Customer Reviews

5th and Vanguard

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love this book.

A splash of Sunset Boulevard, a hint of drug-addled Nancy Drew, and a healthy dose of Chandler ferment into an intoxicating brew in Lee Adams' first novel, 5th and Vanguard. The story's heroine, Julie Page, struggles with personal demons, secret obsessions, and mind-numbing insomnia which, eventually, drive her into the night in search of inspiration. What she finds, though, is a tragic and enigmatic figure so compelling that Julie simply can't look away.

The pages slip easily by, and the characters pulse with depth and subtlety. The fictional town of Berle feels almost too familiar. Even so, you'll struggle with the difficult choices that face Julie as she hunts down her elusive muse.

Did I say that I love this book?

I think you will, too.

This novel is what might have happened if Tom Waits had a sex change and started writing mysteries. It feels haunted somehow.

There is a seaside town that started going slack decades before, and a number of characters I guess you could say the same about. Mostly they seem to be trying to undo a wrong turn they took somewhere, and to recapture something lost that was part dream, part youth, and part nostalgia; in other words, a fantasy. And they know it.

Of course, there is the MacGuffin. And the requisite search for those responsible and why. But really, the story is about a quest for something legitimate you can call your own; hope, perhaps. It is a pretty good page turner, too. Nice work

This book was a delightful surprise. While pegged as a mystery, it's really more a character-based journey, but with the crime stuff accenting it all. Very vivid characters, great dialogue, and a plot that's not too complicated but keeps you wondering. It's a lot of fun, as well as having some interesting insights about the creative process and the artistic personality. Echoes of Sunset Blvd., for sure, but in the world of music rather than film. Definitely recommended for anyone who is looking for a mystery but with a distinctive voice, setting and vibe.