DEAD DOWN EAST

Humphrey Bogart played Phillip Marlowe in The Big Sleep and Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon. I’d say that Jesse Thorpe, the narrator of this mystery novel, is a modern day, and somewhat younger, Humphrey Bogart. Jesse is not quite as cocky as Sam Spade. But almost. His feisty girlfriend, Angele Boucher, keeps him on edge and sees to it that he “keeps it real.”

I was inspired by the mysteries of Tim Cockey, who injects a lot of humor in each of his “Hitchcock Sewell” mysteries. It was the humor that got my attention, and it hung on until I finally began writing my own novels.