The Quick by Dan Vining: A Suspenseful Thriller

Jimmy Miles is no ordinary private investigator, but who is, right? It takes a singular personality to roam the streets of L.A. and try to do some small good amidst the moral decay and degradation of a society caring more about its pocket and lusts than for their fellow man, and Jimmy is just such an individual. Of course, it would also take someone who boasts an odd mix of altruism and emotional distance to not become sullied by the easy, care-free temptations so seductive to all humans: lust, envy, greed, vice....

Jimmy has all the emotional distance he can handle; because he's different.

He's something more than human and less, and as he lives an unusual, atypical life, he daily straddles the world of the living and another, shadowy world existing between the shadows of what we call reality and others call the beyond. His unique skills are either a blessing or a curse, but to call him damned or charmed just doesn't quite fit the ticket, as nothing quite "fits the ticket" for Jimmy Miles. He exists somewhere in-between the shadow and the light; this is where he has learned to make a home for himself.

He is a Sailor, and the night is an ocean he knows far, far too well...perhaps too well, for his own tastes, even. However, it's his life, and he has learned all he can about his unique place in it, making peace with his existence.

The case comes almost too naturally, too easily, and has all the hallmarks of a bad Spencer Tracy movie: a tall, gorgeous husky-voiced brunette who is looking for answers about the death of her parents. She's rich, she's talented, and she wants Jimmy to take her case. It's one of those things that practically scream "stay away", but in the end, Jimmy doesn't, because after all...what else better does he have to do?

However, the deeper he is drawn into the past and the case, more questions are brought up than answers. When other Sailors...who rarely, if ever, have anything to do with Jimmy...start exerting pressure upon him to walk away, Jimmy is thrust into the middle of mystery that hits much closer to home than he ever would have imagined.

In his first outing, novelist Dan Vining has made a successful entry in the world of supernatural noir fiction. The Quick is the perfect blend of eerie, supernatural story-telling and big-city, hard blues detective fiction. The enigma of the Sailors' plight is compelling and intriguing, and he's also satisfied to simply leave some parts of the mystery unexplained, therefore attributing a mythical, spiritual feel to the novel that is applied with just the right touch. Also heartening is the deft with which Vining tells his tale; stylistically his form is short and direct, and unlike some of those who work in cop or detective fiction, the vulgarity is kept at a minimum, making it a good, mainstream read for all.

At times, the plot crawls somewhat, and reader reaction will likely be mixed depending on what specific readers are looking for: this is an introspective, mulling novel, which will appeal to thinkers, but perhaps less so for those fans of pulse-pounding action sequences and
roaring car chases - although this novel boasts a few of those as well.

Some readers may feel that the climax peters out in the end; the resolution of the novel is laid back, and no more light is shed on the mystery of what it means to be a Sailor. Those who want answers may be frustrated by this, but for those who simply enjoy the ride, The Quick is a solid tale. Jimmy Miles has effectively become the new...supernatural...Ellery Queen.

The Quick can be bought in any bookstore, as well as online at Amazon.com, as well as Barnes & Noble. Visit his website at: www.danvining.com.

3 out of 5 stars