Customer Reviews

Small Crimes

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Many years ago, I interviewed the now late Robert Cormier, the author of young adult classics "The Chocolate War" and "I Am The Cheese." Cormier started his career writing adult fiction. Most of his early works focused on working-class French-Canadians struggling to find the American Dream.

After the success of his first book "Now and at the Hour" (1960), Cormier's publisher wanted him to write an epic on the French-Canadian experience. The publisher pictured a 1,000-page opus that would tell the story of French-Canadian family spanning generations. Cormier gave it a go, but he just couldn't make it work.

The canvas was too large. "I like working small," Cormier said. So instead of the epic, Cormier wrote "A Little Raw on Monday Mornings" (1963), the very personal story of a young French-Canadian woman struggling with an unwanted pregnancy.

My conversation with Cormier came to mind as I was reading Dave Zeltserman's crime novel "Small Crimes." You couldn't find two more disparate writers, but both novelists understand the power of a smaller stage. Small stories can produce big results and unveil universal truths.

That's the secret to Zeltserman's fascinating novel about small town corruption and the consequences that follow. Unlike many crime writers today addicted to glamorous, far-fetched shoot-outs, outrageously high-concept plots, and the superhero-like-antics of protagonists, Zeltserman mines the ordinary for the extraordinary.

So instead of a comic book, Zeltserman's readers get a tightly-wrought, character-driven neo-noir thriller that feels like it might be happening - right now. Zeltserman's writing in "Small Crimes" has been compared to Jim Thompson's and the assessment is dead-on (although Novelist Ed Gorman disagrees).

Thompson explored the lives of nihilistic losers on the fringe of society by expertly using first-person narrative. Every character in a Thompson novel is a flawed and damaged personality. Zeltserman's "Small Crimes" plays in that sandbox as well.

It starts with his complex protagonist Joe Denton, an ex-cop recently released from prison for horribly disfiguring the face of the local district attorney by stabbing him repeatedly with a letter opener. Denton is a two-bit loser living in a world of delusion. He's the unreliable narrator of "Small Crimes" and his view of the world is constantly being challenged by the reality of his situations and his interactions with the other characters.

Joe incorrectly thinks he's a changed man: he's ridden himself of his cocaine and gambling addictions and believes the slate is clean for him. That he can simply waltz back into the lives of his parents and wife and daughters and all will be forgiven. The problem with poor Joe is that he's white-washed just how much damage and destruction he wrought on his loved ones.

His mother can barely look at him. His father thinks he's a sociopath (which is likely true) and his wife has fled with their daughters and wants absolutely nothing to do with Joe - ever again. And this, believe it or not, is the least of Joe's problems.

At the heart of "Small Crimes" (how's that for an ironic title?) is mobster Manny Vassey. Vassey is dying of cancer and in talks with the DA Joe maimed to confess his crimes in order to get in heaven. Vassey has a truckload of information about Joe's crimes while a police officer. Vassey also has the local corrupt sheriff Dan Pleasant over the same barrel.

Pleasant gives Joe a simple choice: Kill either Vassey or the DA to end the investigation. If not, Joe gets a bullet in the head. This is the plot device the drives the action of "Small Crimes" - will Joe kill the mobster or the lawyer? Or will he come up with his own plan of action?

But the novel is really about character - about sin and redemption and the power of self-delusion. If you're a fan of crime fiction with some brains and sophistication (not to mention some slam-bang writing) behind it - don't miss "Small Crimes."

And keep an eye on this Dave Zeltserman guy: he's going places.

Why not read more "Literate Blather" at the Dark Party Review? Visit us at http://darkpartyreview.blogspot.com/.

What can I say about Small Crimes. This book was, beyond a doubt, absolutely brilliant. There is no way you can put this one down once you begin--you won't want to anyway, believe me.

Yes, there is an intriguing storyline with various contributing sub-plots all helping to fill in the total picture, but the strongest draw here is the characters. Forgive the redundance, but it is also the 'character' of the characters.

Noone is all good guy, but noone is exactly all bad guy either. Like us here in the real world, Zeltserman's characters are a real mix of both. He's got a real hero in Small Crimes though, and here's where it gets murky (as life often does) because, what constitutes a hero, really. If you're looking for someone who is always perfect, always on the side of right, always being truthful and honorable, then look elsewhere. The 'hero' in this story is as flawed as they come, but in my book, a hero just the same. I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that ultimately, it's what's in the heart that makes a hero. He may have sinned and failed and destroyed and a hundred other vile things, but he still believes and hopes there is some measure of salvation for him. It won't take too long and you too will be believing and hoping right along with him that there is a small place for him in the corner of somebody's Heaven.

You will adore Small Crimes and, like me, you will be anxiously awaiting Dave Zeltserman's next.

This is one terrific book by a great writer. A cop turned bad ruins the life of a local DA and goes to prison for the crime. He gets out 7 years later and is immediatley entangled in more nefarious deeds that could either give him freedom or send him back to prison for life. The plot is too delicious to give away here except to say that the story is modern noir at its best with great characters terrific prose and non-stop action. The ending is clever and totally believable. This is a book that you will not be able to put down. I look forward to more from Mr. Zeltserman in the future.

A delirious ride into the abyss that lurks inside all human beings and only a few brave authors dare set free. True noir.

I had never heard of Zeltserman before seeing this and his latest book Outsourced on the shelf. The blurbs on the back covers looked interesting so I decided to give him a go and am so glad I did. Small Crimes is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It works because not only is it a survival against the odds type thriller, but it also has a narrator who if you'd heard about what he did in real life, you'd be hoping he quickly gets removed from society, but the writing of this book is so well done that you do feel sort of sorry for him when his parents are treating him badly, and are hoping Joe Denton survives each attempt on his life and avoids being put back behind bars by other corrupt cops' plans. It's just such a well written book, you won't want to put it down once you've begun and won't forget about it for a while after either.

Basic plot of Small Crimes is a crooked cop who stabbed the local district attorney multiple times in the face and left him to burn to death in his office, which Joe had set alight to burn the evidence against him. Joe has now been released and should simply just move elsewhere and start afresh, but Joe doesn't know any other life than the small town of Bradley and naively believes he will be able to reconnect with his young daughters and maybe even his ex wife. However his wife has moved away and his parents tell him they haven't heard from her in years. The sheriff reminds Joe of all he's done for him while he's inside, he's not really grateful that Joe didn't tell of his and the other Bradley law enforcement's corrupt ways in return for a lighter sentence. He gives Joe the ultimatum that he needs to either finish the job on the DA, or murder Manny the local mafia boss who is dying in a hospital bed and is set to tell all to the DA in return for his own and his dim-witted thug son's souls. If Joe doesn't kill one of them, the Sherriff will have Joe killed. Of course Joe would be prime suspect for the DA's murder and how would he get away with killing Manny in a public hospital. Plus he has already ruined the DA's life by deforming him and wants to simply turn a new leaf and have a new life with his daughters.

I review crime and mystery books for a few established websites, and in all the years I've been buying books (so many thousands and thousands of books) off Amazon, this might just be the first time I've ever been compelled to post a review (here at Amazon). I read crime, mystery, noir, detective -- whatever you want to call it -- a lot. Constantly. About 95% of the books you read, even if you enjoy reading them, five books down the line you can't even remember what they were about. Then, every now and then someone new comes along like a Ken Bruen, or a Jo Nesbo, or a David Peace -- and just knocks you on your butt. I'm not only putting Dave Zeltserman ON my list of 10 or so "great" newish crime writers -- I'm putting him right up there near the top. He's one of those authors who, as soon as I finished his book, I immediately got ahold of everything else I could by him. I'm even trying to get an advanced reviewer copy of Killer, because I just can't wait.

And finally, here is the best thing I can say about this, or any, book -- I have literally purchased several (used) copies of "Small Crimes" to give away to people I respect. I just sent a copy to a guy who did me right on ebay. I even bought 2 copies for some of the other writers I work with -- who only read literary fiction. When I gave it to them, I said "read this, and you will understand every thing I love about crime fiction." And what higher praise can there be than that?

Dave Zeltserman rules. (Most) other crime writers drool.

The book gets credit for being unafraid to show us a bad guy, no redeeming features, and play it out. Grim and gritty, it makes the reader look for more by the same author.

Zeltserman is hands down an amazing writer. He accomplishes a fairly difficult feat by creating a protagonist you are both rooting for and at the same time are unsure weather or not to like.

The plot is engaging, a smart ex cop gets out of jail and we are given snippets of past history along with plot developments which push along the current scope of the novel. Together they mesh almost without hitting a wrong note.

I highly recommend this book. Dont want to give away any of the plot, or I would go into it more. Well worth reading.

Those who know Dave Zeltserman's writing, either through the now closed and very much missed Hardluck Stories e-zine (shut down due to Dave's increasing success as a novelist with "Pariah" due out in October and "Killer" out next January among other projects and a movie deal) or his novel work, know that Dave Zeltserman looks at things from a dark point of view. That certainly is the case here in "Small Crimes."

Former cop Joe Denton has spent the last seven years of his life in the county jail for a crime he most certainly did commit. Sentenced to sixteen to twenty-four years for arson, attempted murder, and maiming a district attorney strings were pulled to keep him at the local county jail. Released, Joe Denton will return home to Bradley, Vermont. He has lost his wife and daughters, a twelve year career in law enforcement, and has very limited prospects. Nobody in the area, including his parents whom he will be staying with at the start of his parole, wants him around.

Certainly not the maimed district attorney whose face was stabbed 13 times by Joe in an attack that has left Phil Coakley virtually unrecognizable as human. Dan Pleasant, Sheriff of Bradley County, doesn't want Joe around either because Joe could lead investigators to Dan's own corruption. Then there is Manny Vessey and his son who are the local mafia crime bosses and they don't want Joe around. While everyone involved, except for Phil, is graceful Joe kept his mouth shut during his incarceration, they don't trust him to continue to do so and his being around serves as a constant reminder of the past and those secrets.

Before he leaves town, and everyone has made it clear to him that he should, Sheriff Dan Pleasant wants Joe to complete one final job. Manny is dying in a local hospital because of terminal cancer. Phil Coakley visits every single day using the bible and salvation as leverage in a hope to get Manny to confess to all he knows. Manny isn't the hard edged man he once was and facing death closing in on him just might start talking. That could send everyone around, including Joe, to prison and worse. So, Sheriff Pleasant wants either Manny killed or Joe can finish the job on Phil and put him out of his misery. Killing either one solves the problem as the Sheriff is concerned and he doesn't care which one dies.

Joe cares and figures there has to be a way of solving the issue without doing more damage let alone killing anyone. Joe came out promising to keep to the straight and narrow for himself as well as an attempt to correct the past as best he could and get his family back. But, Sheriff Pleasant isn't the only one putting pressure on Joe Denton to go back on his plans and do what needs to be done by any means necessary. The problems rain down upon him and the pressure mounts as Joe fights to make things finally right.

As in "Fast Lane" and "Bad Thoughts" Dave Zeltserman takes a flawed narrator who could be anyone and puts him in an everyday situation that could fit most people. Then, he ratchets up the pressure on all involved. Like the author's other novels, this novel is primarily a character study of one man, who isn't totally aware of himself and his actions, coping as best as he can against a myriad of forces stacked against him. The question to the end is whether or not he can save anyone- including himself.

Those looking for cartoonish violence with plenty of rapid fire car chases and the like will be disappointed in this read. Those who prefer their books to be realistic and more cerebral will find much to like in a book that inevitably will draw comparisons with works written by other authors. And while those points of reference may be there along with other things that are subject to reader interpretation including the ending, there is no doubt that Dave Zeltserman has crafted a noir mystery thriller that pulls readers deep into a violent claustrophobic world while providing one heck of a good read.


Kevin R. Tipple (copyright)2009

The noir crime genre has never been satisfactorily defined, but most critics agree that there are certain touchpoints, which, when appearing together, signal to the reader that what they are reading is "noir." This Vermont-set story is so full of these noir elements that it's hard not to imagine the author sitting down with a checklist nearby as he outlined it. Morally flawed protagonist? Check. Redemption as theme? Check. Crooked authority figures? Check. Deadly female? Check x2. Stripper/Hooker with a heart of gold? Check. Small town claustrophobia? Check. Inescapability of the past? Check. And so on.

It's this latter touchpoint that drives the story (just as it does in countless classic and neo-noirs). Joe is a former cop just out of jail after a seven-year stretch for attempting to kill the local DA. He'd been taking bribes, coking up, and working on the side collecting for the local kingpin he was deep into gambling debt to, and the heat was on. Now he's lost his job, wife and two daughters, and the respect of his parents -- but his troubles are just beginning. It seems that the kingpin is lying in a hospital dying of the big C, and the same DA is trying to squeeze out a deathbed confession that will put Joe back behind bars forever. And one of Joe's fellow crooked cops is putting him in the poor position of murdering either the kingpin or the DA -- or else.

Joe spends the bulk of the book trying to get out from behind this 8-ball in a way that allows him to redeem himself. He's under the self-delusion that he's a changed man and can somehow now live a normal life. Of course, for the reader there are plenty of clues that this ain't gonna happen, and besides, if Joe had read his noir, he'd know that redemption isn't possible. Thus, most of the story unravels in rather predictable ways, with one or two useful coincidences thrown in. However, it does do a very good job at realistically portraying the damage Joe has done to his family -- an area where crime writers tend to succumb to their more sympathetic side. On the whole, it's a reasonably well-executed neo-noir, but without much to distinguish it from its many ancestors.