Chris Leek
Independent Reviewer
| Bio Blog |
What can I
tell you about our own Ryan Sayles that hasn’t already been written many times before on the restroom walls by Joe Clifford. Well, for one I can tell you
to read his book.
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| Buy from Amazon |
Let me
introduce you to ex- homicide detective turned private Investigator, Richard
Dean Buckner. Buckner has been hired to track down the missing and demonstrably
flaky, Delilah Boothe by her estranged surrogate father, Elam Derne. It doesn’t
take long before the bodies of those left in Delilah’s wake start to pile up
like cord laid in for winter and RDB discovers he’s not the only one hunting
this strung out runaway.
The Subtle Art of Brutality is a nut busting slice of noir. All
of the required hard-boiled elements are present and accounted for: a tough, hard
drinking PI, a MacGuffin-esque female lead and a colorful supporting cast of
junkies, thugs and self serving losers. But hold the phone, Sayles doesn’t do
this by numbers; he has torn up the standard script and delivers a much leaner
and meaner detecitve story that kicks
holes in the conventional.
Sayles treats his readers well and gives them tight plotting interlaced with some intense, uncompromising imagery and tactile
language that leaps off the page and bitch slaps you with its harsh honesty.
Richard Dean
Buckner is the undoubted star of this show. I have heard him compared to Dirty
Harry, but let me assure you that RDB would eat Clint’s hard-nosed cop for
breakfast and crap him out in small chunks around teatime. At first glance
Buckner appears elemental and direct, but there is more to him than his
methods, which give the novel its title. Tragedy stalks his past and intrudes
on his present. In spite of his penchant for gut wrenching violence his moral
compass points to true north and those who find themselves on the wrong end of
his rough justice usually deserve it. Nobody, but nobody ever calls him Dick.
With The Subtle Art of Brutality Ryan Sayles has
produced a damn fine first novel and in the process given the world of gumshoe
fiction a much needed kick up the ass. If you don’t believe me then go and read
it for yourself. In fact you should do that anyway.
