Crime Always Pays regulars will be familiar with Detectives Beyond Borders, given that Philly’s finest (a Phillystine?) Peter Rozovsky has been as unflagging in his support of THE BIG O as he is for international crime fiction in general. Still, it was a very nice surprise to wake up this morning to DBB’s appraisal of our first humble offering, EIGHTBALL BOOGIE, the gist of which runneth thusly: “Chandler is famously said to have had no idea what was going on in THE BIG SLEEP. EIGHTBALL BOOGIE, while of a complexity confusing to its protagonist, is never so to the reader or, I suspect, to the author. Minor characters who lend colour early play pivotal roles late. Events here make suspense-inducing sense there and, though there are surprises, all are believable. Everything, shocking as it may be, makes sense in light of ground that had been laid earlier. Burke, I suspect, mapped out his plot more carefully than Chandler did, and if I’m right, he had quite a bit of mapping to do.”Crumbs! Mentioned in the same breath as Chandler, and with nary a sign of ‘fourth-rate rip-off’ in the vicinity? Truly, our cup runneth over …
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