Double Solitaire: A Novel

Quinn O’Farrell #1

by Craig Nova

A tantalizing LA novel for fans of Michael Connelly and James Ellroy."More than refurbished L.A. Noir. The scenes where Farrell visits with the patients [at UCLA Children's Hospital], canny judges of character and tuning forks for emotional truth, carry devastating weight, and Nova's smooth prose brings the roiling undercurrents to the surface. He's fashioned a series character well worth revisiting. " —The New York TimesQuinn Farrell is a modern-day fixer in Los Angeles — he cleans up other people’s messes. Rich people’s messes. For a lot of money. He’s so good that he’s become indispensable to Hollywood moguls and he’s managed to construct a working moral framework so that he can live with himself. That is until a new neighbor moves next door, Rose Marie, who works with terminally ill teens. Against all his survival instincts, Farrell falls in love with Rose Marie and then her uncanny patients, who shine a spotlight into his soul. When a client steps over the line and Farrell is hired to clean up after a reprehensible crime, his carefully constructed ethical house of cards comes crashing down. Double Solitaire is the first in a series of LA-based thrillers featuring Quinn Farrell,. As with all Nova’s deeply intuitive fiction, Farrell is an unforgettable living force in a setting that needs no fiction to be any weirder than it contemporary Hollywood.  

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller

237 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 7, 2021

Reviews

[Dianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rocky start to what sounds like a new series from an oldtimer. A new book hasn't been published since 2013, so it was exciting to read his latest novel. I have never read anything by this author, so I didn't have any expectations. I'm glad I did not have any. This way, I had nothing to be disappointed about with this book that tries too hard to be crime noir (for the sake of clarity -Noir fiction or roman noir). I happen to like my term better! LOL!

If you're as old as I am or happen to love crime movies from the 1940's, you may do as I did and imagine each character as an old-time actor or actress. It was disconcerting to think of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall or Katharine Hepburn in the rolls of Farrell and Rose Marie. I could plainly see Cary Grant as the evil yet sexy Terry Peregrine.

Now throw in some Russian hit-men/shake-down artists, and you have a heck of a mishmash going on.

While this book may not have been my cup of tea, this will be an enjoyable read for anyone into crime noir. However, I can't even see how this is going to turn into a series. At least not if the romance keeps playing out. But what do I know? I'm not the author, only the reader!

[Zeb Kantrowitz · Rating 2 out of 5]

After having read the 'blurb' for this book I was expecting 'the Third Man', instead I got a third string novel. Some parts of this book reads as if Burkowski tried to translate Kafka without a dictionary. The "plot" that runs thru the book is so banal and pedestrian that it could pass as the composition of a third grader.

This guy (Farrell) is supposed to be a Hollywood fixer, but can't fix himself a sandwich. The guy he is supposed to be protecting is a pediphile whose brother is a pediphile. Two girls who were involved with the brothers disappear and can't be found. He's also trying to prevent two other girls not to make a complaint to the papers in exchange for money and parts in a movie.

Farrell is having (or trying) or trying to have a relationship with a neighbor who works with terminally ill children. This is the only part of the book that is worth reading. But it reads like an episode of the "Donna Reed Show".

Do yourself and find an actual good book to read.

[Cathy Geha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Double Solitaire by Craig Nova
Quinn Farrell #1

This is a book that grew on me as I got to know Quinn better. At times I felt I had been dropped into the middle of fixer Farrell’s life without a prologue or epilogue provided and though the story did provide some tidbits about Farrell, I felt I needed to know more. Since this is the first in a new series, it is likely more will be provided with each book.

What I liked:
* That the main character, Quinn Farrell-Mr. Jones, was a bit of an enigma. Capable, cunning, able to see the long game, effective, possibly has a softer side that he keeps hidden most of the time.
* Rose Marie: neighbor to Farrell, works with terminal teenage cancer patients, had an unusual house guest (python), may provide balance-soft landing spot-moral anchor for Farrell.
* The possibilities for the series
* The location – I grew up in Los Angeles County, so it was familiar
* Wondering about many things and learning from looking up some terms
* Considering the good-evil aspects of some of the characters
* The way Farrell managed to “fix” things in the end
* That the story grew on me from wondering if I should finish it at all to being invested in the outcome
* That the characters in the story seemed multi-dimensional
* That as in real life, not everything ends up happily ever after for everyone
* Wondering what will happen in the next book

What I didn’t like:
* Knowing that though this is fiction, there is no doubt basis in fact for the story

Did I enjoy this book? Yes…by the end of it
Would I read more in this series? Yes, I believe I would

Thank you to NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing-Arcade Crimewise for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars

[Doug Yonce · Rating 3 out of 5]

The description of the book hooked me, but the actual story not as much. Good characters and setting,but the plot left something to be desired. Since this is the first in a series, I hope the bar is raised a bit in the next installment. I received an advanced digital copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and voluntarily provided an honest review..

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is generally the kind of book I love, but somehow this just didn’t grab me. A fixer working in Hollywood deals with coverups and murder, but he is changed by love. It’s a guymance with some excitement tossed in, just not enough to hook me.

Thank you Netgalley.

[Eden Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Visit JetBlackDragonfly (The Man Who Read Too Much) at www.edenthompson.ca/blog

Craig Nova is a great American writer (winner of a Guggenheim fellowship and the O. Henry Prize), he consistently delivers fine writing, yet his name is not widely known as Denis Johnson or Richard Ford. Through fourteen previous novels, he has moved from the East coast to the West, now venturing into Michael Connelly/James Ellroy territory with Double Solitaire, a California novel of movie stars and con games, the perfect setting for a crime mystery.

Quinn Farrell is a modern day fixer in L.A., cleaning up rich peoples messes, jaded but without judgement. His good client Braumberg is a top film producer with a lot of money riding on the product, tasking him to clean up after his hot new star Terry Peregrine, who has no sense and a taste for young girls.
The first girl refuses to leave the house without $20,000 hush money. Braumberg is not fazed, but before Farrell can return with the cash, Terry claims she came to her senses and took a bus home to Alaska. Maybe she'll send a postcard. Farrell knows Terry took the easy way to make the problem disappear, and begins searching the hills around his Mulholland home for the body.
Farrell is buying a business to explain his flow of money - Coin-A-Matic vending machines - which quickly attract low-life KGB thugs looking for shakedown money.
Soon there are two more girls refusing to leave Terry's house without a pay off, this time demanding small parts in the new film - with lines. The third, an English girl that also partied with them, has disappeared. Maybe she took the bus home too, to England.
Farrell finds these girls have a long history of extorion, but no one wants to involve the cops.

They all have the California disease, the belief money can buy your way out of fraud or into fame. There isn't much you can't get with cash. Braumberg is a con man himself, keeping the film clean until the opening weekend. Terry is a manufactured item, promoted and protected since working his way up from being a fluffer. Farrell is a lover of books and reading, has a romance with his neighbour, and is down to earth - unswayed by the twinkling lights down in the valley.
There is a solid Raymond Chandler vibe about it, a modern take on the private detective novel. Slightly too much time is spent driving in the desert, and with Rose Marie the neighbour, but all the threads come together in the end.
Quinn Farrell is good at his work, and I was excited to hear this was the start of a new series.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up on a whim -- it's the first in a projected series about Quinn Farrell, an LA loner who works as a fixer for a Hollywood producer, cleaning up various messes so that the show can go on. His backstory is studded with little nuggets (condescending father, teenage motorcycle thieving, college at Berkeley), but it's not enough to get any real sense of what paths in his life led to his morally dubious career. Perhaps the author is leaving that open for development in future books, but it left Farrell feeling kind of thin on the page for me.

The story here involves an up and coming movie star with a weakness for underage girls. When one of them threatens to call the cops if he doesn't provide some serious hush money, the star calls his producer, who calls Farrell, who arrives and starts trying to resolve the situation with the minimum of fuss. That plotline is all well and good and felt more or less plausible -- but when it happens a second time with the same actor, Farrell's suspicions are roused. Meanwhile, a cute new pediatric doctor just moved in next door to Farrell, and they manage to fall for each other more or less instantly, provoking him to be a better person.

If the plot mechanics are a little unsubtle, the scenes and human interactions are all well done. From Farrell's banter with the guy who runs his vending machine business, to the menacing Russian mobsters who come by for their cut, to his interactions with the woman next door and his clients -- it's all pretty good. Farrell's got a very slight edge to him, so it's not standard tough-guy stuff, but a little more interesting than that. Readers who enjoy the darker side of LA -- maybe fans of Michael Connelly, or Richard Lange, etc. might enjoy this. I'd probably give the next book in the series a shot, just to see if Farrell's backstory is fleshed out a bit more.

[Jean-Luc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Craig Nova is a wonderful wordsmith and I usually enjoy his novels but this time around something is definitely missing because I struggled to stay with the plot. An unconvincing story and lackluster characters made it a rather plodding experience. The only real winner was Los Angeles. A wonderful and faithful presence from start to finish. This is a first in a new series so hopefully the next installment will turn out to be more appealing. Not the best introduction to Nova's magnificent talent. A bit disappointing....

Many thanks to Netgalley and Arcade for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Being a fixer is no easy task. Farrell is good at his job, no question about that. But what happens when he suspects that the job is beyond a line he doesn't want to cross? Add to that the advice/demand from the dying children he visits in the cancer ward. They don't know what he's looking for, only that he is searching. Their advice? Do the right thing.

There are also representatives of the Russian mob--Farrell's own fault, really, for buying a vending machine company--who show up at some awkward times.

Finally, a bit of love, not only for the children, but also possibilities with the new neighbor next door.

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Give this one a chance. Farrell is a fixer in Hollywood who is at the moment struggling with Terry Peregrine, an actor who is a pedophile. Farrell has been trying to get the teen girls Peregrine engages with away from him but some of them disappear. I had issues with this part of the story but found the novel buoyed oddly, by the Russian bad guys and Farrell's nascent relationship with Rose Marie, who works with terminally ill teens. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. This might actually make a better movie.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Double Solitaire, the new novel by Craig Nova, delivers exactly what readers of Nova's earlier novels have come to expect: fascinating and multi-dimensional characters, high drama, superb writing. To say this book is a page-turner is an understatement. The plot revolves around a Hollywood actor and his penchant for young girls, a python, Russian gangsters, and a love story between the hard-boiled protagonist--a fixer of other people's problems--and his next door neighbor, a woman who cares for very ill children. Terrific book. Highly recommended.

[Don Gorman · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3). This is an interesting read. The physical descriptions of Los Angeles almost remind you of how James Lee Burke sets up Louisiana, they are so marvelously done. Our protagonist, Farrell, is one hell of an interesting guy. The story, however, moves at a weird pace with very little direction for us to grab on to. Things get identified and resolved, but it is almost all somewhat obfuscated as to what the real intent is. The quality of the writing is solid, not overwritten at all, and that makes this somewhat confusing book very easy to go through. Good stuff.

[Marianne Long · Rating 2 out of 5]

Left a Nasty Taste in My Mouth

This is the first book by this author I've read. I read a variety of genres, including thrillers, but I'm not sure why this one is selling so well. What hooked me into the purchase was the teaser line about the terminally sick children. The protagonist's meetings with them are the only good part of the book. The Kindle very high price must indicate this man has a string of previous best sellers. This book is tour through the seedy world of sexual abuse of 14 year old girls. Move on and make a better selection.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best kind of literate crime fiction. The perfect balance between a “literary” novel and a good detective thriller. Well written, beautiful imagery and excellent characterization blended with a great crime story starring , hopefully, Quinn Farrell a Hollywood “fixer.” In a case involving in a movie star, underage sex, murder and a whole lot more. I found the book very entertaining and would definitely get the next in the series. Highway reccomended.

[Ricki · Rating 1 out of 5]

Farrell is a "fixer" in Hollywood. He has lots of connections to get info with different cops he has "befriended"(bribed/rewarded). He does the right thing in the end but he is indirectly responsible for leaving a young girl with someone he knew to be sketchy.

The constant references to Kafkaesqe books and quotes is exhausting and adds nothing to the story. Its a thin story, a boring read and if this is the start of a new series, I'm out.

[Bob · Rating 2 out of 5]

Used to read this author back in the 80s and 90s. What's changed? Maybe it's because this is setting up a series but I didn't care about any of the primary characters and certainly not enough to try the next in the series...which there hasn't been yet. Maybe I'm not alone then.
His titles I think I liked back then were The Good Son, The Congressman's Daughter, Tornado Alley and Trombone. Oh well.

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quinn Farrell knows that Hollywood may be a dream factory , but those that work there live in a nightmare - underage sex, drugs, violence, and murder are the daily product of the rich and famous and its Quinn’s job to make sure their sins go unpunished. One day he decides to do the right thing. Will justice prevail? Read to find out.

[Jim Woehrle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid LA noir involving a fixer who cleans up messes left by Hollywood sleazeballs. Jordan Harper did it better; but this book still gets four stars thanks to 1) a nice subplot involving a children’s hospital and 2) a fantastic scene involving a vending machine, a raccoon, a python and a couple of Russian mobsters.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't know what to make of this book. At points, the prose was beautiful and poignant. At other times, it rambled. Sometimes the plot moved effortlessly. At other times, it was as jerky as a semi at a truck driving college.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

The protagonist is a “fixer”, cleaning up messes for prominent people in Hollywood until one of the problems is too terrible and he feels compelled to involve the police. First in a planned series.

[Patrick Schultheis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters were great and the plot was solid. The writing was a bit more flowery than I like.

[Sheldon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fixer with morals guides a resplendent revenge scam in this winning mystery. Can you figure out the puzzle. I failed. Enjoy!

[John McPhee · Rating 4 out of 5]

LA less confidential

An easy enjoyable read with a likable hero and a perfect result. Well worth putting in your summer beach reading pile.

[Herb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Offbeat original well drawn characters great dialogue lots of attitude enjoyable

[John Raspanti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Petered out a little at the end, but I still enjoyed "Solitaire"

[chambejd / Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh. It was barely alright.

[Glenn A. Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moderately entertaining but a bit hard to follow. I’ll likely pass on other books by this writer.

[Linda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Possibly the worst book I have read. And, the editor should hang their head in shame.

[Nicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure about this book. It had an interesting angle, modern day fixer, but would lose interest from time to time. The characters just didn't grab me.

[Tinowa Oreggio · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t move well. I did like the part with the kids in the hospital.