Customer Reviews

On Tenderness Express

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Jakubowski is well known as an editor and writer of both erotic and crime fiction (see the Fresh Blood anthologies), but this is his first full-length crime novel. That said, it oozes sex at every pore-not just the obligatory plain vanilla sex found in many thrillers, but rather all manner of fornication is rendered in very explicit detail (including anonymous bathhouse and extreme S&M torture scenes). Indeed, the sex somewhat overwhelms what little mystery there is. P.I. Martin is engaged by two clients to find different missing women. His story is alternated with that of Cornelia, a stripper/book-collector/hitwoman first introduced in the short story "Femme Fatale Blues" in Fresh Blood 2. This narrative construct guarantees their eventual meeting, dispelling some of the suspense. More unfortunately, the giant "twist" revealed in the final chapter is telegraphed far too obviously from the very beginning, and fails to surprise at all. Still, it's hard not to feel a little sympathy for all the lonely characters Jakubowski trots out in this rather bleak novel.

Maxim Jakubowski's first foray into the Private Eye Novel is a success. On Tenderness Express is a novel of a burnt out PI's quest to find two women...and finds trouble instead. On the trail of a missing (and valuable) book, Martin Jackson must travel the world in the search for two women, whose stories interconnect very interestingly. While on the trail, he crosses paths with the ellusive, sultry Cornelia; a hitwoman who has a thirst for books (and other things). This globetrotting jaunt is filled with sex and mystery as the main character does his all to fit within the confines of PI genres.

If you're looking for something new in regards to mystery fiction, this is not the book for you. But if you're looking for a book that evokes the muses of noir as well as a little (more like a LOT) of sensual delights, this is the book for you.