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Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
In Gabriel F.W. Koch’s Drop Dead Cadillac, private investigator Marlowe Black travels to a polluted inlet in Brooklyn after a reclusive mystery writer reports a Cadillac sinking beneath the tide near his isolated house. Inside the trunk Marlowe discovers a woman beside a younger lover during their final moments underwater. Her husband Vito Angelo controls part of Brooklyn’s criminal underworld through his connection to political fixer Francis DeMatto, placing Marlowe inside a feud tied to murder committed for personal survival. As Marlowe traces the deaths through Brooklyn, gunmen begin hunting him across the city after he uncovers links between the submerged Cadillac plus a widening conflict surrounding Vito’s rise to power. The investigation soon threatens the women closest to Marlowe before another Cadillac disappears beneath the creek with somebody still trapped inside.
Gabriel F.W. Koch’s Drop Dead Cadillac is a fantastic hard-boiled mystery built around damaged people who keep making choices shaped by the issues in their lives. Private investigator Marlowe Black has the temperament necessary for this kind of story, keeping emotionally distant when situations turn dangerous, but still having the decency to place himself between vulnerable people and real harm. This is most apparent with attorney Pamela Gentry, where attraction exists beside suspicion, plus a lingering grief connected to his murdered fiancée. The visual prose gives Brooklyn its own personality, with waterfront decay surrounding Dead Horse Inlet, and the smoke-filled glamour of the Casino Russe and live music. Intelligently written, gritty, and witty, readers who appreciate immersive and dark detective fiction with a side of seriously damaged relationships will love this book. Very highly recommended.
