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Mr. Menace
A criminal underworld. A gorgeous dame. A crime boss dealing in immortal souls. Mr. Menace is a supernatural noir experience you won't forget. When a wealthy and gorgeous woman asks P.I. Frank Orpheus to find her missing identity, he just can't say no—even if the case leads him into a criminal underworld more horrific than anything he ever imagined. . . Private detective Frank Orpheus, searching for a mysterious woman’s missing identity, finds himself entangled in a web of underworld characters far nastier than any he’s ever met, all of them puppets of a crime boss known only as Mr. Menace, a dark figure who traffics not just in drugs and booze, but—possibly—in souls. “ Mr. Menace is a masterpiece of atmosphere and suspense that will leave readers second-guessing their own realities.”—Bret R. Wright author of the Nate Jepson mystery series
256 pages, Paperback
Published October 12, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 17, 2020
One thing I can say about this book is that it is different. In many ways I’m not sure quite what to make of it.
It starts out not unlike a typical detective novel. A private investigator, Frank Orpheus, has a potential client come to his office with a need that is outside the realm of his typical cases, things like finding out if a spouse is cheating or someone is attempting to defraud their insurance company. In this case his new client wants him to figure out who she is, because she’s lost all memories. It’s like she woke up on the street with no idea of who she was or where she lived. Her clothes indicate she’s well-to-do and the pocketful of large bills she has to pay him indicate she’s not just a mentally ill homeless person, but the vibe he’s getting is strange. His secretary tries to convince him to not take the case, but he’s curious and, if we’re going to be totally honest, that he finds her attractive figures into his decision to take this on.
When this story is taking place isn’t obvious. Going in I assumed it was contemporary, but various anachronisms that popped up (things like landline phones and phone booths, taking pictures using film, or not using modern technology of any kind at any point where they’d obviously be used today) told me it was sometime in the distant (but not ancient) past, Sometime in at least the 70s or 80s, but conceivably decades earlier.
As the story goes on it gets stranger and stranger. Frank finds some of the answers he’s looking for, but what to do with that knowledge and figuring out how to get his client back to who she was mentally proves not so easy. As the story goes on it becomes darker and darker, and goes from what I’d consider a hardboiled or noir detective story into what might be termed supernatural and almost surely into the realm of horror. How everything resolves, and where our main characters, Frank, his secretary Cass, and our mysterious client, end up by the end is nowhere near what I’d have guessed as one strange twist after another led us down many different roads and extremely dark alleys to a strange finale.
**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **
It starts out not unlike a typical detective novel. A private investigator, Frank Orpheus, has a potential client come to his office with a need that is outside the realm of his typical cases, things like finding out if a spouse is cheating or someone is attempting to defraud their insurance company. In this case his new client wants him to figure out who she is, because she’s lost all memories. It’s like she woke up on the street with no idea of who she was or where she lived. Her clothes indicate she’s well-to-do and the pocketful of large bills she has to pay him indicate she’s not just a mentally ill homeless person, but the vibe he’s getting is strange. His secretary tries to convince him to not take the case, but he’s curious and, if we’re going to be totally honest, that he finds her attractive figures into his decision to take this on.
When this story is taking place isn’t obvious. Going in I assumed it was contemporary, but various anachronisms that popped up (things like landline phones and phone booths, taking pictures using film, or not using modern technology of any kind at any point where they’d obviously be used today) told me it was sometime in the distant (but not ancient) past, Sometime in at least the 70s or 80s, but conceivably decades earlier.
As the story goes on it gets stranger and stranger. Frank finds some of the answers he’s looking for, but what to do with that knowledge and figuring out how to get his client back to who she was mentally proves not so easy. As the story goes on it becomes darker and darker, and goes from what I’d consider a hardboiled or noir detective story into what might be termed supernatural and almost surely into the realm of horror. How everything resolves, and where our main characters, Frank, his secretary Cass, and our mysterious client, end up by the end is nowhere near what I’d have guessed as one strange twist after another led us down many different roads and extremely dark alleys to a strange finale.
**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **
August 3, 2024
Great, quick and pretty crisp read. Burns sprinkles references to classical Greek mythology throughout this blistering morality tale -- and then brings it home with a searing finish. Well worth the time if you're at all into noir. I loved it even though I'm more of an SFF than mystery reader.
The one critique I had, and the reason for the star off, is that the protagonist's hard boiled gumshoe stylings got a bit heavy-handed in places. All in good fun, but I thought a slightly lighter touch on the "I knew the dame was going to be trouble, but I ignored it and went in" shtick would have better served what was overall a very well-done morality play.
Overall, an excellent homage to both the dark detective genre leavened with a touch of the Classics... Bravo!
The one critique I had, and the reason for the star off, is that the protagonist's hard boiled gumshoe stylings got a bit heavy-handed in places. All in good fun, but I thought a slightly lighter touch on the "I knew the dame was going to be trouble, but I ignored it and went in" shtick would have better served what was overall a very well-done morality play.
Overall, an excellent homage to both the dark detective genre leavened with a touch of the Classics... Bravo!
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July 24, 2022"Damn near" the very definition of hard-boiled, filled with heavy handed symbolism from Greek Mythology, with imagery and metaphors to make even Edward Bulwer-Lytton blush.
Narrator's voice is well-selected, makes you want to chainsmoke a carton of cigarettes while standing on a dimly lit streetcorner.
Narrator's voice is well-selected, makes you want to chainsmoke a carton of cigarettes while standing on a dimly lit streetcorner.
March 16, 2022
This is how it looks like when you want to do a lot, reaching for allusions and metaphors and clever suggestions, doing a decent job in faking the 1930s pulp prose along the way, but not having quite the nous to achieve all that, you eventually settle for less. I can respect that.
March 27, 2021
I really would like to see this turned into a movie. Very good book deeply rooted in a film noir style but with a bunch of odd twists.
July 28, 2022
Wonderful atmospheric escape! Enjoyed the quite unexpected twist.
September 8, 2023
R. Michael Burns knows how to set a scene. His characters are well drawn, interesting and the investment is easy. Great storyline. For Raymond Chandler fans, this one's right up your alley.
June 22, 2024
Dark and creepy, this is a great read.
November 9, 2025
Page turner for sure. This investigation took so many turns my imagination could never have guessed
April 8, 2021
I really liked this book from the start. It was suspenseful and the story kept me interested. I wasn't sure exactly what was going on and it kept me questioning what I thought I knew.
But in the end, it all came crashing down. I have to be brutally honest when I say the ending was very underwhelming. I wanted so much more for the ending of this book, for the resolution of the story, but it just wasn't there. I do enjoy this author's writing style, and if you are into suspense thrillers, this is a nice read that doesn't take too long. Just be warned about the lackluster ending.
But in the end, it all came crashing down. I have to be brutally honest when I say the ending was very underwhelming. I wanted so much more for the ending of this book, for the resolution of the story, but it just wasn't there. I do enjoy this author's writing style, and if you are into suspense thrillers, this is a nice read that doesn't take too long. Just be warned about the lackluster ending.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews