Death's Green Eyes by Kent Wallace, a Mysterious Review.

Review: Kent Wallace's debut novel, Death's Green Eyes, is a stylish if occasionally uneven thriller featuring a "seen it all"-type character who gets involved in a murder investigation.

Wade Ellington a guy who has struggled in life and wasn't above breaking the law to get by. He's on his way to Los Angeles because a woman he once knew called to say she needed him. She sounded scared. He discovers her body in her apartment, an apparent suicide, but he doesn't buy it … and neither do the police. Unsure why she called him, unsure it was even her, Wade wants some answers. But someone else is determined to prevent him from getting them.

The opening chapter introduces the lead character in a series of non-linear flashbacks and sets the tone for the book. The writing is generally crisp and edgy, often graphic and explicit, but also somewhat choppy; M-dashes abound, as illustrated in the this short passage from mid-way through the book:

The area code was 213 — Los Angeles — no surprise. Now I was nodding like the idiot boy — a smile.

They left, and I paced — popped another beer. I ran through some scenarios — conversations — approaches. I was excited but didn't want to sound it — I knew I was at least two more beers from making a call.

When I finally did call — three beers later — I reached a machine. I'd only considered what I was going to say to [her] if she answered the phone — reckoning I'd ad lib, play the magic game — leaving a message confused me, and I hung up the phone — then sat wondering if the receiver had disconnected before I'd uttered [a word].

At times, Death's Green Eyes risks being more style than substance, but the murder mystery plot is well conceived and played out. It's an interesting example of a noir thriller that is anything but mainstream.

Acknowledgment: Kent Wallace provided a copy of Death's Green Eyes for this review.

Location(s) referenced in Death's Green Eyes: New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco