Artemus Black. Perennially down-on-his-luck Hollywood PI whose Bogie fixation is as dated as his wardrobe. With an assistant who mocks him relentlessly, an obese cat that loathes him, a romantic life that’s deader than Elvis, money problems, booze, nicotine, and anger management issues, how much worse can it get? When he takes a case that’s supposed to be easy money working for a celebrity whose colleagues and surrounding paparazzi are dropping faster than interest in the star’s big comeback, the cakewalk turns ugly and Black finds himself in a web of deceit, betrayal, and murder – and bad hair days. The first in a new series from best-selling author Russell Blake, Black is a detective mystery with a difference that fans of the genre are sure to enjoy.
There was this PI named Black… And much hilarity ensued Artemus Black is a PI with issues, which might have stemmed from being named after the weasel of a sidekick of the main character from a crappy TV show, the name he despises. He is fast approaching the middle age, and he has no savings, having failed spectacularly at every business venture he has been in. He is always broke and as a consequence, his love life is nonexistent. He has a cat who hates his guts, an assistant who hates his fashion sense and just about anything that has to do with…
A Very Promising Start I haven’t been this excited by a new series in a long time. I’ve read five or six Blake books, which were all very good, but he absolutely nails the hard-boiled genre. He has a knack for creating memorable characters and the main character Black and his assistant will not be forgotten anytime soon. I’ve always enjoyed Blake’s humor, but the dialogue between the two aforementioned characters is hysterical. Finally – as usual, Blake moves the book along at a nice pace with enough twists, turns,…
Score for cat ladies! I’ve read the Jet series and the Assassin series (my favorite) and looked forward to the BLACK series as it is lighter. What a funny book this is. It’s filled with a cast of colorful characters that are memorable. I found myself laughing most in the scenes between Black and his police officer buddy Stan. My favorite people were Black’s parents, Spring and Chakra. They’re hysterical. The best part was how everything goes their way because they think positive thoughts, and how it infuriates their…