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The Scent of Blood
When a top pediatric surgeon and embryonic stem cell researcher's hit-and-run death is ruled an accident, his widow contacts private detective Nathaniel Singer to look into threatening messages from the "Party of God" received directly before his death.
220 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 14, 2018
When a famed pediatric heart surgeon is killed by a speeding car on a Manhattan street one night, the cops are quick to write the case off as a hit-and-run. But the victim's widow is less convinced, and she comes to literate PI Nathaniel Singer with the request that he dig into the matter to see if the death was really a murder. As he mixes it with a far-right Christian cult, a charismatic supercop and others, Singer finds himself in effect solving more cases than one . . .
The mystery element of the book is strong enough for the purpose (I'd personally have preferred a few more twists), but what really makes The Scent of Blood such a joy to read, aside from the writing, is the characterization. Singer himself isn't just a faux-literate figure, namedropping Russian authors in an attempt to impress the more gullible elements of the readership; his love of books and of intellectual pursuits in general shines through clearly. He's matched by his young assistant/intern, Kate, who's perhaps my favorite character in the book. Bucking the stereotype, although both Singer and Kate are attractive, they're not sexually involved or even flirtatious; "I'm far too old for her, for one thing," narrates Singer, offering a symptom of another personality trait that makes him such an appealing character: his ingrained decency. (That decency, incidentally, leads him to come out with some refreshingly unabashed lefty commentary, of the intelligent rather than the partisan variety.) The other two memorable and sympathetic characters are the widow and the person eventually revealed as the murderer -- not often that detective novels make you feel this way about the killer.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Alas, it must have been one of the last books published by Toby Press, perhaps my favorite of the small(er) US mainstream publishers; the demise of Toby a few years back was a cause of great sorrow for this particular reader. I see there's a Nathaniel Singer #2 in ebook form, presumably published by the author himself after Toby's ship had sunk beneath him; I think I'll be investing in that.
The mystery element of the book is strong enough for the purpose (I'd personally have preferred a few more twists), but what really makes The Scent of Blood such a joy to read, aside from the writing, is the characterization. Singer himself isn't just a faux-literate figure, namedropping Russian authors in an attempt to impress the more gullible elements of the readership; his love of books and of intellectual pursuits in general shines through clearly. He's matched by his young assistant/intern, Kate, who's perhaps my favorite character in the book. Bucking the stereotype, although both Singer and Kate are attractive, they're not sexually involved or even flirtatious; "I'm far too old for her, for one thing," narrates Singer, offering a symptom of another personality trait that makes him such an appealing character: his ingrained decency. (That decency, incidentally, leads him to come out with some refreshingly unabashed lefty commentary, of the intelligent rather than the partisan variety.) The other two memorable and sympathetic characters are the widow and the person eventually revealed as the murderer -- not often that detective novels make you feel this way about the killer.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Alas, it must have been one of the last books published by Toby Press, perhaps my favorite of the small(er) US mainstream publishers; the demise of Toby a few years back was a cause of great sorrow for this particular reader. I see there's a Nathaniel Singer #2 in ebook form, presumably published by the author himself after Toby's ship had sunk beneath him; I think I'll be investing in that.
February 7, 2014
http://openbooksociety.com/article/th...
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Kim
“The Poet Rimbaud once famously declared that “I’ is someone else. This would be a handy slogan for a private detective who has to be someone else every couple of weeks or so in the line of duty”
“When violence is about to threaten the worst mistake you can make, I’ve found, is to assume that you don’t have time to think. Acting without thinking is the definition of panic. You almost always have at least a few seconds to evaluate the situation- to assess your opponents and to assess your own resources. When violence is about to threaten you need to slow yourself down for a moment to think.”
This is the start of a great series for those who love detective stories and mystery. This was a great book and couldn’t hardly wait to finish it to see how it would end (I was tempted to read ahead to the last chapter), but I am glad I read it through because it was a story that you could really get into and the you would miss the best parts.
Singer is not your typical P.I. and if you were to see him on the street the P.I. profession would be the last thing you would guess he would be but by golly he is and he’s one for the books. You will have a hard time waiting for the next book in this new series.
A wife, a husband dead by a hit and run and police that are too star struck to question the report of a top cop.
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Kim
“The Poet Rimbaud once famously declared that “I’ is someone else. This would be a handy slogan for a private detective who has to be someone else every couple of weeks or so in the line of duty”
“When violence is about to threaten the worst mistake you can make, I’ve found, is to assume that you don’t have time to think. Acting without thinking is the definition of panic. You almost always have at least a few seconds to evaluate the situation- to assess your opponents and to assess your own resources. When violence is about to threaten you need to slow yourself down for a moment to think.”
This is the start of a great series for those who love detective stories and mystery. This was a great book and couldn’t hardly wait to finish it to see how it would end (I was tempted to read ahead to the last chapter), but I am glad I read it through because it was a story that you could really get into and the you would miss the best parts.
Singer is not your typical P.I. and if you were to see him on the street the P.I. profession would be the last thing you would guess he would be but by golly he is and he’s one for the books. You will have a hard time waiting for the next book in this new series.
A wife, a husband dead by a hit and run and police that are too star struck to question the report of a top cop.
April 3, 2020
I liked the story, but the book needed a better copy editor.
November 3, 2015
This is a pretty good little detective story. If there was ever another book in the series, I'll want to read it. The protagonist is a bookish but kind of regular joe with a streak of empathy that brings him down to earth. It might well be that the story would be more fun if the villains seemed a little larger than life and a little less pat. Nevertheless, it was a page-turner! I liked reading about this guy and wanted to see what he'd do next. I still do.
January 22, 2009
A modern take on the hard boiled dectective story, a lot of fun.
August 29, 2011
I enjoyed it. Perhaps not a great mystery, but good characterization, and well worth reading.
June 17, 2024
A Library find. November 2023. June 2024.
Interesting!
A easy read!
Interesting!
A easy read!
Want to read
November 5, 2007ARC, 11/05 rec via bookmooch
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews