Synopsis
"...an excellent, vibrant read..."
-Mystery Scene Magazine
"Certain to become a new favorite for noir aficionados." 5 stars out of 5.-Manhattan Book Review"I bloody loved it! Breathes new life into the PI novel."
-Paul D. Brazill, author of Cold London Blues and Guns of Brixton
"Vicious Dogs hits all the right notes. By the end, this dog bites!"
-Eric Beetner, author of Rumrunners and The Devil Doesn't Want Me
"In Vicious Dogs, Henry Brock takes us on a tour of Toronto's seedy underbelly while reinventing the hardboiled noir. The first (of, I hope, many) Derek Lasker Investigations delivers a whip-crack plot and devilish humor that goes down like a tall can of Molson's after a plate of poutine."
-Eryk Pruitt, author of Dirtbags and Hashtag.
Derek Lasker may consider himself a private investigator, but he
hasn't worked in months. He lives in a fleabag motel and spends his
days wondering how his life became such a complete disaster. He is
shocked when his mobile phone rings with an offer of a case.
Within twenty minutes Derek is meeting with Bob Linehan Sr., who found
a headless cat in his backyard. He believes his potentially psychotic
teenaged son, Bob Jr., killed it. He wants Derek to follow Bob Jr.
and make sure he doesn't commit worse crimes. Despite the risk that
emerges when Bob Sr. admits that his son has a closet full of knives,
Derek takes the job with an eye on the money.
The case takes a grisly turn when a cat head with a human tongue in
its mouth is found on a stake in front of Bob Jr.'s high school. The
story becomes front page news. The Humane Society offers a $10,000
reward for the arrest and conviction of the person who committed this
act, and this gives Derek even more incentive to crack the case.
However, Derek is out of practice and has his eye on the wrong
psychopath. The mistake will cost him.
Vicious Dogs is a fast-paced novel with an nail-biting ending.
Review
The Manhattan Book Review:
Star Rating: 5 / 5
It's amazing how a year without work has the ability to alter a person's sense of well being. A victim of the above-mentioned circumstances, Private Investigator (PI) Derek Lasker is one level short of living on the street. An out-of-the-blue phone call from Bob Linehan gets Derek temporarily out of his funk. Bob hires Derek to keep 24-hour tabs on Junior, his seventeen-year-old son, since he is certain that Junior decapitated the next-door neighbor's cat. Toward the end of the first day of the investigation, a twist in the case results in the termination of Derek's assignment. Regardless of the case's outcome, Derek inconspicuously continues the investigation. But just as he is at the cusp of solving the case, Derek has to re-think his evidence when a chain of unexpected events with sinister underpinnings is revealed.
Brock reshapes the traditional gumshoe persona in his debut noir novel. Set in Toronto, Canada, Brock's first-person plot features Derek Lasker, a quasi-typical loser PI who feigns a tough outer shell. Yet underneath the artificial display is a man with a penchant for classic literature, such as the works of Shakespeare, Orwell, and Kafka. Brock surrounds his principal character with a tight and colorful cast of characters who serve for the most part as foils; many of these foils are just plain bullies. Nonetheless, Derek always finds a way to either work around or with these surly characters while attempting to bring his case to a close. Brock's narrative is a pleasant mix of conventional and not-so-conventional hard-boiled noir, which includes a good deal of captivating dialogue and a pinch of banality amid a heavy surge of mystery-laced twists and turns that is all woven together with light humor. This balanced combination is certain to become a new favorite for noir aficionados. Obviously, since Vicious Dogs closes on a cliffhanger, fans should be on the look-out for its sequel, tentatively named String Theory.
Reviewed by Anita Lock
Mystery Scene Magazine:
Henry Brocks Vicious Dogs isn't going to be for everyone,since it begins with a decapitated cat. Still, the book's dark humor keeps thegrisly plot afloat. Our Canadian antihero is Derek Lasker, an unsuccessfulprivate detective, who is not only living in his car, but also works as aguinea pig for drug companies. Lasker knows he's a loser, but he's funny aboutit.
"I hated to think of all the crap that was floating around inside of me...Being infested with untested drugs was a bit more frightening than therecreational variety that I favored in my younger days."
When worried father Bob Senior hires him to shadow BobJunior, an unruly teen suspected of beheading the neighbor's cat, Lasker isquick to take the case. Compared to other cases he's worked, this one soundsdull, but the PI is tired of living on the street. As it turns out,decapitating cats may be the least of Junior's crimes.
While following the young man, Lasker is lead throughToronto's mean streets, from a psychotic dojo master to a dogfighting ring thatpits knife-wielding humans against Rottweilers. Thankfully, the dogfightingscene is mercifully short, although it still makes for uncomfortable reading.On a more positive note, Brock loves to set stereotypes on their clichéd heads.There is a surprising turnaround when one of the bad guys turns out to be ananimal-lover who can't wait to take the nasty Bob Junior apart.
Despite its gruesome subject matter, "Vicious Dogs" remainsan excellent, vibrant read, even though it does rather tarnish the image ofCanada being an always gentle country where the most untoward behavior isordering an Americano at a Tim Hortons.
"A classic PI story with a fresh new voice. Vicious Dogshits all the right notes. And who says Canadians are so polite? By the end,this dog bites!
A north-of-the-border PI story from down in the gutter. DerekLasker is an investigator with nowhere to go but up, but watching him do so isgreat fun and will surely launch a long-running series. Spot on for PI fans wholike a character to root for tangled in a messy investigation."
-Eric Beetner, author of Rumrunners and The Devil Doesn't Want Me
"In Vicious Dogs, Henry Brock takes us on a tour of Toronto's seedy underbelly while reinventing the hardboiled noir. The first (of, I hope, many) Derek Lasker Investigations delivers a whip-crack plot and devilish humor that goes down like a tall can of Molson's after a plate of poutine."
-Eryk Pruitt, author of Dirtbags and Hashtag.
"Henry Brock's first novel Vicious Dogs takes you on a fast-paced journey, chasing a cat's tail through Toronto's avenues and alleyways in this noir mystery from Northwestern Ontario that's true to its roots. Derek Lasker is a washed up PI who's been hired by a paranoid father to keep his rebellious sone under surveillance after a neighbour's cat is found decapitated in their backyard. Lasker soon finds himself in the middle of a police investigation that has him butting heads with a variety of colourful characters.
"Brock's swift and to-the-point writing style keeps the story focused. The descriptions are kept to a minimum, which compliments the overall feel and tone of the novel very well. A no-nonsense approach to writing is what makes this novel such an enjoyable, albeit quick, read."
- Mikael Mintenko, The Walleye
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