A review by hannahstohelit
The Fabulous Clipjoint by Fredric Brown

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.5

My taste goes more toward fun than noir, but I overlooked it in this case, as this book was more than readable (as sometimes noirs aren't), page-turning, emotionally resonant, and ultimately satisfying (I was impressed with myself for identifying the killer relatively early on, though mostly from vibes). The grief captured here was really well rendered and affecting, the story moves along very well

to the point where it's easy not to begrudge Brown for having most of the detecting be a wild goose chase

, and the characters are really great. I fully believe in all of them even when they do crazy things, and they do sometimes do crazy things. The story ties together beautifully and

as much as the wild goose chase is indeed just that, it's so well integrated into the story that it really doesn't matter

. 4.5 is I think a good score for a book that, while still not being quite my thing, manages to really elevate itself from its not-my-thingness.