Author Michael Scott Cain has a grand old time recreating New York City of the late 1940s in the novel DAMON RUNYON’S BOYS, from Stark House Press. His method is a murder mystery and along the way Cain creates a central character that might be the star of a new mystery series.

The year is 1949. Newspaper reporter Damon Taylor has returned from the war and landed a job as lead reporter for New York City’s Crime Weekly. One evening the leader of a swing dance group is murdered in plain sight at the Savoy Ballroom. Taylor is assigned the story.

Taylor’s sources inform him that one of the five organized crime families might be involved in the murder. As he digs deeper, Taylor discovers that the murder may be tied to control of the fashion industry, and mob boss Frank Costello may be involved.

But then Taylor’s life is threatened more than once. Obviously someone would rather kill more people than allow Taylor to discover the murderer and the motive behind the murder.

Cain effectively portrays the settings and ambiance of post-War New York, with its flashy dress styles, vintage cars, and endless nightlife celebrated at nightclubs and bars throughout the city. The plot takes Taylor down actual streets and locations of the huge metropolis.

Cain further enhances the period by incorporating real-life figures with his fictional characters. Taylor recalls the reporting lessons he leaned from legendary newspaperman Damon Runyon. Walter Winchell’s dubious reputation as a reporter is featured prominently, and a young cub reporter named Truman Capote keeps digging up information that proves valuable to Taylor’s investigation.

Taylor, of course, is the character we get to know most closely. And while he has kept his dedication to never letting a news story rest until it is completely told, post-war Taylor now views his beloved city through much more cynical eyes.

Cain’s third-person prose style is energetic and engaging. At times, however, he stumbles over his reminders of the period, such as when he describes one character’s attempt to blow smoke rings as “a big a failure as the League of Nations” or when a recent model Cadillac is portrayed “as luxurious as one of those hotels Bugsy Siegel was building out in Las Vegas.” Fortunately these awkward moments are quickly dismissed as Taylor’s investigation becomes more complex – and more dangerous.

In his afterword, Cain acknowledges those actual figures and events he utilized for his story, as well as those he invented.

Taylor’s destiny is altered by the novel’s conclusion, but he could easily carry another mystery or two, if Cain so decides.

For the moment we can enjoy this introduction to Damon Taylor and the restoration of the bygone era that keeps Taylor pursuing the truth behind the headlines. —Alan Cranis

Get it at Amazon.