Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
New York: Dorchester, c2004.
Description
Miranda Sugarman was supposed to be in the Midwest, working as an eye doctor.nbsp; So how did she end up shot to death on the roof of one of New York City's seediest strip clubs? It's John Blake's job to find out - not just because he's a private investigator, but because ten years earlier, Miranda had been his lover. Now he has to uncover the truth about the missing decade, about Miranda's secret life as half of the strip club circuit's hottest act, and about the vicious underworld figure she worked for. But the closer John gets to the truth, the more dangerous his investigation becomes, until a shattering faceoff in an East Village tenement changes his life forever. Little Girl Lost is a stunning debut novel from a celebrated writer whose short stories have been selected for Best Mystery Stories of the Year and The Year's Best Horror Stories as well as short-listed for the Shamus Award by the Private Eye Writers of America.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member MarquesadeFlambe
Another great Hard Case Crime book. The big twist became obvious a bit too soon, but that never really bothers me much in a book.
LibraryThing member johnleague
Author Charles Ardai (who wrote this book under his anagramatic pen name Richard Aleas) described Little Girl Lost's protagonist John Blake to Terry Gross as well-meaning but not very good at his job. Which is not say that Blake is incompetent, but rather that whatever he does, he only makes things
I enjoyed this book for that very reason. Not that I revel in stuff going bad and characters messing up themselves and others with abandon (I couldn't read Walter Moseley's Killing Johnny Fry, not because it's porn, which it is, but because the main character was so singularly bent on self-destruction). It's just that sometimes in life, s*** happens. And so it is with Blake.
Blake never had much ambition for himself, but as his career trajectory degraded from literature professor to junior private detective in a two-man outfit with a ground-floor Chelsea office, he found solace in knowing that his high-school girlfriend, Miranda, had gotten out of the city, gone to college and probably wound up with a nice career and 2.5 children. Imagine the abject shock to his universe when he opens the paper and sees her picture beside an article explaining that a stripper was murdered execution style on the roof of the club where she worked.
And so Blake chases down the rabbit hole, unearthing progressively more painful truths about the city, Miranda and himself.
Sounds like a joy to read doesn't it?
Well, it is. Part of what saves it is that it's probably only about 60,000 words long, and moves at a furious pace. Not a lot of time to dwell on death there. The other thing that saves it is that it's all so authentic. The crap that befalls Blake and Miranda is not there to screw them up as fodder for the plot (that's not the only reason). It's a harrowing lesson in expectations and how we adjust or ignore them to get by.
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worse. Thus the kernel of truth at the center of the Hard Case Crime books: things can always get worse.I enjoyed this book for that very reason. Not that I revel in stuff going bad and characters messing up themselves and others with abandon (I couldn't read Walter Moseley's Killing Johnny Fry, not because it's porn, which it is, but because the main character was so singularly bent on self-destruction). It's just that sometimes in life, s*** happens. And so it is with Blake.
Blake never had much ambition for himself, but as his career trajectory degraded from literature professor to junior private detective in a two-man outfit with a ground-floor Chelsea office, he found solace in knowing that his high-school girlfriend, Miranda, had gotten out of the city, gone to college and probably wound up with a nice career and 2.5 children. Imagine the abject shock to his universe when he opens the paper and sees her picture beside an article explaining that a stripper was murdered execution style on the roof of the club where she worked.
And so Blake chases down the rabbit hole, unearthing progressively more painful truths about the city, Miranda and himself.
Sounds like a joy to read doesn't it?
Well, it is. Part of what saves it is that it's probably only about 60,000 words long, and moves at a furious pace. Not a lot of time to dwell on death there. The other thing that saves it is that it's all so authentic. The crap that befalls Blake and Miranda is not there to screw them up as fodder for the plot (that's not the only reason). It's a harrowing lesson in expectations and how we adjust or ignore them to get by.
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LibraryThing member hairball
The author is also the (I believe co-) founder of Hard Case Crime. "I'm not just the president, I'm a member!" And he more than acquits himself. HCC are great books, and I have yet to regret reading one--not that I've read all 30 or so titles. If you love noir, gritty crime novels, and suchlike,
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you'd do worse than to have these delivered to your door on a monthly basis. I realize this doesn't say much about the book in question, which has strippers, drugs, and private investigators. Or maybe that's the other book, which also has strippers...and drugs. This one may not have the drugs. The mind gets confused. I read this and *Songs of Innocence* like I was eating potato chips, one after the other, and quickly, so they kind of blend into one book. Show Less
LibraryThing member damselfly
In his debut novel, Richard Aleas shows that he has learned his craft - he knows how to write the formula. Now what he needs to do is create more interesting characters and surprise his readers a little more. The protagonist, John Blake, is an underachiever who hasn't grown much emotionally in the
The surprise twist in the plot has been done in other mysteries and it's a great device, but it's not much of a shock here (everyone in my book club guessed it.)
All in all, I'd characterize this book as "workmanlike." All the right elements are there, they've just been done better by more experienced writers.
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ten years since high school (for example, he's never had a serious relationship; he's still mooning for his high school sweetheart.) The ex-sweetheart, Miranda, apparently ditched her plans to become a doctor and went on the road as a stripper instead because...(well, not because she's deep.) The surprise twist in the plot has been done in other mysteries and it's a great device, but it's not much of a shock here (everyone in my book club guessed it.)
All in all, I'd characterize this book as "workmanlike." All the right elements are there, they've just been done better by more experienced writers.
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LibraryThing member jimmaclachlan
An excellent read, wonderful plot & well written. The description was good, the clues excellent & the characters very believable & logically motivated. Set in modern NYC, I could see this unfolding on any day of the week there. Our hero is a private detective - a very real one. He spends hours
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searching the Internet & making phone calls, most of which don't pan out. Aleas doesn't bore us with the details, but he does let us know it is happening, unlike so many detective novels where the hero either magically keeps hitting jackpots or I get bored & confused from all the false leads.Our hero gets his butt kicked, does a little kicking of his own, deals with the devil & has to make choices that are almost too real. Good & bad are relative - which is why he isn't really happy about his choices. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to sample the genre. It's one of the best. Show Less
LibraryThing member caklr650
It was OK. Kind of an average story with a few twists to make it interesting.
LibraryThing member jen.e.moore
Wow. Just wow. This was incredibly tightly written, smoothly plotted, excellent characters with the occasional flair of excellent language - it's like the modern reincarnation of Raymond Chandler. I loved this book. Sure, it's a little bit sexist - "Little Girl Lost," really? She's twenty-nine -
This book also features one of the few times I haven't been annoyed at figuring out the mystery before the detective does - he's got a good reason not to be thinking rationally about it, after all, and he doesn't know he's in a noir detective story.
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but what the hell, it's a noir mystery. And not as bad as it could be; after all, one of the women starts helping out the investigation and pretty much breaks the case. This book also features one of the few times I haven't been annoyed at figuring out the mystery before the detective does - he's got a good reason not to be thinking rationally about it, after all, and he doesn't know he's in a noir detective story.
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LibraryThing member branimal
A long lost love of private investigator, John Blake, turns up dead on the roof of a seedy strip club in New York. As he investigates the circumstances surrounding her death, Blake uncovers a life that he never imagined possible for his high school sweetheart.
John Blake works with Leo, a retired
I had an idea who the killer would end up being somewhat early on but I had felt like it was a little too predictable. Even through it turned out I was right, the way in which Aleas wraps everything up seemed plausible.
Another solid entry from the folks over at Hardcase Crime. I have some serious admiration for this publisher. If you're not already reading these books, you're doing yourself a disservice.
John Blake works with Leo, a retired
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police officer, in a small two-man operation. I liked the give and take between the two detectives with one mentoring the other. Blake, about the same age as myself, is a bit of a hot-head and at times needed to keep his anger in check while Leo was more analytical and experienced. The duo worked well and with a second book already released, I'm interested in checking back in with them.I had an idea who the killer would end up being somewhat early on but I had felt like it was a little too predictable. Even through it turned out I was right, the way in which Aleas wraps everything up seemed plausible.
Another solid entry from the folks over at Hardcase Crime. I have some serious admiration for this publisher. If you're not already reading these books, you're doing yourself a disservice.
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LibraryThing member DaveWilde
This book, Little Girl Lost, is a terrific pulpy adventure. John and Miranda were high school sweethearts. The night before graduation they finally went all the way. She was his first love. Miranda went off
to college, intending to start a pre-med program and eventually become an ophthalmologist.
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Ten years have gone by and they lost track of each other as often happens. John is now 29. He is a private eye,working out of a two- man outfit with an excop for a partner. John sees her high school yearbook photo in the newspaper. She's been found dead on the rooftop of a strip club with two hollow point bullets in her skull. John makes it his mission to bring her killer to justice.
The action never stops in this book as baby faced John bounces from strip clubs to drug lords trying to find the answers to who killed Miranda and how she ended up where she did ten years later. Along the way, he's beaten and charged with murder and consorts with all kinds of lowlife scum.
It doesn't matter if you can solve the mystery before the end. In this case, the journey is what's important.
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LibraryThing member LibraryCin
John Blake is in his late 20s and is a private investigator. When he sees in the news that his high school girlfriend, now a stripper, has been murdered, he takes it upon himself to find out what happened. Not just the murder, but how did the girl he once knew, who left to go to school to become an
I really liked this one. There was a personal element to it, so that might be why I liked this more than most “noir” mysteries that I’ve read. But also, I liked John and I liked one of the other characters who was helping him. It crossed my mind at one point (in part) what might have happened, but I had good reason to doubt that, so it only briefly floated through my mind. So, the end wasn’t a complete surprise, though it did have to be explained how that could even be (and it was explained). There is another book in the series, but only one more, so I’m not sure if there will be more or not, but I will definitely read the 2nd one.
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eye doctor (optometrist or ophthalmologist, he couldn’t remember), end up a murdered stripper ten years later? I really liked this one. There was a personal element to it, so that might be why I liked this more than most “noir” mysteries that I’ve read. But also, I liked John and I liked one of the other characters who was helping him. It crossed my mind at one point (in part) what might have happened, but I had good reason to doubt that, so it only briefly floated through my mind. So, the end wasn’t a complete surprise, though it did have to be explained how that could even be (and it was explained). There is another book in the series, but only one more, so I’m not sure if there will be more or not, but I will definitely read the 2nd one.
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LibraryThing member KurtWombat
I have wanted to try a selection from the HARD CASE CRIME pulp novel series for most of the decade that they have been around. For the uninitiated, this imprint created in 2004 prints new (including the most recent entry by Stephen King) and reprints classic examples of crime thrillers ( so far
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including Lawrence Block, Earl Stanley Gardner, Donald Westlake, Ed McBain & Harlan Ellison. My first foray into the series was LITTLE GIRL LOST by Richard Aleas who created the imprint. The story moves well and is fairly well populated with interesting characters. The main character is of course a detective but unlike most novels of this genre where virtually everyone is world weary, Aleas’ PI John Blake is still wet behind the ears. His lack of experience is why he takes on a case that more than likely will just lead to heartache. His relative youth allows for the reader and the detective to learn certain life lessons together as the plot unspools. This was played with at first but was not followed up with very successfully the rest of the way. The plot has sufficient twists and turns to keep the pages turning but about half way through I knew who the killer was. Was kinda waiting around to see how the situation would be wrapped up. Some similarity to a classic, THE MALTESE FALCON. On the whole it was a solid read but it wasn’t always the story that drew me back. Sometimes it was just the feel of the book and the lurid quality to the cover. The HARD CASE CRIME series creates original pulp inspired art for the covers…art work that I relish. Even the shape of the book seems smaller on the whole than other paperbacks…a reminder of the basic blue collar ready to discard nature of the books the series wishes to emulate. I will be collecting new covers. Show Less
LibraryThing member Paul_S
An interesting twist on the format with the "hardboiled" PI being a young wimp. Not sure I'm willing to stick around to find out if he grows up to be a big bad PI by book 7.
LibraryThing member Stahl-Ricco
Private investigator John Blake gets the news that his girlfriend from high school, ten years ago, has been murdered, execution style. He decides he’s got to find out why. And how did she go from a pre-med in college to dancing in a sleazy strip club?
I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I
"This was the accumulated stuff of a life, left out for any scavenger who saw something he liked and for the garbage trucks that would cart away the rest."
I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I
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found this on the shelves of our local Dollar Tree store and wasn't sure what to expect. And it's a pretty darn good detective noir! I really liked the imagery of the "...shoddy styrofoam bird in its shoddy wooden cage." Very strongly written! A heck of a bang for my $1.09! (that's with taxes)"This was the accumulated stuff of a life, left out for any scavenger who saw something he liked and for the garbage trucks that would cart away the rest."
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Subjects
Awards
Edgar Award (Nominee — First Novel — 2005)
Shamus Award (Shortlist — 2005)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2004
Physical description
221 p.; 18 cm
ISBN
0843953519 / 9780843953510