd floor office, in a crappy building overlooking the dirty blvd. below while he interviews a father & son about a corpse desecration case in their funeral parlor place of business....sound old school enough for ya. Former cop P.I. Drayton doesn't like computers or cell phones, has a part-time secretary who doesn't like her job, and there's a hanger-on, Ben, a video game creator, self-made millionaire, who's sister had been kidnapped years before who hangs out at the office because he has nothing better to do. This team takes on three cases, the one at the funeral parlor, and two missing children cases, one being Ben's little sister. There's lot's of witty banter but when the action hits, boy is it violent. And the ending (no-spoilers) is as dark as any crime-fiction I've ever read. Take aways; too many groovy movie, actors, songs, and musicians associations...do we really need a Screaming Trees connection...annoying. Also, just past the half-way point is 20 pages dedicated to Halloween night partying & mayhem...I would have edited this portion out in a flash. But other than that Last of the Independents is flawlessly written, entertaining, and a page-turner. A solid recommendation from me...4 outta five stars-I'm looking forwarded to reading the first book of Sam Wiebe's Dave Wakeland series Invisible Dead very soon...
November 3, 2017
It really deserves at least a 3.5. For the first half of the book, I was rating it as a 5, but somewhere about the 3/4 mark, it could have used more editing. It was his first novel. Perhaps the "noir" part of Vancouver noir became a little over the top, at least for me.
The book is excellent for the descriptions and evocations of Vanvouver, the Lower Mainland, and Vanvouver Island, as well as mostly the genre. I'm not the greatest fan of some of the 'hard boiled' variety of mysteries.
I discovered about the 3/4 point that I had read it some time ago, as a few things came back to me as I read. However, there was much more of the book that felt new to me. The book does have an interesting plot, and a real variety of characters which mostly belong in the ensemble. This time I have it in my GR books, so I don't accidentally pick it up a 3rd time.
The book is excellent for the descriptions and evocations of Vanvouver, the Lower Mainland, and Vanvouver Island, as well as mostly the genre. I'm not the greatest fan of some of the 'hard boiled' variety of mysteries.
I discovered about the 3/4 point that I had read it some time ago, as a few things came back to me as I read. However, there was much more of the book that felt new to me. The book does have an interesting plot, and a real variety of characters which mostly belong in the ensemble. This time I have it in my GR books, so I don't accidentally pick it up a 3rd time.
August 20, 2023
Vancouver noir, indeed. Atmospheric, certainly. Michael Drayton is an independent private eye with a love of books (hence the many satisfying literary references throughout) whose cases often seem to revolve around missing people and in an odd way reflect his life where those around him have gone or are leaving. This is no maudlin story, Michael is true to his sense of ethics, he is clear eyed about his failings and his strengths, he is faithful to the ones he cares about whether friends, family or animal. The cases of the moment involve doings in a funeral parlour, and the disappearance of a 12 year old which the law has lost interest in. Michael takes on the case doggedly as the leads take him deeper and deeper into murky waters. The conclusion will bring a closure of sorts but no happy endings.
October 20, 2023
Oh hah..every once in a while..you read a book..lah lah lah..and whoops..where did that page come from?!! This book went from page 172 to it's facing page of 273. That's alright..made me pay attention. so there really is two pages of 273 in the book. fun.
Odd..story..funny bits..disturbing bits..nice to know the Vancouver and Vanc Island points of reference.
I am waiting for the next two Sam Wiebe books from the library now.
Odd..story..funny bits..disturbing bits..nice to know the Vancouver and Vanc Island points of reference.
I am waiting for the next two Sam Wiebe books from the library now.
January 13, 2019
Read Wiebe's second book and had to go back and read his first...filled in some information. Seems a little young for all his experience - not sure my kids at 29 would have the same street smarts - and knowing how to outsmart the dark side of society seemed a tad unreasonable. Dark and truthful look at child abductions. https://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/...
January 7, 2018
Wiebe is an excellent writer. No wasted words. Punchy dialogue. Funny and heart-wrenching. Characters that feel like real people. I was surprised by how bereft I felt at the end, betrayed. By Wiebe or Drayton, I'm not sure. Perhaps both.
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