This came to my attention ten years ago, through a review at Amazon. I had read a few of Amos Keppler’s novels, like The Defenseless and Dreams Belong to the Night before that. It was an easy sell. I feared my expectations were too high, that I was bound to be disappointed, but I wasn’t.
It starts off with a
bang, and works itself up from there.
Jeremy Zahn, a
hunter of men and former British policeman, arrives in Los Angeles after a
long, exhausting hunt of Timothy Joyce, an international fugitive that has
become his archenemy. Zahn is a driven man, obsessive in his zeal, frustrated
by his incomprehension of what’s going on, unable to understand the motivation
and often baffling actions of his enemy.
The story begins in
Los Angeles, but also in London years before, successfully moving back and
forth between the present and the past. Zahn is pretty much a typical, dull
lawman during that time in London, one that hasn’t really pondered the hidden
depths of the world. He’s forced to do that repeatedly during the three years
of the hunt. Joyce seems to be his superior in all important ways, but Zahn
refuses to be give up, following the other like a bloodhound never letting go
of the scent.
Who is really the
prey and who is the hunter is open to interpretation, though.
This is Amos
Keppler’s shortest novel, but it feels much longer because it’s packed with
details. You need to catch every one of them, or you might miss an important
clue to what is actually happening. I didn’t realize what that was until the
last few pages. It was still a great payoff, or perhaps a great payoff because I
didn’t know. But when I read the book for the second time, and knew the basic
story, I still loved it.
It’s a complex story
to end all complex stories, a tales of the unexpected to end everything
unexpected. I predict you will be as stunned as I was when you’re done reading
it.
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