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"James Byron Dean's grave lay in a small tree-lined cemetery at the edge of a field that may have grown corn in the summer but in February stretched frozen and bleak to the horizon. His name and the brief dates of his existence had been engraved into a stumpy block of polished beige granite mounted on an unpolished granite pedestal. Behind Dean's name the headstone had been painted white, like a single page in the Book of Judgment. The headstone was neither larger nor smaller than those surrounding it, nor was its position within the cemetery in any way privileged. As a monument to one of the most famous figures of the twentieth century, a symbol of beautiful but doomed youth not just to his generation but to succeeding ones as well, the grave site was a bit underwhelming."
-- Digging James Dean by Robert Eversz
The discovery of the Nina Zero novels is one of the great gifts to fall from returning to the library to snag some free reads. Though, Monk did not stray as far from crime fiction as he fancied. This was not at first obvious because Mr. Eversz gives us such an innovative twist in the genre, making his noirish crime-solving heroine a paparazza who gets by in the world photographing celebrities for a tabloid, and adding some extra helpings of humor in the mix.
In Nina Zero the genre receives a blast of fresh and invigorating air. She comes from an abusive family, found abusive relationships instead of love, ran afoul of the law and now lives as an ex-convict, and yet with a tough grace, she stays afloat as she tackles the back alleys and the mean streets of the wolfish side of the human heart. And, for the cherry on top, she has for her partner a toothless rottweiler - to melt the heart in any dog lover.
The Boston Globe describes an earlier Nina Zero book thus:
"Whip smart... Best described as punk noir, it takes the sardonic bite of Raymond Chandler and sets it to the mosh-pit madness of Green Day. An exciting and daringly original book."
Mr. Eversz already has a new Nina Zero novel out that deals with sadomasochistic snuff films, so that Monk is bound to jump on that next, probably purchasing it after his library runs of this season. Then, he will probably pick up on some of the first books of the series. A fan is born!
xXx
"James Byron Dean's grave lay in a small tree-lined cemetery at the edge of a field that may have grown corn in the summer but in February stretched frozen and bleak to the horizon. His name and the brief dates of his existence had been engraved into a stumpy block of polished beige granite mounted on an unpolished granite pedestal. Behind Dean's name the headstone had been painted white, like a single page in the Book of Judgment. The headstone was neither larger nor smaller than those surrounding it, nor was its position within the cemetery in any way privileged. As a monument to one of the most famous figures of the twentieth century, a symbol of beautiful but doomed youth not just to his generation but to succeeding ones as well, the grave site was a bit underwhelming."
-- Digging James Dean by Robert Eversz
The discovery of the Nina Zero novels is one of the great gifts to fall from returning to the library to snag some free reads. Though, Monk did not stray as far from crime fiction as he fancied. This was not at first obvious because Mr. Eversz gives us such an innovative twist in the genre, making his noirish crime-solving heroine a paparazza who gets by in the world photographing celebrities for a tabloid, and adding some extra helpings of humor in the mix.
In Nina Zero the genre receives a blast of fresh and invigorating air. She comes from an abusive family, found abusive relationships instead of love, ran afoul of the law and now lives as an ex-convict, and yet with a tough grace, she stays afloat as she tackles the back alleys and the mean streets of the wolfish side of the human heart. And, for the cherry on top, she has for her partner a toothless rottweiler - to melt the heart in any dog lover.
The Boston Globe describes an earlier Nina Zero book thus:
"Whip smart... Best described as punk noir, it takes the sardonic bite of Raymond Chandler and sets it to the mosh-pit madness of Green Day. An exciting and daringly original book."
Mr. Eversz already has a new Nina Zero novel out that deals with sadomasochistic snuff films, so that Monk is bound to jump on that next, probably purchasing it after his library runs of this season. Then, he will probably pick up on some of the first books of the series. A fan is born!
