I had never heard of Nelson DeMille until recently, but apparently he was quite popular in his time. His time, alas, is over, but his books live on, including this short story, which is about a bookstore owner crushed to death by a fallen bookcase. An accident? The protagonist of the story, detective John Corey, is not so sure, and sets about unraveling the tangled web of events surrounding the bookstore owner’s demise, complete with a running sarcastic commentary on the cast of characters who seem to be involved, from the youthful shop clerk to the bookstore owner’s wife.
It’s an amusing story, though fairly predictable, which, when you consider the length and limited number of characters, might be inevitable. There’s only so much of a mystery you can have when the possibilities are so limited. Still, that’s not a bad thing. It would be worse if he had dragged it out to full novel length by throwing in extraneous material. Nobody wants that.
At the same time… it’s also not ground-breaking. Not that it needs to be. It’s just that, I can think of plenty of indie authors who have written things that are just as good or better. Yet, DeMille could get traditionally published and they could not. It’s not DeMille’s fault. Nil nisi bonum, after all. It’s just one of those frustrating mysteries in the world of publishing. These are the kinds of mysteries that just can’t be resolved with snappy, sarcastic one-liners. Believe me, I’ve tried.
Forgive me if this all seems a bit negative. Perhaps it’s my own failing, as I ponder the future of writing and feel a sense of looming disaster. But all in all, it’s a decent story if you want a quick diversion and some funny lines.
DeMille’s first book was published in 1978 (according to Wikipedia), which means he got started in the days when there were only two ways to get published: what we now call traditional publishing and by a vanity press. I’m guessing most writers who couldn’t sell their work to a publisher didn’t bother with vanity presses; they just gave up. Looks like DeMille was popular enough that he became a “brand,” so kept being published. (That said, I’d never heard of him until I read this review.)
I’m wondering how many writers nowadays don’t try all that hard to find a publisher before they go for publishing their own books. It’s a different world. And of course, there’s that “looming disaster.”
It is indeed a different world.
Thanks for that insight. The name seemed vaguely familiar, which must always be the case with successful authors. Judging by the way the main character narrates it sounds as if in his youth DeMillie had been influenced by many a pulp mystery writer. MAD took a swipe at that style in a late 1950s strip ‘Kane Keane’ Private Eye.
Your last paragraph left me thinking that there’s material for a mystery novel series there with the detective being an unsuccessful Indy writer now managing to use his creative writing skills to solve crimes, the narrative replete with sour reflections and allegories on the publishing industry.
Haha, I love that idea! 😀
I’ll have to look into it. Blogger shut me down, just as I was going to switch to it over Medium. The bottom fell out of how much I made a month and it’s not worth renewing the increased yearly rate of $150.
Good to hear from you. Sorry to hear about the drop-off; that’s too bad.
I read a DeMille novel way back when. Can’t remember the name of it. I just checked Amazon and couldn’t find it. He was quite productive during his time. But I think “it’s also not ground-breaking” is a good way to describe what DeMille produced. Which is fine. Not everybody is ground-breaking. Nor should everybody. I mean, if everybody is ground-breaking, what meaning would there be behind the word? What DeMille appears to have been good at is churning out formulaic books that fed the masses. The kind of writer that kept his publisher happy.
True. And the kind of writer most easily replaced with AI. :/
Which looming disaster? I’ve lost count.
Take your pick. 🙂