Customer Reviews

Where the Dead Lay

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The debut novel of the Frank Behr series by David Levien - "City of the Sun" - was hands-down terrific, and I gave it a five star review last year. When I saw the second book of the series was out, I snapped it up in eager anticipation. Unfortunately, "Where the Dead Lay" fails to live up to that early promise, and a comparison of the two books is inevitable.

Whereas in "City" Behr was moody and introspective - somewhat like Dave Robicheaux - in "Dead" he just comes across as cranky and mean. Levien successfully enmeshed us in Behr's grief over his dead son in the first book, but barely even tries to do anything like that this time around. At the end of "City" Behr seems to have reached an accommodation with his grief, and at least a measure of redemption for his sense of guilt. But in "Dead" we pick up the character as if that has never happened. Behr's girlfriend Susan is pregnant with his child, he's unhappy about the fact, but there's not really any examination of why that's so. It's almost as if this entire side plot is an afterthought, and isn't dealt with meaningfully in any way... including a definitive resolution.

Worse yet, Behr's opponents in this work are a mélange of redneck boneheads without a lick of smarts among them, a trailer-trash family of wannabe crime lords focused on taking over the "pea-shake" market in Indianapolis, evidently a form of gambling similar to the numbers racket that's popular with the lower classes and immigrants. These venal hoods are nothing but dumb muscle, yet somehow have managed to carry on their activities without arousing any interest from the authorities at all. There's an almost incidental character who's a police lieutenant connected to the family through marriage, but this isn't developed in any meaningful way at all, especially as a justification for the authorities' ignorance of this family's activities.

I still intend to read the next Behr novel in hopes that Levien will be able to get back on track. But if it's no better than this one, that'll be it for me.

Stay tuned...

Frank Behr arrives at his friend, Aurello's martial arts studio and finds that he's been murdered. Frank surmises that it must have taken three men to overcome Aurello.

Something burns in Frank and he knows that it is the need to take revenge on the killers. As he begins searching for their identity, he's asked to look into the disappearance of two private investigators from one of the prestige agencies. At first he declines but his old boss, Capt. Pomeroy, gets him to reconsider with the possibility that it might help Frank get back onto the police force.

Frank is told that there are "pea-shake" houses where gambling takes place in low rent, condemned buildings. Someone has been attempting to take over this action and they are killing or beating the people who would be their competitors.

As the tension mounts, we follow Terry Schlegal and his three sons, together with a former con named Knute, as they plan to take over all of the pea-shake houses; according to Financial Gary, this would be worth tens of millions of dollars.

The novel moves with breakneck speed with plenty of action and violence. The author knows how to write a thriller and captures the reader's attention, not letting go until the final page.

I enjoyed the story and the protagonist, a mixture of strength, bravery and integrity with just the right amount of tenderness. The Schlegal family were well described villans, unique in their madness and combined immorality.

I took this book on an overseas bsuiness trip and didn't finish it. When I got home I read two more books before I got around to picking up this one again. I'm glad I did. While the first half marches in place the last part moves right along. The bad guys are a family of toothless trailer park juice heads (but their mom loves them). This isn't a ringing endorsement and there are a lot of better books to read but I actually got caught up in how the hero rounded up the bad guys in the end. The author laid the groundwork for having the hero become a PI and kind of Stone Barrington type "consultant" to the Indianapolic PD and a Kroll type high end PI firm. I'm not tempted but if you like the book more than me then feel free to give any follow-ups a try.

Other reviewers have covered the territory of those in the "disappointed" category like myself quite well. I'll just add a little. Levien is still a good writer and Frank Behr can be a compelling character but here he was just too unhappy and too mute to make it interesting for a full book. You find out your girlfriend that you love and live with is pregnant and you then don't call her or speak to here for 3 days or a week. That's too weird a reality to want to believe in or follow. Man up and talk. It's possible to be manly and a street fighter and still talk and be occasionally happy. Makes me yearn for Lucas Davenport. But don't quit. Sun City was really worthy.

Here's the thing: David Levien can write. There's passion and soulfulness and a lot of sorrow in his descriptions of how his private detective, Frank Behr, sees the world, and that alone sets Levien apart from most of the more famous mystery writers of the day. Levien appears to be writing because he needs to, not just 'cause he's got a multi-book contract to fill (success is not always good for a writer). "Where the Dead Lay" isn't nearly as potent as Levien's stunning first novel, "City of the Sun", but tonight it had me lingering at a coffee shop counter long after I'd finished my meal, and it's kept me up til 1:30 in the morning to finish. Tonight, Mr. Levien reminded me that there is no sweeter day than the one you've spent with a really good novel and for that I am most grateful.

This is one of the best crime novels I have read. I thought author David Levien's debut novel, City of the Sun, was good, but this is much better. It's about Frank Behr, former Indianapolis P.D. detective, who was wrongly booted off the force. Now he's a P.I. with a small, struggling practice.

The book opens when Behr finds the shotgunned body of his friend and Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor, Aurelio Santos. Behr vows to find the killer(s) on his own time.

A major private investigation agency hires him to find two missing operatives; seems the firm doesn't trust its own people to do the job. Indeed, the IPD pressures Behr to get involved; Behr is still respected by many on the force. Meanwhile, a brutal father, Terry Schlegel, uses his three sons (ages eighteen to twenty-two) as muscle in his attempt to corner the Indianapolis "pea shake" racket. The violent Schlegels are just a few of the lowlives that Levien weaves into the story.

Pea shake is an illegal lottery, apparently unique to Indianapolis, in which numbers are painted on plastic balls (or "peas"), shaken, and released from a container to determine the winners. It's played in "parlors" that are set up in houses and apartments scattered throughout the city, often in blighted neighborhoods. The players hang around, drink, and wait for an attractive young woman (that's part of it) to do the "shake." So, there's almost instant gratification or frustration. The players can bet anything from pocket change up to hundreds of dollars. It's not regulated, so there are many scams. Levien doesn't really look much at the game itself. I feel there's a lot of potential there.

There's plenty of action as the Santos/missing agents/Schlegel story lines converge. Behr comes off as a clean, honest man in a scummy, corrupt world. Behr has compassion, and he considers the impact of his deeds. Most of the other characters in the book are greedy, shallow, and amoral.

Behr is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu master and a gritty street fighter. He needs these skills to survive some tough battles, which Levien graphically describes.

Levien deftly looks at the seedy side of Indianapolis, a major city that has somehow flown under crime fiction radar.

Frank Behr is damaged and causing havoc. A wonderful thing for a reader. If only he could talk to the woman in his life. But that's secondary to grappling with a family of evil doers. You can learn about Brazilian jiu-jitsu. And have a good time.

This book was the first of this author that I have read. It was great from start to finish. It kept me guessing as to what would happen next. Excellent read.

This book was given to me by a friend and I had thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. Held my attention and I was sad to see it end. Great police/crime fighting novel. Buy it!!

A few years ago City of the Sun came out. I read it and was frankly quite impressed with how good it was. The author knows a lot about his stuff, and he writes authoritatively about crime and the city of Indianapolis, making it seem drab and dreary without being boring. This time around, as we start the book, private eye Frank Behr discovers that his martial arts instructor has been killed. Being the kind of guy he is, this throws him into a funk, and makes him want to find the killers and get them sent to jail or killed.

Not too far along into the investigation, someone tries to hire Behr for another case. This second case involves a pair of investigators, ex-cops, who work for a big investigative firm that has offices around the country. These two investigators have just vanished, not even cleaned out their rooms, and the firm wants them found. They don't want to put their own people on it for various reasons, and they're not keen on letting Behr look through their files, so he bows out and concentrates on finding who killed the martial arts guy.

The police step in, in the form of the guy who got Behr bounced off the police force years before. He pretty much insists that Behr take the case involving the missing detectives, using both the carrot and the stick. Part of the carrot is that he'll assist Behr by providing information about the killing of the martial arts instructor. Then things begin to get strange, as it begins to appear that the killings are all part of a takeover of illegal gambling in the city, with a weird, violent family at the heart of the whole thing.

I really liked this book, and I would recommend it to those who enjoy crime novels.