Dark and, at times, amusing fiction from award-winning author Dave Zeltserman

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Forgotten Books: The Captain by Seymour Shubin

The Captain by Seymour Shubin was nominated for an Edgar for Best Mystery Novel in 1983. Publisher's Weekly had the following to say about it: "A towering novel that builds to a heart-clutching peak and leaves one profoundly affected."

The Captain of the title is former Police Captain Walter Hughes, a seventy-six year old tough no-nonsense retired cop who is now suffering from depression and the beginning of dementia. His kids have put him in a home and he's not happy about it, nor is he happy with the neglect and treatment he's seeing other residents receive. When he gets his hands on a gun, he decides to take justice into his own hands with chilling effect.

This is a superb mix of hardboiled, noir and absurdist humor, and could sit proudly on any bookshelf next to Shubin's 1953 classic noir masterpiece, "Anyone's My Name".

1 comment:

pattinase (abbott) said...

This one sounds great, Dave. I can really relate to the general premise given my parental situation. Thanks so much for participating.