Customer Reviews

The Big Kiss-Off of 1944

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I have read this book four times in the past two decades. My appreciation has grown with each reading.

Andrew Bergman, born in 1945, has fondly captured an earlier time. This book is a grand romp set in America when Dewey is seeking the Republican nomination to stop Roosevelt from gaining a fourth term.

Bergman's Jack Levine is the perfect 'retro-eye.' LeVine is bald and plump, a big guy with a big nose. He is not handsome, but he is witty; not slick, but he is smart. He has plenty of attitude, and his wise-cracks and social commentary hold up well when compared to the best of the earlier pulp writers and even Chandler himself. Levine smokes Luckys, drinks Blatz beer, listens to baseball on the radio, loves attending the fights, and hates to miss reading Dick Tracy. His Manhattan office has a moose head that he uses for a hat rack. The period details feel right.

President Roosevelt's re-election and the shape of a post-war world are at stake when the daughter of an affluent banker (and major backer of Republican Dewey) is being blackmailed. LeVine tracks the shenanigans and accompanying murders directly to FDR's staff. LeVine's job is to protect the reputation of his clients (the banker and his daughter). If the story were to become public, the election would be delivered to the Republicans - something LeVine wants to avoid.

This determined shamus fights to stay alive and goes nose-to-nose with some of the top power brokers in wartime America. The plot and repartee are intelligently crafted. The concluding chapters offer an action-filled chase that is picturesque and credible. The author delivers action and settings that are easily visualized.

This is an incredibly strong work that is sure to delight fans of earlier detective fiction. Of the three Jack LeVine mysteries to date, this is by far my favorite.