Customer Reviews

The Scent of Blood (Nathaniel Singer P.I.)

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Raymond Miller's P. I. novel, The Scent of Blood grabbed me by the throat with the first sentence: "She was a woman who had once been beautiful and would someday be beautiful again." That one sentence thrust me back into the crime-noir novels of old that have been missing from bookshelves for many years. Maybe it's just me, but I swear I heard Humphrey Bogart as the voice of Nathaniel Singer, P. I.

Like all good P. I. novels, it opens with a beautiful woman crying in a gumshoe's office and pleading for help. And the P.I., who's always in need of cash and is a soft touch for a pretty lady, takes the case.

The case involves the death of the celebrated pediatric cardiologist, Dr. Andrew Carpenter, whose work with embryonic cell research has caused quite a stir in the world's scientific community. The widow Carpenter doesn't believe that her husband was the victim of a hit-and-run on a Manhattan street. She's convinced that hubby was murdered and manages to convince Singer that there may be some unanswered questions.

Singer isn't just an ordinary gumshoe. He's an ex-poet who has a way with words and similes and a way of getting information and getting into trouble. He learns that Carpenter is not everything his reputation makes him out to be, and a fundamentalist group, the Party of God, has been sending him threatening messages.

Critic Lee Child described The Scent of Blood: "A fresh new take on a classic structure--like hearing a twelve-bar blues played by a great new talent."

We don't know the real name of this great new talent because Raymond Miller is a non de plume. I wish did, but more important, I wish the next case was solved and ready for publication.

Armchair Interviews says: If you loved the old-style crime noir, and just good writing, this is for you.

MR. MILLER, please please write another! i cannot wait any more.
this book is so great! i urge everyone to read it!