Review: As Wrong As Two Left Feet

love new discoveries. I especially love discoveries that are flying so low under the radar that it's my duty to bring them to attention. That's how I feel after reading my first Teddy Hayes novel, a book that's hardboiled as hell yet moves to a jazz-driven beat, a book that has some of the most brutal violence I've come across yet reeks of all kinds of love the unrequited, the unfulfilled, the betrayed, and the consummated.

This is the third in a series starring Marcus "Devil" Barnett. As the action begins, he's running a jazz bar/club in Harlem, the area he was born, raised, and still resides in. He's also working a little bit as a private detective, and has--mostly--come to grips with his past as a CIA assassin. But things are about to go to hell, and fast. His good friend Honey Lavelle, who sings at the club, needs a favor--to track down WoodHenry Taylor. She just received a cryptic call from her ex- husband wondering if she's seen WoodHenry, and Honey's no fool --there's something serious going on, and Devil's the one to suss it out.

Once he agrees he finds that like many things, this is about money. In this case, it's about four million dollars worth. Seems that a lot of people are also looking for WoodHenry as well, who appears to have gotten himself in a scam to bilk his boss Tom Jerrod out of some stocks and bonds. And when those people include a a couple of psychopaths, things get ugly real fast. The bodies pile up, and Devil not only has to outthink and outwit all players involved, he has to reach into his past and explore ghosts better left undisturbed.

The plot of WRONG AS TWO LEFT SHOES is fairly typical PI fare, but what elevates this from the typical is Hayes' sure prose. Each character has a unique voice which comes through within the first couple of words of dialogue they speak. And while the violence is unflinching and at times horrific, it never felt gratituitous --rather, we get an all-too- chilling portrait of the simple-mindedness of psychopathy. The opening chapter is one of the starkest I've read in some time.

Yet it's balanced by a sense of musicality, both obvious and subtle. Obvious in that Hayes includes the lyrics of several original compositions meant to be from the pen of WoodHenry. They illuminate his changing state of mind as he's hunted by so many. It's a gamble that could easy have failed but because they do add to character development, it works. The subtlety of music is in the cadence of character voices, of mood and setting. Harlem, and New York in general, teems with music. And of course, it's full of violence as well.

Unfortunately, Hayes's publisher in the UK, The X Press (which specializes in black authors there) does him no favors. The copyediting is poor, and at times horrendous. The good news, for many reasons, is that it looks like the Devil Barnett books will have a home in the US as well, as it appears the Boston-based Justin, Charles & co. will be picking him up. Hopefully they will re -edit the books and more importantly, make them available to a larger readership.

If you're looking for a hardboiled fix and want something a little different, Hayes is your man. WRONG AS TWO LEFT SHOES is a fine read, and I'm definitely looking forward to catching up on the backlist and to whatever comes next.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Sarah - RAM

Book Review: As Wrong As Two Left Feet