Joe Gores is one
of those authors that sits in the tubs of the library, without having yet been
enjoyed. His first book – A Time of
Predators was published in 1969 and
won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel.
He had 9 other standalone novels published as well as
several collections of short stories, plus the DKA Files series of books.
Joe Gores died in 2011 at the age of 79.
There's a nice piece on him at The Thrilling Detective website.
Stakeout on Page
Street and other DKA files
Kirkus Reviews
This collection of the complete shorter works (1967–89)
featuring San Francisco's Daniel Kearny Agency, repo men (and women)
extraordinaire, demonstrates convincingly how the whole can be greater than the
sum of its parts. In fact, Gores's unusually detailed introduction and
headnotes root both the twelve individual stories and the private-eye
procedural genre they invented so firmly in the realities of his own work in
skip-tracing and auto repossession that the first two tales seem barely
fictionalized at all. But by the third story, with its briskly evoked carnival
setting and its unexpected sympathy for the fleeing embezzler, Gores has hit
his stride. Subsequent adventures of the DKA are all over the map. The perps
range from a vengeful gypsy to a Dominican nun, the vehicles the agency's
assigned to recover from a fire engine to a hearse, the moods from the
trancelike calm of"Beyond the Shadow" (a puzzle story that pays off
in a particularly handsome surprise) to the rollicking gaiety of"The
O'Bannon Blarney File." Yet each one contrives to mingle vivid
backgrounds, authentic procedural detail, the cleverness of the Kearny
regulars-maverick Larry Ballard, ex-boxer Bart Heslip, eternally sozzled Patrick
O'Bannon, brainy Giselle Marc-and soap-opera outtakes from the saga that's
continued from Dead Skip (1972) through Contract Null and Void (1996), with
another installment due later this year. Best of all, the DKA files remind you
that one reason detective stories are so much fun to read is because detective
work itself can be so much fun to do.
Cons, Scams and
Grifts
In San Francisco, Dan Kearny Associates raids a classic car
dealership, while in Los Angeles, a dying Gypsy fingers a Gypsy princess for
his murder. In Hong Kong, a rare treasure is stolen by oil tycoon Victor Hess,
and in Rome, Willem Van de Post plots with a powerful ally to get it back. The
intrigue continues when the Gypsies hire DKA to find their princess, and a
German baron contracts the firm to test defenses at Hess' mountain fortress. No
one is who they seem to be, but they all have one thing in common. They're all
scamming their way to Rome, where a spectacular con is about to explode with
deadly finality.
There's something about con artists and grifters, isn't there, Col? They can really make fascinating characters. And I do like the contexts for these stories. I'll be keen to know what you think of them when you get to them.
ReplyDeleteI do like those kinds of books, Margot. I have a few more books from him as I don't think he limited himself to writing about the same kinds of people all the time.
DeleteCol, I think some authors like Joe Gores don't make it to my neck of the woods but it's never too late to learn about them and their work.
ReplyDeletePrashant that's a shame, but understandable really I suppose. It's probably less of a problem now than in the past with the advent of digital publishing.
DeleteBlimey that 2nd one sounds spectacularly elaborate. I'm almost tempted - by its complexity, and by the gypsy princess.
ReplyDeleteWow - tempted by the gypsy princess. I think it's the 7th and last in the series, so I have the get to the other 6 before I can elaborate for you!
DeleteThose look fun. I've read a couple of his standalones, but I haven't come across the DKA books. If they're like the 8th Precinct . . .
ReplyDeleteOops: 87th, not 8th.
ReplyDeleteI haven't yet got to his standalones (or these) which is a pity. I think he won Edgars in 3 different categories, so he was obviously highly regarded and recognised. I do like the look of a lot of his stuff - not least Hammett.
DeleteI want both of those. I have been eying the top one lustfully for a while. But really first I want to get Dead Skip and Hammett (one of the standalones).
ReplyDeleteI found my copy of Hammett last evening, when sorting another 50 out. Dead Skip I have already located - tub 29! The covers on the two above are fantastic which is why I chose them.
DeleteI am very envious. I will look for those at the book sale (although I have looked every year for a while), and if I don't find them there, I will track them down online.
DeleteI don't think they are too expensive Tracy, or at least my copies weren't. Good luck - I hope they turn up for you.
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