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The Open Shadow
very good story
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
3 people want to read
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November 28, 2021
For a mystery fan, finding a great, forgotten writer is like discovering hidden treasure. Brad Solomon wrote two highly-regarded mysteries back in the 1970s. Then he disappeared.
I read about Solomon’s work and was encouraged by the reviews. So, I had him on my wish list when I visited Book Nook in Decatur, Georgia, back in July. As luck would have it, they had paperback copies of both of Solomon’s novels - 1977’s The Gone Man and 1978’s The Open Shadow.
When we were in Decatur, we were on the way to visit relatives and needed to get back on the road. I meant to grab The Gone Man, but instead picked up The Open Shadow. I needn’t have worried - The Open Shadow turned out to be an excellent read.
The novel concerns two private eyes in Los Angeles - Theiringer (a man) and McGuane (a woman called Maggie). Author Solomon spends a lot of time building up these characters and explaining their relationship. But, as the novel develops, Solomon focuses more and more on Theiringer and less on McGuane.
The story is basic, but good. A young man stalks the owner of a dress manufacturer. The owner’s wife hires the private eyes to find out why. Eventually, the case takes the detectives back 20 years (to the 1950s) and some serious misdeeds that have been hidden. (Mystery fans will recognize this as Ross Macdonald’s standard plot).
Simply put, The Open Shadow is a winner. The characters are well drawn and Solomon paces the novel well, building his characters, but never letting things bog down. While the basic plot isn’t inventive, the reader stays interested. One thing that I didn’t care for was Solomon’s method of writing dialogue - it’s often challenging to determine which character is speaking.
On the whole, The Open Shadow is much better than most mysteries. I definitely plan to track down a copy of Solomon’s other novel, The Gone Man.
I read about Solomon’s work and was encouraged by the reviews. So, I had him on my wish list when I visited Book Nook in Decatur, Georgia, back in July. As luck would have it, they had paperback copies of both of Solomon’s novels - 1977’s The Gone Man and 1978’s The Open Shadow.
When we were in Decatur, we were on the way to visit relatives and needed to get back on the road. I meant to grab The Gone Man, but instead picked up The Open Shadow. I needn’t have worried - The Open Shadow turned out to be an excellent read.
The novel concerns two private eyes in Los Angeles - Theiringer (a man) and McGuane (a woman called Maggie). Author Solomon spends a lot of time building up these characters and explaining their relationship. But, as the novel develops, Solomon focuses more and more on Theiringer and less on McGuane.
The story is basic, but good. A young man stalks the owner of a dress manufacturer. The owner’s wife hires the private eyes to find out why. Eventually, the case takes the detectives back 20 years (to the 1950s) and some serious misdeeds that have been hidden. (Mystery fans will recognize this as Ross Macdonald’s standard plot).
Simply put, The Open Shadow is a winner. The characters are well drawn and Solomon paces the novel well, building his characters, but never letting things bog down. While the basic plot isn’t inventive, the reader stays interested. One thing that I didn’t care for was Solomon’s method of writing dialogue - it’s often challenging to determine which character is speaking.
On the whole, The Open Shadow is much better than most mysteries. I definitely plan to track down a copy of Solomon’s other novel, The Gone Man.
Displaying 1 of 1 review