In 1947 San Francisco, Sammy "Two Taps" Tiffin works as a bartender at Sal’s Blue Room, serving a cast of longshoremen, mobsters, and social deviates. The plot initiates when Sammy falls for a mysterious blonde named Stilton and simultaneously gets entangled in a scheme involving a stolen military aircraft and a suspicious "snake-man" from Roswell. Along with a talented street kid and a crew of marginalized associates, Sammy navigates a city filled with corrupt cops and government agents while investigating a mysterious death at the de Young Museum.
Fans of satirical fiction and hardboiled detective parodies read this for its rapid-fire dialogue and subversion of mid-century cinematic tropes. It appeals to those who enjoy seeing historical settings populated with absurd characters and vulgar wit. Readers finish the book with a skewed perspective on post-war Americana and the Roswell UFO incidents. The story provides a blend of slapstick humor and gritty atmosphere, offering a comedic deconstruction of the classic private eye narrative without the heavy moral weight typical of the genre.
Outward-looking and escapist; an easy read.
Best for readers like The Curious Generalist. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2018
- Language
- EN
