Fogtown

What first appears to be a straightforward investigation for a quintessential hard-edged private detective becomes far more as hidden truths about the crime and the man investigating it are slowly revealed in this grim mystery. Frank Grissel is a private investigator with not much work coming in who suddenly finds himself mixed up in a missing persons case looking for a woman's runaway daughter. But in the course of the investigation Grissel soon ends up on the wrong side of both the police and several powerful individuals operating on the wrong side of the law. Writer Gabrych weaves in twists to the story that repeatedly cast new light on all of the characters involved and force the reader to constantly re-evaluate the expectations they'd built up. Rader's art creates a fitting noir atmosphere in the book's setting of 1953 San Francisco, and his no-frills depictions of violence emphasize the harsh realities of Grissel's situation: in over his head and taking desperate actions to simply stay alive. The surprises come frequently and suddenly at times, and dangerously close to derailing the plot entirely, but in the end the story holds together and leads readers to an unsuspected conclusion. (Aug.)