FEAR OF THE DARK

by Gar Haywood ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 16, 1988

In a seedy bar in a black L.A. neighborhood, an elusive young white man--suddenly appearing, then disappearing--impassively guns down bartender ""J.T."" and black activist Buddy Dorris. So Buddy's sister Verna hires a private eye to track down the killer. Well, sort of a private eye: black Vietnam vet. Aaron Gunner, a guilt-ridden, one-time P.I. now working as an electrician, is reluctant to turn shamus again. . .but allows the sexy Verna to talk him into it. Soon, however, Gunner is regretting his decision. By the time he identifies the white assassin as gas-pumper Denny Townsend, the kid turns up dead--with Gunner himself an obvious murder-suspect. Who's behind the killings and the frame-up? Could it be far-right-wing congressional candidate Lew Henshaw or someone in his campaign office? (Denny worked as a volunteer there.) What about internal struggles within Buddy Dorris' nco-Black Panther group, the Brothers of Volition? And what about whispers of connections between the murder-victims and ""Sweet"" Lou Jenkins, a local drug-entrepreneur? Before coming up with a tangle of predictable answers (blackmail, gun-running, and a femme fatale), Gunner is beaten up, terrorized by hooded thugs, and forced to commit homicide in self-defense--which brings on still more ""Guilt. . .It was tearing him up from the inside out, making a mockery of his consciousness. Crushing his manhood down to size like a ball of tin foil in an iron fist."" Similiar patches of purple prose mar this debut throughout. Disappointing, too, are the humdrum action-sequences and the pulp-clichÉ aspects of Gunner's persons. (He's irresistible to women and slaps them around a lot.) Still, though an intriguing plot-premise peters out lamely here, Haywood--winner of the Private Eye Writers of America's Best First Novel contest--offers enough amusingly authentic dialogue and ripe L.A. atmosphere to make this a modestly promising first outing for a new black detective (a rare, and therefore welcome, commodity).

Pub Date: Sept. 16, 1988

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1988

Categories: FICTION