Summer's End

by Carl Purcell

Jonathan King is an aging Seattle private detective looking for a little rest and relaxation in the country. He wasn't looking for love, but on his first night in the small farming town of Madison he meets Summer Bell, the first woman to make Jonathan's heart beat in an age. But the next morning, Summer is found dead in her home.

An outsider and the last person seen with Summer alive, Jonathan is the prime suspect. Jonathan knows he can prove his innocence, but can he triumph over fear and corruption while dodging a hot headed deputy sheriff and a hard line FBI agent? With nothing but his cunning and the shirt on his back, time is running out for Jonathan to bring Summer's killer to justice and clear his name.

Summer's End is a novella length mystery from Australian author Carl Purcell, co-writer of the critically acclaimed Australian comic series "Winter City."

61 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 5, 2016

About the author

Carl Purcell is an Australian, Sydney based author. He has written two contemporary fantasy novels and is the co-writer of the popular Australian comic series Winter City, which began in 2012 and met with critical acclaim. His work has also been featured in the Australian speculative fiction magazine Aurealis.

More about Carl, his work and his endlessly rambling thoughts can be found on his blog, his twitter, or on Facebook.

Reviews

[Bobby Underwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summer’s End is a novelette by Australian Carl Purcell. I ran across this author because of Alyce Caswell, another Australian writer, after reading her short story, The Eyes of Charon; a discovery I really loved. Summer’s End also appeared to be in my wheelhouse. It was, but not quite in the way I was viewing it initially, which I’ll get to in a bit.

Jonathan King is a jaded PI from the big city. He’s on vacation — a suggestion from his cop buddy Quinton in the big nasty city — when he runs across the refreshingly innocent and untarnished as yet, Summer Bell, who is waitressing in the small town of Madison, Washington.

“It was the kind of town they make TV dramas about, a place where nothing happens that’s so bad it can’t be wrapped up in twenty minutes plus commercial breaks.”

Jaded Jon sees in Summer something so good he can barely recognize it, and has a wistful yet chaste few moments with her when he walks her home from the town diner —

“Her laugh made me smile. A real smile. The kind of smile that gets harder as you get older.”

No relationship has formed, just a wistful appreciation for an innocence the hardboiled PI has lost. Then she’s brutally murdered, and the town newbie, Jon, is of course the only real suspect. Enter a wildly over the top and overzealous blonde female deputy, a female town mayor who for no apparent reason wants to help Jon get out of the jam, an FBI agent whose brother is about the size of Rhode Island, and you have the makings for a hardboiled short story that could be an homage to that type of pulp, especially my boy Mickey, with whom I’m proud to share a birthday. And that’s what initially put me on the wrong set of tracks.

There is what borders on an overload of hardboiled similes in Summer’s End, most of which however are enjoyable. There is also some occasional nice description which fits the aforementioned pulp detective ambiance —

“The boarding house was a narrow, two-story, white weatherboard deal with high roofs and a pointed attic window. A long time ago, somebody had the bright idea to paint the front door fire engine red but the years had faded the color to something like dried blood.”

But a load of self-deprecation on our protagonist’s part, some inexplicable behavior from those around King, and over the top actions began moving this more toward Richard Prather’s Shell Scott territory. Yet it wasn’t as humorous as Prather’s Scott, nor was it as brutal or filled with comic-book violence as Spillane’s Hammer. That’s okay, this is Purcell’s story, so it doesn’t have to be just like their stuff. But it had seemingly been a kind of homage up to that point. At least in my mind…

What bothered me more was my not feeling more connected to Summer Belle, who, had those brief scenes been painted with a bit more sensitivity, would have hung over the narrative like an early morning San Francisco fog. Sure, we get Jon’s occasional thoughts about her, but the reader doesn’t ‘feel’ the connection the way we want to in order to be invested.

I was maybe 1/3 of the way in when it suddenly hit me that Summer’s End read more like one of Robert Bellem’s Dan Turner stories, sans the racy dames, than mainstream hardboiled detective pulp of old. After that, I just went with it. I no longer looked for anything ‘real’ to connect with, and just enjoyed the ride. It was easy because the writing by Carl Purcell is very good. The conclusion to Summer’s End wraps up the plot nicely, but it did leave me unfulfilled in regard to Mayor Tina. I could have done with just a little spice to flavor this tale.

You read and enjoy Dan Turner stories like you do a comic book pulp detective story, and that’s the best way to enjoy this one from Carl Purcell too. If those few brief scenes between Summer and Jon had been painted with a bit more care, so that I really felt a connection to her, and had Tina’s motivations been a bit more raw — even mildly racy — I think this bauble would have been a five-star for me.

I did enjoy Summer’s End, however, once I’d settled in with its style. My only caveat is that for my taste, I could have done with a tad more heart, just a little spice, and a bit less form. A solid four stars, and recommended for those who like a quick hardboiled read.

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quick, entertaining read you can blast through on the bus to work. I found it very well written and things unfolded at a good pace - this author seems to be going from strength to strength. I became quite fond of the protagonist in Summer's End so I hope this isn't the last we see of Jonathan King.

Keep reading after the conclusion for an amusing tale about how the story came to be.