Fast Lane [Hardcover]

Dave Zeltserman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2004

When a young woman approaches Denver private eye Johnny Lane to find her birth parents, the last thing he expects is the path the case leads him down. FAST LANE is a harrowing novel where as the chasm between words and reality grow wider, past and present deeds unravel with deadly force.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Boston native Zeltserman takes the classic, first-person narrated private eye novel and steers it off in dark new directions... -- ThisWeek Newspapers

Hilarious in the darkest fashion, violent, bitter, psychotic and unputdownable... FAST LANE left me bruised, battered and exhilarated. -- Ken Bruen

This one's a noir keeper. -- Bill Crider

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Point Blank (September 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930997620
• ISBN-13: 978-1930997622
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,992,065 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dave Zeltserman is the Shamus award winning author of 'Julius Katz', and the Ellery Queen's Readers Choice Award winner for 'Archie's Been Framed'. His 'man out of prison' crime noir series features the novels Small Crimes, Pariah and Killer, with Small Crimes being selected by NPR as one of the five best crime novels of 2008 and by the Washington Post as one of the best novels of 2008, and Pariah selected by the Washington Post as one of the best novels of 2009. His novel The Caretaker of Lorne Field was short listed by the ALA for best horror novel of 2010 as well as being nominated for a Black Quill Award for best dark genre novel of the year. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Dave attended the University of Colorado in Boulder, and after graduating with a BS in Applied Math and Computer Science, returned back to the Boston area where he continues to reside with his wife, Judy. After spending 20 years developing network management software for several of the world's leading technology companies, he now splits his time between writing crime fiction and studying martial arts, where he holds a black belt in Kung Fu. His crime novels Outsourced and A Killer's Essence have both been optioned for film.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good, dark read, December 20, 2004

By 

Irish Girl - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fast Lane (Hardcover)

I read this book after reading and enjoying Ken Bruen's Blitz. This is great too. It's a tight, dark PI story that grabs your attention on page 1 and keeps it to the end of the last page.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars tough hitting, well put together story by Zeltserman, July 6, 2009

By 

clifford "akitonmyers" (Portland, OR, United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fast Lane (Hardcover)

Zeltserman has quickly become one of my favorite writers. He seems not to care what anyone else thinks if they dont agree with him. I like that because Zeltserman takes his indifference and with it, produces dark stories that will never find their way onto the new york times best seller list.

I have read several novels where the protagonist is not the best of people, and here, as with Zeltserman's other books, we are given just such a character to ponder. What makes the story so enjoyable to read, and kind of unique because I dont think I have ever encountered this as a plot device, is that you are wondering page by page if Johnny Lane is really so bad or if is nice deep down as Zeltserman occasionally hints at.

Johnny Lane is a PI, much loved in his community, and someone who gets the job done well... or maybe not. The beauty of reading a few of zeltserman's books back to back is that sometimes his character is heading straight to hell, and sometimes he is the re-incarnation of Saint Anthony. Your just never sure until the last page.

I would totally get this book if I were you. If your looking for a dark Jim Thompson style story. If your looking for good contemporary noir. If your looking for a down and dirty roll through some mud well told and held together with a strong plot, this book is for you.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A true noir read., April 6, 2005

By 

L. J. Roberts (Oakland, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fast Lane (Paperback)

This is a book for those who truly love noir; and I mean those fans of Jim Thompson and Quentin Tarantino. Although I don't number among those ranks, I could appreciate the quality of the writing and certainly found myself caught up in the story. However, personally, I was grateful the book was only 195 pages long. But if you are a Thompson / Tarantino fan, this book is probably for you.