Night Life: A Michael Cassidy Novel (Michael Cassidy (1))

Booze, dames, stiff drinks, smoky jazz clubs, spies, politicians, and a dynamic 1950's New York City, are all part of the rich tableau in "Night Life" by David C Taylor. You can see William Holden and perhaps Lauren Bacall on screen in glorious black and white. Simply one of the best mystery/ suspense novels I have read in ages. A Noir gem.Detective Michael Cassidy, your good cop, is an atypical hero in many ways. While he does his share of smoking, drinking and fighting, he has a more cultured upbringing than the typical 50's cop. His father a successful Broadway producer, means that Michael grew up around the rich and famous and certainly didn't need to be a cop to make a living. Cassidy's attitude can get him in trouble when he runs into Senator Joe McCarthy's partner in communist hunting Roy Cohn on New Years Eve 1953. He immediately makes an enemy of Cohn, which was not a good thing.A few months later people start dying. Cassidy and his partner are on the case, but not for long. The FBI shows up and takes the case. Unsurprisingly this does not stop Cassidy. Little by little it becomes apparent that these murders are linked to secrets of some very powerful people, and many of these people are not whom they seem to be.There are several action scenes that are almost cinematic in scope. The characters are well drawn, and the paranoia and fears of the "Red Scare" in post war America, stoked by demagogue are reminder we need to be vigilant about today.Looking forward to Cassidy's next adventure.

This is simply one of the best books I have read in years. Engrossing. Compelling. Far, far more than a "just" a noir crime novel, it is a detailed and complex tapestry of NYC and the US in the early 50's as it was. It is rich with great writing. Lines you won't forget while the story and characters won't let you put it down. Don't start it on a night when you have to be at work the following morning. You'll never get there on time.

Very much enjoyed this and the depction of the McCarthy scare and the egregious Roy Cohn, McCarthy, J. Edgar Hoover. At one point, Cohn, by way of McCarthy, goes after the hero's father and is getting him deported: "They can do anything they want these days. It's the times we live in. We came out of the war thinking everything was going to be all right, and the next you know things are worse than ever. Russia. The bomb. Everyone's living with the idea that the world could blow up and we could all die tomorrow. People are scared. The guys like McCarthy and Cohn know that, and they know it works for them. If you scare people enough, they'll let you do anything you want as long as you promise it's for their protection." Now reading the follow-up, *Night Work*, which is pretty good, too. I'm looking forward to a series.

Every once in a while a book and an author grab you like a bad dog and shake you up ...good. David C Taylor's "Night Life" is the best book I have read this year ( I realise I got to it late). As a child I used to hear both parents talk about 50's NYC and my dad who was both a producer and a former middleweight boxer would tell my sister and I tales of Toots Shors and the Stork Club. What Mr Taylor has accomplished is that rare and wondrous feat of not only bringing the reader to that mythical moment of time but also unleashing one hell of a great read and introducing us to a main character Michael Cassidy (rich kid, former soldier and Lucas Davenport like badass) as well a coterie of side charmers who combine for a magnificent, page turning, tsunami of a book. I liked it so much I read it twice.

I had it figured out 4% in. I kept reading thinking, that can't be it, that can't be it, THAT CAN'T BE IT! Please note, I am not a genius at figuring out plots, although I did do pretty well with The Big Sleep, at least my date said as much, but then he was trying to get laid so maybe not.I digress.Tony Hillerman, PD James, Dorothy Sayers, JK Rowling's pseudonym, Raymond Chandler, Ruth Rendell, Dashiell Hammett, Ross MacDonald, Michael Innes, Even Agatha Churn Em Out Christie. They deserved an Edgar. This did not. Makes me kinda skittish about buying a book just because it was nominated.It was also very irritating that the author felt the need to describe what every character was wearing as well as the contents of every drawer. I forget which author noted it - Hemingway, Vonnegut, someone who could write really, really well - but they advised leaving out a lot of extraneous details which did nothing to advance the plot or set the scene.

This is an opportunity to READ a "film noir" novel that has the great elements of betrayal, lust, and a corrupt power. This gritty, well-researched novel takes you in fine detail to a point in time in early 1954 and it such compelling reading that you'll find yourself wanting to slow down your reading to make the event last even longer...Even though you can't put it down.