For the past 12 years, Southern California-based author John Shannon has been quietly producing one of the finest series of contemporary crime novels that, sadly, few have heard about. Yet numerous reviewers and fellow writers of much higher-profile (Michael Connelly, George Pelecanos, James Sallis, etc.) have proclaimed his novels featuring the divorced, laid-off aerospace copywriter Jack Liffey as the most worthy successor to the tradition of Raymond Chandler and Ross MacDonald.
A professional “finder of missing children,” Liffey’s work takes him into the fascinating but less celebrated sections of Los Angeles and the surrounding areas. THE DEVILS OF BAKERSFIELD, the 10th in the series, is notable for a few significant departures. It is more immediate and intimate, in that the missing child here is Jack’s own 17-year-old daughter, Maeve. But it ends up being the most thought-provoking and suspenseful of the series, and worth a lot more than the continued devotion of his cult of readers.
Maeve — six weeks pregnant as a result of events in Shannon’s previous novel, THE DARK STREETS — and Jack drive north of L.A. in search of a campsite for some quality father-daughter time. But crowds celebrating some kind of harmonic convergence force them into nearby Bakersfield for the night. Unable to sleep, Maeve goes for a walk and is soon arrested for soliciting and drug possession.
After some desperate tail-chasing, Jack finds and rescues his daughter, but not before she makes fast friends with Toxie, a young local also locked up. And no sooner does Jack and Maeve return to their home in L.A. when Maeve sneaks out to rescue her new friend.
In the meantime, a baby is found murdered. Near the body is a note
suggesting the murder was the work of Satan worshippers. Pastor Dennis Kohlmeyer of the 10,000-member Olive Grove Evangelical Church quickly whips the Bakersfield faithful into a frenzy. A book-burning is staged, followed by the roundup and incarceration of all young local Goth kids, including, of course, Toxie and Maeve. And Toxie becomes the subject of an amateur exorcism.
Jack enlists the aid of his girlfriend Gloria, an L.A. cop, along with a few of the more open-minded locals to both find the murderer of the baby, and track down Maeve. Meanwhile, the locals are arming themselves for what Pastor Kohlmeyer is certain is a dress rehearsal of Armageddon.
Shannon is not likely to win many new fans from the Bakersfield area, especially with his peppering the narrative with several historical artifacts demonstrating the area’s history of intolerance and the conflicts of its Okie-immigrant population. And Shannon also takes full advantage of the thick, blinding fog that blankets the town at night, giving it an eerie, horror-film ambience. But a closer reading reveals those less prejudiced residents who recognize the violation of civil rights in the midst of the evangelical fury and try to re-establish order.
And as if all of this weren’t enough, there is a whole slew of moral ambiguities boiling thoughout the novel. Maeve can’t make up her mind about how to deal with her pregnancy; Kohlmeyer constantly calls his faith into question as he feels he is not worthy of the task ahead; and, as is often the case in this series, Jack himself struggles to define himself and find some sort of reassurance in his adjusting definitions.
A shifting series of publishers and a lack of mass-market paperback editions are among the main reasons why Shannon’s work continually goes from hardcover release to obscurity. But Pegasus Books, his current house, is valiantly trying to resolve this problem by bringing his earlier Liffey titles back into print in handsome trade editions, starting with THE CONCRETE RIVER and THE CRACKED EARTH, the first and second in the series.
But don’t put it off any longer. Get THE DEVILS OF BAKERSFIELD. You’ll soon be searching for the earlier titles. It’s high time this cult became part of the general public. —Alan Cranis
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
My library system has this on order and I’m looking forward to it. I’ve read the previous nine books in the series and think it’s absolutely the best private eye series going right now. Although not absolutely necessary, it’s really best to read the books in order because of the wonderful relationship that’s developed between Jack and Maeve over the course of the series. If you’ve missed these you’ve missed a real treat.
I agree, Michael. If those interested can find them, it would be to their advantage to read them in order. That’s why I’m so delighted to see the early titles back in print. So spread the word!
Thanks for covering this author. Sounds like fiction that’s right up my alley.
You say historical artifacts, and yet the notes provided in the book give very few actual sources. In fact they say that the “artifacts” were ‘adapted or reimagined’ what one might consider fancy words for made up. If they are adapted or reimagined from legitimate sources why are those sources not included. Mr. Shannon, obviously a Californian as stated in the short biography in the back of the book, has clearly never made it over then hill to Bakersfield, except to quickly write this book. Bakersfield does have a history of what every small town in America has a history of racial prejudice and the good ol’ boy mentality, but the Bakersfield of today bares little resemblance to the one painted in his book.
Sorry, Elizabeth, but Shannon has captured the feel of Bakersfield. Yes, it is slightly exaggerated, but basically accurate. As a former resident of Taft, and current resident of Bakersfield, yeah, he’s got it.