Giacomo's blog

Despite the great number of books published each year, I find it more and more difficult to discover new authors that I enjoy. I stumbled upon The Blackmail Club, by David Bishop, read the reviews, tried the sample and liked what I saw. I thought I’d give it a try.

The Blackmail Club is the kind of book that allowed me relax and fall into a good read. A few times I felt the characters were a little too familiar, as if I’d seen them before, but then Bishop would do something with them that set them apart from others. It was enough to keep me moving along. I didn’t race through this book. I didn’t have to turn the page to see what was happening next. But that’s okay. Sometimes the best books are the ones you enjoy one page at a time.

I have to admit I’m a sucker for films and books with a noir feel to them. Bishop’s book had liberal dashes of a “Sam Spade” type dialogue which gave this book a Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler feel to it, though set in modern times. Some people, especially if they’re not familiar with those stories, might not like that. I did. Often it made me smile, and a few times I laughed.

The plot is good. The characters solid and there is a distinct line between the good and bad guys in this book, and that’s not a bad thing. If you like your hard boiled mysteries served up with a dash of humor and a touch of old style noir, I would recommend The Blackmail Club. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.