Sun 17 Mar 2019
An Archived PI Mystery Review: JAMES T. DOYLE – Deadly Resurrection.
Posted by Steve under Reviews[6] Comments
JAMES T. DOYLE – Deadly Resurrection. Dan Cronyn #1. Walker & Co., hardcover, 1987. No paperback edition.
Why is it, I wonder, that there are so few PIs working the Washington DC area? Besides Dan Cronyn, the hero of this book and his first adventure, I can think of only two or three others. The nation’s capital would seem to be fertile ground for a whole slew of cases for PIs to be swallowed up into.
Cronyn, whose roots include an ex-radical past, is in trouble from the first line on, when he finds the body of the man blackmailing his female client. A better than average detective story follows, and luckily (though not perhaps for him) Cronyn is the best possible person to solve it.
Bibliographic Note: James T. Doyle wrote one other mystery, that being Epitaph for a Loser (Walker, 1988), but alas, Dan Cronyn did not appear in it.
March 17th, 2019 at 1:50 pm
The first line of the Kirkus review of Doyle’s second book begind thusly:
“Ex-cop turned Tampa PI Paul Broder — a likable Marlowe clone…”
and ends:
“Neatly plotted, with bittersweet marital byplay and believable Mob machinations. Not as flinty as the author’s Deadly Resurrection (1987) but certainly readable.”
To me it sounds as though it would be worth tracking down.
March 17th, 2019 at 4:42 pm
Sounds interesting.
Re DC eyes, the number one has to be Chet Drumm followed eventually by Ed Noon who started as a New York eye. I know there are more, not including the likes of Steve Bentley who behaves like an eye but isn’t.
You would think there would at least be more Baltimore eyes getting drawn into DC cases.
March 17th, 2019 at 4:59 pm
There was a series of books written by Michael Bowen about a retired CIA operative named Richard Michaelson who accepted PI-like cases in and around the DC area. How PI-like they were, or whether they were more spy-oriented, I don’t know.
Otherwise all I’ve come with are the same names you did, David.
March 17th, 2019 at 6:26 pm
George Pelecanos?
March 17th, 2019 at 7:05 pm
Also, James Grady (Three Days Of The Condor) wrote two books about John Rankin and Mike Lawson has written a bunch of books about Joe DeMarco, although not a PI, works for the Speaker of the House as a “fixer”.
March 17th, 2019 at 8:16 pm
Thanks, David. Add these to the list, no doubt about it. All books and characters I’ve yet to sample, even those George Pelacanos wrote about.