Mar 19 : "Noche Roja" - Simon Oliver and Jason LaTour

Saturday morning I went to the Chestnut Hill Library because they had an available copy of the next book the book club is reading. By the way, this branch is quite beautiful, with a nice solarium with easy chairs in the back of the building.

While I was there I checked the "New Fiction" shelves to find some good new titles. And, by initially "judging a book by its cover" (or, to be more precise, by the graphics on its spine), I picked up the book "Noche Roja" by Simon Oliver. The blurb on the cover said, "Gripping and stylish. Oliver's killer noir yarn is matched only by the striking cartooning LaTour uses to tell it. What a great read!" … Huh? …. Cartoons? … I opened up the book and saw that the entire book was a story in cartoon form. Jason LaTour is the artist.

This was a first for me. I had never seen a cartoon story in book form, not to mention one that was a "full-length" 181 pages long. I opened it up, read a few pages, and saw that, visually, it lived up to its description of being a "noir" thriller. But in addition to being a murder mystery, it appeared that the story had a social conscience as well. The blurb on the back said, "With the gritty, stylized artwork of Jason LaTour, "Noche Roja" is an enthralling noir tale of how the insatiable craving for cheap consumer goods leads to the ultimate cheapening of life itself." … I liked this whole package and decided to read it..

I finished reading the book yesterday evening. The story is about Jack Cohen, an ex-cop turned private investigator who is pulled into looking into the disappearances and murders of young women who all happened to be working for one company south of the border. …. I had suspicions. I didn't think a cartoon format could deliver real suspense, nor did I think it could present realistic multi-dimensional characters with good qualities and bad, nor did I ever imagine that the climactic ending of a cartoon story would ever move me, but I was wrong on all counts. This is a true noir thriller with characters living on the edge. (And the story has a heart).

This is a must read. GET IT. The Free Library has several copies available at branches all around town. Free Library (CLICK HERE)

The book was published just about a year ago. Here is an interview with the author that took place about that time. Interview with Simon Oliver (CLICK HERE)

4/5/14 (afterthought) --- I've since learned that graphic novels constitute a whole genre, but this was my first venture into that area. :)