Brothers and sisters, I’m here to preach to you about the good book. Just give me that ol’ time religion … or maybe just three tales that will get you to jump and scream and shout. Who am I kidding? The last religious thing I still know is my Bar Mitzvah part.
THE BLACK MASS OF BROTHER SPRINGER by Charles Willeford – First published under the title of HONEY GAL, Willeford shines in a novel that takes no prisoners. Sam Springer is a writer who has one book published and is struggling with a second. He finally quits his day job since he sees no future and is sick of dealing with bosses. He figures this will be the kickstart he needs, but actually, it’s just a way for Sam to escape his loveless marriage.
He figures the best way to do this is to take a bus drive under the guise of researching an article about a closing church and the monks who lived there. Once there, he is persuaded by the abbot to become a preacher and move down to Jacksonville, Fla. The problem, of course, is Sam is not religious in the least. Plus, the new church he will be in charge of is all black.
This book was written in 1958 – a turbulent time, to say the least – and Willeford goes full force into the story, depicting the racism of the South and taking shots at religion all along the way, never mincing a word. We see as Sam slowly changes into a fire-and-brimstone-type preacher, especially after his first sermon quoting Kafka falls on deaf ears. The story moves into the desegregation of buses in Florida – which Sam makes his mission – and his ultimate downfall: a wife of one of the church trustees.
SPRINGER is a fantastic read, but for those expecting crime: not in this one. But for Willeford fans, this is a must-read, and a great introduction to a fantastic author.
SATURDAY THE RABBI WENT HUNGRY by Harry Kemelman – Sometimes a very good mystery suffers from age. This 1966 novel is a perfect example. It has nothing to do with the central mystery, but of some of the other things that happen in the story itself. The RABBI series deals with Judaism at a time when things were not as out in the open. Most of the book – and this is not a knock at all – deals with explaining certain customs and practices of the Jewish faith to the readers – in other words, to me, things that have been drilled into my head since I was a child. That bogged down it for me in a big way, but I can give it some slack.
On the night of Yom Kippur, a man is found dead in a garage from carbon monoxide poisoning. Isaac Hirsh is not what you would call a full-time religious person, pretty much lapsing in his beliefs, even marrying outside his faith – a big shock of the day in the community. Rabbi Small is contacted by Isaac’s widow, who wants her husband to be buried in a Jewish cemetery, which has incredibly strict rules.
Then there is the insurance company who is holding off payment, because a big bone of contention is that Issac might have committed suicide, which puts the rabbi on the investigation to prove it was murder. The mystery is really not that hard to figure out; it’s more about the rabbi dealing with his congregation, which becomes nothing but a huge headache – nothing new to folks who follow the series. Be forewarned: If you grew up Jewish and attended Sunday school, you get a refresher course forced upon you.
SO LONG AS YOU BOTH SHALL LIVE by Ed McBain – Right in the middle of the 87TH PRECINCT series is where this 1976 installment fits in, opening at the wedding of Bert Kling to his model girlfriend Augusta. It’s all packed with Kling’s cop pals and, of course, tons of photographers and models whom Augusta knows. Then she’s kidnapped from her honeymoon suite.
Who would be stupid enough to do something like that? That’s what propels the story along, as our favorite cops from the 87th go through various theories, with Kling’s record as a policeman being a driving force – be it a brother of a person Kling shot, or a just recently paroled criminal who swore revenge on him.
But actually, it’s a little easier than that. It just turns out to be a total psycho who kidnapped the girl for his own sick delusions. How they solve the case is extremely easy to figure out within the first chapters, but being McBain, it’s more about the procedure than the actual case. The story goes so fast, you’ll be done with the book in little more than an hour. This is not one of the strongest in the series, but is still an enjoyable read. The scary thing is how well this book could easily have been modernized, since the plot is extremely believable.
Next time: pretty maids all in a row. –Bruce Grossman
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF HARRY KEMELMAN:
• FRIDAY THE RABBI SLEPT LATE by Harry Kemelman
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF ED MCBAIN:
• 80 MILLION EYES by Ed McBain
• EVERY LITTLE CROOK AND NANNY by Evan Hunter
• THE GUTTER AND THE GRAVE by Ed McBain
• LEARNING TO KILL: STORIES by Ed McBain
• LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE DEAF MAN by Ed McBain
• THE PUSHER by Ed McBain
• SHOTGUN by Ed McBain
• TRANSGRESSIONS edited by Ed McBain
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF CHARLES WILLEFORD:
• PICK-UP by Charles Willeford
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Kudos to Black Lizard Press. I’ve read all of Willeford’s
stellar Hoke Mosely books. I should really get into his earlier works. Now I can.
If only they’d republish KISS YOUR ASS GOODBYE (according to wikipedia there was only 400 printed.) I remember borrowing it from a tiny, neighborhood library back in the early 90’s. I don’t remember much about the story except the main character sniffs a chick’s armpit. He also delivers a great quote about killing man which I can’t recount.
Whoa, I just dug this up:
http://www.miskatonic.org/rara-avis/biblio/willeford.html
Grimhaven* (1985) (never published; depressing sequel in which Hoke kills his two daughters and tries to kill his ex-wife and her new husband)
All these books sound really cool. I really like the first one. I will admit that I’m interested in the Rabbi one too. I was raised Christian, but have actually been studying Judaism.