Customer Reviews

Sharks Never Sleep: A Novel Featuring the Black Mask Boys : Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Erle Stanley Gardner (Black Mask Mystery Series/William F. Nolan)

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The gimmick (Gardner, Dashiell Hammett, and Raymond Chandler solving a real mystery together) is entertaining enough, and Nolan eventually builds a enough of a plot to keep most readers going, but I must say I found the book a big disappointment. Despite the little lectures on California missions, the changing editorship of Black Mask magazine, and so forth -- and the pointless cameo appearance of cardboard cutouts labeled Mae West, John Barrymore, etc -- there is no sense at all of life in the '30s. At first I thought the flatfooted style was meant to be a comment on narrator Erle Stanley Gardner's writing, but at his worst Gardner wasn't this banal, cliche-ridden and tautological (again and again, a character's speech will be tagged with a clause summarizing its contents or explaining its already-obvious intention.) But okay, we don't always look for any kind of style in a certain kind of whodunit, and Nolan does deliver a decent mystery. What I couldn't stand -- I wouldn't even have finished the book if I hadn't been stuck in a hotel room with nothing else -- was the constant stream of anachronistic language. The whole point of this entertainment is that it takes place in the '30s, but again and again, the stock phraseology comes from the '70s or later. The Bing Crosbyesque character is "laid-back", someone keeps a "low profile", a celebrity funeral is a "media event" attended by "death freaks." Once would be an irritating but forgiveable slip-up, but when it keeps happening page after page, the carelessness of it becomes downright insulting.

In the series' third outing Nolan once again hits one out of the park, successfully evoking the spirit of bygone Hollywood glamor. Once again we have the Black Mask boys chewing up the scenery amid spectacular movie sets, Spanish-era estates and a heavy who will strongly remind them of Bing Crosby. But hidden amongst all this is a surprise: the story of an authentic California life. Erle Gardner of Perry Mason fame was born in Oroville, spent a year at Palo Alto High (Paly), defended the rights of Chinese in Oxnard and later moved to Ventura and then Hollywood. As a westerner at that time, Gardner was a bit less sophisticated than his counterparts Hammett and Chandler who hailed from the east coast and England respectively. At a 1997 mystery seminar I heard author Nolan wondering aloud just how to write a novel in the Gardner style, which in many ways is an absence of style really. Nolan needn't have worried. He pulls off this story about the return of a lost love just fine and, anyway, apart from the occasional special effect, his style matches that of only one writer anyway: Nolan. As it should be. It's true that the old saw "show me instead of telling me" can sometimes be applied, but Nolan has a lot of ground to cover and overall does so quite well.

This historical novel is set in Southern California of the 1930s and uses famous dead authors as its characters. The `Afterword' explains this story, set in a time most now living never knew. Nolan studied Erle Stanley Gardner's life to write Chapter 2. Gardner used his legal knowledge to write "Perry Mason", just as Dashiell Hammett used his private detective experiences for the "Continental Op" stories. The style of this story does not seem to match Gardner's novels. The title sounds like one of the novels of "A. A. Fair".

Amy had a Hollywood marriage: the image didn't match the reality (p.17). Could a harsh childhood create cruelty (p.18). Is the wife's story one-sided (p.19)? ["Perry Mason" knew better than to totally believe his clients.] Chapter 3 provides amusing scenes of a Hollywood back lot. Some chapters reminded me of "The Thin Man". Suddenly Amy dies (Chapter 6). She was poisoned (Chapter 7). But Amy's will named a new beneficiary, one who profits from her death - Erle Stanley Gardner (Chapter 8). [Nolan's assessment of Custer is ignorant and biased (Chapter 9).] Lawyer Gardner knew the condition of bail and the implication of flight (Chapter 10). They drove to San Felipe to meet Maria Sanchez, Thompson's first wife. Is there a scandal here (Chapter 12)? But Thompson is no longer a suspect in Amy's death (Chapter 13). There is a new suspect when a bloody knife is found in an unlocked truck (Chapter 15). This planted evidence makes Gardner a notorious criminal in the press (Chapter 16)!

Chapter 17 explains arranged marriages for the aristocracy: it keeps their landed wealth united. The marriages are often unhappy. Hollywood also has marriages whose aim is to preserve wealth and "star quality". Gardner and his friends decide to return to San Felipe to learn more (Chapter 18). Their search leads to a dead end (Chapter 19). Gardner finds a clue in Thompson's house (Chapter 20). Gardner will represent himself at his murder trial (Chapter 21). Dashiell Hammett brings the secret evidence into court, and this reveals the truth about the murders in a "Perry Mason" conclusion (Chapter 22)! But the ending seems a little too cute and contrived (Chapter 23).

This story about the 1930s does not seem to match the style of Gardner's writings. Gardner never used the word "prostitute" but a euphemism. Gardner then wrote about a "machine" not a brand name. Women then wore light wool or silk stockings. A dictaphone would be a new technology (but wax cylinders were invented by Edison in the 1880s). Gardner often used misidentification in his novels. Unmasking an imposter is always a dramatic event. The story of an unacknowledged son committing murders to gain an inheritance seems like a new twist for 1930s novels.